South Fort Worth's iconic theater to make way for health center

Fort Worth, Texas - In a surprising turn of events that has left some local leaders puzzled, an old movie theater from the 1940s in South Fort Worth is planned to be torn down to build a new health center.

The planned transformation of the esteemed Berry Theater, located at 3031 Hemphill Street, has been masterminded by Mercy Clinic. This faith-based healthcare provider, extending its services to residents in the 76110 and 76104 postal areas, has lodged a permit for the theater's demolition with the city of Fort Worth. However, this move has sparked astonishment among certain sectors of the Hemphill community who were uninformed of these plans, according to Dallas Metro News.

Looking at past records, the clinic bought the theater in 2021. They had also bought three pieces of land next to the theater in 2016, as shown by a public report. What makes this situation even more interesting is that Mercy Clinic's early plans suggested that they would keep the theater while building the health center next to it.

Fernando Peralta, the head of the Hemphill Corridor Development Collaborative, is worried about the lack of clear information about this decision. Peralta didn't know that the clinic planned to tear down the theater. He is curious about why the plans suddenly changed.

"I am really sad to hear about that because that is an incredible building with a lot of history," he said. "I hope they do reach out so we can help them inform the community about this."

The Berry Theater was first called the White Theater. It has been around since the 1940s. It has been a big part of local culture, showing Spanish-language movies since 1962. This information is from Cinema Treasures, a group that works to keep the history of movie theaters in the United States alive.

The Berry Theater has been listed five times as one of Fort Worth’s most endangered places, according to the nonprofit group Historic Fort Worth. The old building has been closed for over 35 years.