The Garden Oaks Theater in Houston is at risk of being demolished. Preservations and residents are hoping to save it in time.
Protecting neighborhood businesses can sometimes be an uphill battle. A variety of hoops must be jumped through surrounding zoning laws, city codes, developmental deals, and a myriad of other legal and practical aspects. A preservation group and thousands of Houston residents are currently waging this war in a last-ditch effort to save the community’s historic Garden Oaks Theater, which is set for demolition. The eclectic Art Deco styled property, located on Shepherd Drive, opened its doors for the first time in 1947. Though it most recently served as a church, the Garden Oaks Theater maintains much of its original beauty and nostalgic appeal.
Grace Church had been operating out of the theater since 2008 but vacated the premises in September 2025. This February, it came to light that the church had sold the property for $7.1 million in a private deal to Heights Investment Fund. That organization said it planned to demolish the 87-year-old Garden Oaks Theater and had already acquired the proper permits to do so within days of the sale being announced. CultureMap notes that as of Monday, the property was surrounded by construction fencing, a sign that the building would likely be torn down soon. Maureen McNamara, co-founder of Arthouse Houston, has immediately sprung into action alongside Preservation Houston to hopefully prevent that from happening.
One of the primary issues that McNamara and her fellow preservationists are facing is that Houston’s city code states that whoever owns a historic building is responsible for protecting it. Basically, that means that if the developer wants the theater demolished, they will get the final say. McNamara hopes, though, that the idea of getting the property designated as a historic site—a designation it does not currently have—and getting a tax break from doing so will appeal to Heights Investment Fund and perhaps persuade them to restore the theater instead of tearing it down.
Preservationists and residents are fighting to save the theater
Maureen McNamara told KPRC 2 News that all hope is not lost when it comes to saving the Garden Oaks Theater from being torn down by Heights Investment Fund. She said, “The owner has said that he would be willing to talk to some community leaders. So we’re trying to find that opening in the door.” She had previously spoken with Chron about pitching the idea of turning the property into a community art center, and that “with careful historic designations and renovations, the theater could be thriving again.”
Arthouse Houston and Preservation Houston were hoping to win investors over by finding ways for the developers “to incorporate the theater into a larger project.” Heights Investment Fund allegedly bought the property with the intention to tear it down and build a new shopping center on the land. Bearing that in mind, McNamara and the preservationists, along with community members who want to save the historic theater, are hoping they can come to an agreement that would see the existing structure being incorporated into the shopping center. “Part of winning them over is making sure they know how much the community cares, and seeing how beautiful and dynamic restoring our historical buildings and theaters can be,” McNamara said.
Preservation Houston’s communications and program director, Jim Parsons, told CultureMap that these causes are always worth fighting for. “The Garden Oaks Theater and buildings like it give the city a sense of identity. People don’t just recognize these places, they remember them. Houston is always changing, but when we treat historic architecture as disposable, we risk losing the landmarks that anchor neighborhoods and give them character.” As of writing, it’s unclear as to whether the developers share the same sense of sentimentality as Parsons and McNamara. Despite not having a clear idea of which way Heights Investment Fund will lean, McNamara said, “everybody’s trying to rush to sound the alarm” anyway.
Part of that process involves creating a widespread petition to gain additional support from the community.
A petition is circulating to garner more support for the cause
On Wednesday, Arthouse Houston attended a city council meeting in the hopes of discussing what can be done to save the Garden Oaks Theater from demolition. It’s unclear how that meeting went or if any progress has been made over the last two days. A change.org petition calling on developers to save the historic property has received over 2,000 signatures so far (and counting). Maureen McNamara said previously that she was “still hoping that through the community, we can raise enough awareness and make enough noise to help them [the developers] see a vision where keeping the theater could be as part of whatever their larger plan is. Whatever their plan is, that [the theater] could be a draw.”
Chron noted in its reporting that it reached out to Heights Investment Fund directly for comment but had not yet received a response.
