Prospect Theater

The Prospect Theater was a 600-seat movie theater once located at 620 North Beech Street off Kavanaugh in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Little Rock. In 1927 the theater served as the first home of the Pulaski Heights Christian Church.

The movie theater is remembered for its Saturday matinees, where kids drew tickets for various prizes from a spinning stage drum.

The theater was transformed into the CBS affiliate KRTV television studio in 1953. KRTV (UHF Channel 17) was the first local television station in the city of Little Rock, beginning its first broadcast at 2 PM on April 4, 1953. KRTV built a 875-foot tower for broadcasts next door. KRTV hosted the locally-produced show Betty's Little Rascals with Betty Fowler. The studio became home to KATV in 1954.

The theater was destroyed by fire in 1957. The theater site is now occupied by a former Kroger grocery store parking lot (behind Rhea's Drugstore).

References

• Jerry Dean, "[no title]," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 25, 1988.
• Jerry Dean, "Hillcrest Reflections," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 15, 1989.