The cinema theater opened its doors to visitors for the first time on April 21, 1931. Its opening was dedicated to the anniversary of Texas Independence Day. The theater’s owner, C.R. McHenry, desired the new cinema to stand out with innovative projection technologies and sound reproduction. To construct a modern establishment, McHenry hired the renowned architect Scott Dann to develop the project. Read more on dallas-trend.
WHAT WAS SPECIAL ABOUT THE TEXAS THEATRE
After the completion of construction, Dallas acquired the largest suburban cinema theater, which was also the third-largest in the city. The interior of the premises was equipped with new technology and luxurious items. Scott Dann decided to decorate the interior in the Venetian style, as he had previously worked on a similar project in San Angelo. Inside the theater, the walls were adorned with silhouettes of Spanish houses, while the ceiling depicted a sky that transitioned from twilight to night with stars and clouds, achieved through a special machine. Under this sky, opera boxes were located. Initially, the second-largest Barton pipe organ in Dallas was also housed within the cinema theater. However, the organ was later removed and sold to a private individual.
No expenses were spared in the construction, and the building was completely made of concrete to make it fire-resistant. The theater also became the first to have an air conditioning system, which McHenry particularly boasted about. The ventilation system circulated 200,000 cubic feet of air per minute through a water-cooling system supplied from a 4,000-gallon reservoir.
HOW THE CINEMA GAINED POPULARITY
The fate of the movie theater was such that it gained worldwide fame not as a movie theater, but as the place where Lee Harvey Oswald, known as the assassin of the 35th President of the United States, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, was arrested. It happened on November 22, 1963. Approximately 45 minutes after Kennedy’s assassination, Oswald also shot and killed Dallas police officer J.D. Tippit, after which the criminal went to the Texas Theatre. Passing by the ticket booth without paying, Oswald went to the theater, where the movie “War is Hell” was showing. When the manager of a shoe store near the theater noticed a man who looked like the suspect described on the radio, he called the police. At approximately 1:45 p.m., nearly 15 Dallas police officers gathered at the Texas theater in search of Oswald. Subsequently, as a memento of this event, the then manager took the chair and replaced it with another one, which was later seized by the FBI, believing it to be Oswald’s original seat. The real chair was then inscribed with gold paint with the words “Lee Harvey Oswald, November 22, 1963.” It was in the third row from the back, fifth from the aisle.
RENOVATION OF THE CINEMA
In early 1965, the appearance of the cinema was updated. The front staircase was turned 180 degrees so that visitors could not get in without a ticket. The box office was moved inside. A new screen was installed inside and the upholstery in the hall was renewed.
In 1990, the Texas Theater Historical Society purchased the theater, and the following year Oliver Stone remodeled the facade to present a movie about John F. Kennedy. After operating for a year, the theater closed due to lack of funding. In 1996, they planned to demolish the cinema and build a furniture warehouse on the site, but Pedro Villa prevented this. In 2001, the Oak Cliff Foundation purchased the building and began reconstruction, which allowed the cinema to resume screenings. Since September 2010, the theater has been rented by Aviation Cinemas, Inc. Over the past 10 years, the company has spent $2 million to create a second screening room on the top floor, as well as a lounge and bar. The new hall can accommodate 165 visitors and is also adapted for people with hearing and visual impairments.
