Border Theater - Mission, Texas
Posted by: 
JimmyEv
N 26° 12.895 W 098° 19.559
14R E 567331 N 2899659
Designed in 1942 by Dallas architect William J. Moore for a small theater chain, the 500-seat Pueblo Revival Border Theater features fluorescent murals along its interior walls.
Waymark Code: WM3QDE
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/04/2008
Views: 43
This theater is a rare example of the Pueblo Revival style in Texas. It’s defined by a stucco exterior; wooden poles projecting out from the facade; heavy, horizontal timbers above the windows and the first floor; and decorative wooden grilles over the windows. With two murals, highlighted in fluorescent paint and running the length of the walls, the theater is just as unusual on the inside. The murals were painted in 1942 by E. Risser to be seen when the lights were dimmed for the show.
The Border was the first of a five-theater movie chain built by Robert N. and Dell Smith, and the first theater in the valley with air conditioning. The building originally contained the theater, offices, a clinic, two stores and two apartments. Now it has the theater and a barber shop.
Source:
Texas Historical Commission, "Border Theater"
Available at Texas Historical Atlas