Texas Theater - Palestine, TX
Posted by: 
WalksfarTX
N 31° 45.788 W 095° 37.979
15R E 250624 N 3517198
According to an article written in The Palestine Daily Herald on October 30, 1930, the finishing touches were being added to the theatre in preparation for the gala opening the following day.
Waymark Code: WMW0RZ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 06/23/2017
Views: 1
Texas Escapes
Harold B. Robb and E. H. Rowley built a theatre empire that spanned across three states. R. and R. Corporation, also known as Robb and Rowley Theatres, were headquartered in Dallas, Texas where they had opened a chain of Texas Theatres.
The Texas, styled in Italian design by architect W. Scott Dunne, opened to East Texas as one of the most modern theatres in this part of the country, and a seating capacity of approximately 1,200.
Two terraced stairways in the foyer led to the balcony of The Texas. Dunne designed The Texas auditorium as an Italian garden with balustrade walls and garden pagodas, flanking a proscenium arch. The proscenium arch was adorned with lush, green velour drapes, trimmed with silver fringe.
The theater burned twice but each time was restored. Sometime in the 1970s it closed its door. In 1983 it opened as a community theater.
Community plays were produced in the theatre until 1997, when the group was forced to shut the doors of The Texas again, due to unsafe conditions.
The Texas Theatre reopened to the public during the Dogwood Festival of 2005. The community had restored the once majestic theatre to a new state of grandeur and given it a new purpose- live theatre.