Historical Markers StoppingPoints.com Historical Markers, Sightseeing & Points of Interest Scenic Roads & Points of Interest
About Us | Photo Gallery | Free Widgets | Featured States | Search Site
Register or Edit LoginRegister
Home Texas Tarrant County Fort Worth Site of Majestic Theatre
     

Site of Majestic Theatre

  Texas Historical Markers
9th & Commerce St., Fort Worth, TX, USA

Latitude & Longitude: 32° 45' 6.661656", -97° 19' 43.88646"
 
    Texas State
Historical Marker
     At the turn of the century Ft. Worth's live entertainment consisted chiefly of saloon, dance hall, church, and school presentations. Matters changed in 1905 when Karl Hoblitzelle founded the Interstate Amusement Company and chose Ft. Worth for its Southwest Vaudeville Theater Circuit. One of Interstate's famous Atmospheric Majestic Theaters was built at Tenth and Commerce streets (one block south) in 1910-11. The Majestic's lavish interior included Turkish rugs, French doors and mirrors, plush Spanish leather upholstery and a lobby with marble floors, hand-painted walls ,and 18 karat gold leaf ceilings. The 1,356-seat theater reportedly contained the country's first indirect stage lighting system and the country's largest concrete arch, an 80-foot balcony support beam. Performers on Ft. Worth's Majestic stage included Will Rogers, Walter Huston, Tallulah Bankhead, and Fred Allen. The Theater added feature movies to its Vaudeville program in 1922 and in 1932 discontinued its Vaudeville presentations. Thereafter strictly a motion picture theater the Majestic fell on hard times and closed in 1953. Despite efforts to restore it, the Majestic was razed in 1970 to make room for the new Tarrant County Convention Center. (1993)

This page last updated: 7/15/2008

Site of Majestic Theatre Historical Marker Location Map, Fort Worth, Texas