Majestic Theatre
908 Rusk Street,
Houston,
TX
77002
908 Rusk Street,
Houston,
TX
77002
7 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 66 comments found
Hello from Milwaukee Wisconsin!
I’m sad to see that we have lost this great piece of cinema history. Here in Milwaukee we have just watched as the first atmospheric built in Wisconsin was torn down. I grew up about two blocks from it as a child and followed the building’s history. Seeing the photo posted by Bryan Krefft, I am wondering if anyone knows of a listing of theaters designed by John Eberson? The Venetian was by the Firm of Peacock and Frank, and they were local to Milwaukee. But, there are a number of elements of the Venetian that seem similar to the Majestic.
BTW.. Had anyone else noticed that the Jim Carry Movie was of the same name (And centered in part around a Movie Palace)?
Does anyone remember a pipe organ which played during movies at the Majestic?
I have what I believe is the original grand drape from the Majestic. It was made in the late 1920’s and is about 40 x 50, fully intact and in good condition.
I plan on selling it in the near future but I want to confirm if this current ever hung in the Majestic.
To confirm that this “the” Grand from the Majestic, need a picture or a detailed description of it. Of course a picture would be best.
Anyone save those interior photos to their harddrive? The moviepalaces.net website appears to be defunct.
Bill Bremer, if this theatre was built in ‘23 & it was the 3rd 'Majestic’ in town, & your gramps was treasurer of the first one—on Congress—where was the 2nd one? Any addresses or dates on the first 2? Why did they close?
Here is another movie ad from the majestic theater june 1970 beneath the planet of the apes to view go to View link
RIGHT now, there’s trouble brewing. The Weingarten Realty Company, formerly my neighborhood grocery store chain, is considering razing the historic Art-Deco River Oaks Shopping Center—-including the old Interstate River Oaks Theatre, which has been operated for the last 30 years, as ‘specialty cinema’, by, first Movies Inc, & then Landmark Cinema.
Apparently, someone offered them a bundle for the properties, which are currently profitable, but not AS profitable as the new offer by the developers, who want to put in a multi-story Barnes & Ignoble & as high rise where the theatre stands, while, insultingly, using the entrance to the theatre as the lobby to the dwellings. nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn who knows a thing about the theatre would live there.
I’m 54 & a Houston native. I used to ride the bus downtown, during the school breaks, in the early ‘60s, w/my buds. We’d go to the Metropolitan, Majestic & Loew’s State to catch a flick. In the '70s, I went to the Delman, which was on Main @, I think, Wheeler, to catch mainstream flicks, &, later, I saw 'Superfly’ there. It’s gone now. There is one left downtown. It is called the Majestic Metro, @ 911 Preston. It’s currently used as a banquet facility. During the ‘70s, it was solely showing blaxploitation flicks.
Yes, we have a prob in Houston. During the '70s, multiplexes burgeoned in the malls—in the burbs. No one had the vision to see a purpose for these grand buildings. I’ll continue.
And photos!
Stan: Thanks for the movie palaces website as it is full of researched theatre information/data.
Sorry gang – the site is www.moviepalaces.net
Just discovered a site that has pictures of all of the old Movie Palaces in downtown Houston – including interior shots of the Majestic and a picture of the Grand Drape.
see: www.moviepalaces.com (Movie Palaces – A retrospect)
Will; Just by coincidence here in the UK the Cinema Theatre Association held their annual ‘members slide bash’ last weekend and one of the presenters did a slide presntation & talk on Andrea Palladio’s Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy with the theme ‘The Worlds First Atmospheric Theatre?’
Since there is a certain interest here in “the first atmospheric theatre” it might be useful to have a look at the (still standing) Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, Italy. It was built in the 1580’s to the designs of Andrea Palladio. It’s a fully enclosed stage theatre built to look like a classical Roman, outdoor, amphitheatre with statues, sky, clouds and decorative proscenium. There is a permanent stage set with amazingly realistic forced-perspectives seen through the portals.
Here’s a link:
View link
This is one of the most famous historic theatres in Europe and John Eberson must have seen it, or at least photos and drawings of it. I’ve never heard anyone make the connection between the Teatro Olimpico and Eberson’s atmospherics, but it does seem logical.
Cheers to all
your amateur architecture historian
Swampterman,
Do you recall what the grad drape looked like? If so can, can you describe it?
I think that Houston certainly lost a treasure in letting the BIG THREE downtown theaters go..especially the Majestic. My best friend and I use to love going to the movies downtown on Friday nights throughout the 1960s and I remember the splendor of all three movie houses. I thought the Majestic was the most mysterious place to be out of all of them..with the box seating and the way the balcony was set up…I felt as if I were in some ancient place had witnessed live operas and who knows what all. My best friend’s mother worked at Foleys downtown and we would go downtown by bus so he could pick up his allownance and then it was off to the movies!! I saw every single one of the James Bond movies downtown and also the newer John Wayne movies and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
However, Houston destroyed so many historic buildings during the late 60’s and 70’s and early 80’s that it really should’ve been considered a criminal act by greed real estate goons and there should have been indictments handed down. That is how strongly I feel about losing the ability of being able to go to the old Houston Downtown and to get that “feeling” you got while ejoying the sites and the sounds back then. Now that has been destroyed and carted off to the landfill. Shame on the city fathers who allowed this to happen.
I have what I believe is the original grand drape from the Majestic, Fully intact and in good condition. To confirm that this “the” Grand from the Majestic, need a picture or a detailed description of it. Of course a picture would be best.
Here is a photo of the Majestic from around 1950.
Patsy — it is sad, because I never got to see a film at the old theaters that she loved going to when she was younger. By the time time I was interested in the theaters themselves, they were either closed or had become places women just didn’t go. But she loved the State and the Majestic, so it was important to her get a piece of that part of her childhood when the opportunity presented itself. The frogs were either given as gifts to people who appreciated where the fabric had come from (and she kept the largest for herself) or sold as part of a special fundraiser for a local theater group. People paid good money to get a piece of the State. I still have the one she made me, which occupies one arm of my couch.
Really, it’s her stories about taking the bus into downtown Houston to see films at the old theaters that first piqued my interest in more than the films herself.
Caro: Cute story yet sad that the drape doesn’t still hang in its intented spot in history.
The “Grand Drape” would, I believe, be the curtain that hung in front of the screen and was raised before the show started. The fabric would have likely been a heavy velvet that was a certified dust catcher — the drapes from the Loew’s State in Houston certainly were when my mother purchased a chunk of them just before the theater was demolished. I came home from school and there was this itchy…pile of green velvet in one corner of the living room that Mom proceeded to use to make stuffed frogs from. The cats loved it.
Tick: Hope you find interior pix. What was the Grand Drape?
I am looking for pictures of the interior of the Majestic Theater in Houston. I’m interested in pictures that include the Grand Drape.
Now that I’m revisiting this theatre link I have since read that this DEMOLISHED theatre was the FIRST EBERSON ATMOSPHERIC!
In answer to TC’s question. Karl Hoblitzelle was the CEO of Interstate Theaters Inc out of Dallas. He and his partner, Robert O'Donnell ran 85% of the theaters in the larger cities of Texas (Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Ft Worth, Austin etc) from the 1920’s thru the 1960’s. Interstate was the largest theater circuit in Texas during that time period and also one of the most powerful.