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Home » Theater Guide » Location » United States » Texas » Galveston » Martini Theater
Also known as New Martini Theater

Martini Theater

Galveston, TX
522 21st Street
, Galveston, TX 77550 United States
(map)
Status: Closed
Screens: Single Screen
Style: Art Moderne
Function: Unknown
Seats: 1188
Chain: Unknown
Architect: W. Scott Dunne
Firm: Unknown
Add a photo for this theater!
The Martini Theater occupies a corner in downtown Galveston. The building appears to be sound, but a once showy marquee is trashed. "MARTINI" is spelled out in large individual orange letters accross the top of the marquee. The name and signage do not fit the feel of the theater as if it has undergone a name change at some point.
Contributed by Don Lewis

YOUR COMMENTS

 
The New Martini Theater opened in 1937, built for Attillo Martini, who previously operated the former Grand Opera House as the Martini Theater (later called the State, and still later, the Grand Opera House again) from 1924-37.
posted by Bryan Krefft on Mar 20, 2007 at 4:12pm
My image of the MARTINI taken 3/18/07.
www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/428347400
posted by Don Lewis on Mar 20, 2007 at 4:32pm
This is another recent photo of the Martini Theater.

posted by Lost Memory on Mar 26, 2007 at 6:29am
This is the Martini Theater building at night.

posted by Lost Memory on Jan 21, 2008 at 7:42am
A 1983 photo of the Martini in Galveston.

www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/2224116590
posted by Don Lewis on Jan 27, 2008 at 12:24pm
Current and historic exterior photos of the Martini are online at www.houstondeco.org

The architect was W. Scott Dunne of Dallas.
posted by GHPA on Mar 20, 2008 at 11:00am
The only movie I remember seeing with my mother was Ten Commandments (1956 - I was 10) at the luxurious Martini Theater. I remember that they had a vending machine for soft drinks with a cup and ice. It was 10 cents.

Dave Warwick
posted by davewarwick on Nov 10, 2008 at 11:11am
The interior of the Martini Theater, recently exposed by the floodwaters of Hurricane Ike.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nsaum/2916348338/

The family is now looking at tearing down the structure.
posted by nsaum75 on Nov 11, 2008 at 3:19am
That is so sad to lose an icon which brought so much pleasure to so many. Seems like someone would convert it and put it to use!

What fond memories!

Dave Warwick
posted by davewarwick on Nov 11, 2008 at 5:08am
1971 Photo

1984 Photo

posted by Lost Memory on Apr 29, 2009 at 6:33pm
Here is a July 1977 ad from the Galveston Daily News:
http://tinyurl.com/owwau8
posted by ken mc on May 17, 2009 at 11:27pm
This is a July 2009 photo.

posted by Lost Memory on Jul 12, 2009 at 1:34pm
Like others, it has been a dream of mine for a while to purchase or lease The Martini and return it to some operational form. It appears the taxes are about 2 years behind at this point. I wonder if that has been a determining factor for the family to raze the building. I would imagine it will be sold to the company that owns the parking lot behind the building or maybe the church.

I saw the picture from July above, has anyone seen any activity at the site to indicate the pending doom? I might even pen a letter to the owners if she's still standing to see about selling. Unless I read the tax roll wrong, the entire builing (theater & shops) is one parcel and is only valued at around $80k.

Thanks to GHPA above for the HD site, the page link is...
http://www.houstondeco.org/1930s/martini.html

Some recentish interior shots of the lobby...
http://good-times.webshots.com/album/569797283dJavqO

Can anyone who has visited or worked there give a detailed description of the layout? Would there be any space for any type of kitchen service? Is there ground level entry to the auditorium? Has the building been condemned by the city? How available is offstreet parking and what is the neighborhood like?
posted by snickstx on Aug 22, 2009 at 3:18am
Here is a September 2009 photo of the exterior.

posted by Lost Memory on Oct 24, 2009 at 4:43pm
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