Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz

320 E. 6th Street,
Austin, TX 78701

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas

Architects: Hugo Kuehne, Richard Weiss

Firms: Weiss Architecture

Previous Names: Ritz Theatre

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News About This Theater

Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz

The Ritz Theatre was opened October 13, 1929 with Bert Lytell in “The Lone Wolf’s Daughter” and was independently operated by Jay J. Hegman. In July 1937 it was expanded into already existing space to the plans of architect Hugo Kuehne, which increased the seating capacity to 800. The Ritz Theatre operated through to beyond 1950. In the early-1970’s it was operating as an adult theatre. New operators took over in 1974 and it played a mix of movies, live theatre and live music. A local theatre group Centre Stage called the Ritz Theatre their home for a while.

The former Ritz Theatre reopened on November 1, 2007 after extensive renovations to the plans of architectural firm Weiss Architecture. Quentin Tarantino was on hand for its debut as the newest star in the Alamo Drafthouse circuit. It was closed on March 16, 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas declared bankruptcy on March 3, 2021 and announced the Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz would be closed permanently.

Contributed by Don Lewis

Recent comments (view all 24 comments)

ilovethe80s
ilovethe80s on March 20, 2009 at 3:18 pm

On March 30th and 31st, the Ritz theater will present An Audience of One, a hilarious, yet chilling documentary from Mike Jacobs. It looks into the life of a pentacostal minister and his dreams of making a big budget multi-million dollar film. It’s an amazing look into faith and how far it can drive people, and is worth watching.

stevendm
stevendm on May 29, 2009 at 7:05 am

There is a very good wiki page about the Ritz.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritz(Austin,Texas))

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on May 11, 2010 at 2:36 pm

Very nice I like it.

CSWalczak
CSWalczak on August 13, 2012 at 10:59 pm

Here is a press release announcing the installation of 70mm projectors at this theater and of an upcoming 70mm festival. Bravo!

Giles
Giles on October 27, 2014 at 9:00 pm

anyone know what the dimensions of screen #1 is? The 70mm projector is being used (obviously) for the upcoming run of ‘Interstellar’

Mikeoaklandpark
Mikeoaklandpark on January 23, 2015 at 8:10 am

Very nice theater and screen

Texas2step
Texas2step on December 21, 2016 at 4:25 pm

This one originally opened on October 13, 1929.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on March 3, 2021 at 9:40 am

Alamo Drafthouse declared bankruptcy and announced permanent closure of three locations on March 3, 2021. The flagship Alamo Drafthouse at the Ritz was sadly on that list and was joined by the New Braunfels Alamo Drafthouse Market Place and Kansas City’s venerable Mainstreet Theatre.

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