Majestic Theatre

1002 E. Elizabeth Street,
Brownsville, TX 78520

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The Majestic Theatre was a textbook example of Art Deco style design when it opened in 1949, but neglect combined with proximity to Mexico (so that the population center of Brownsville moved steadily farther and farther away to the north) reduced it in its final years to showing second run films downstairs and adult fare in the converted balcony in the evenings.

When last I saw it, the facade still bore the “Majestic” marquee, but the building had been gutted and was being used as storage and retail space by someone selling cheap electronics and knock-off Ray Bans.

Contributed by R. S. Buchanan

Recent comments (view all 13 comments)

Joe Vogel on March 23, 2009 at 10:36 pm

The Majestic was one of the theaters listed as being under construction in the March 26, 1949, issue of Boxoffice Magazine. It was slated to open in September. Listed seating capacity was 1,450, which sounds a bit high for the theater in the photos.

lostmemory on April 29, 2009 at 11:07 am

Here are some 1984 photos:

kencmcintyre on July 24, 2009 at 5:49 pm

This was in Boxoffice magazine in December 1951:

Jimmy McNeill, manager of the Majestic in Brownsville, Texas, got a front-page photo and story in the Brownsville Herald on “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. McNeill located a 117-year-old resident who had never seen a motion picture and invited him to be his guest at the opening. The star and featured players who appear in the picture wired congratulations to the honored guest.

lostmemory on July 24, 2009 at 5:52 pm

Looks like a filler story for a slow news day.

kencmcintyre on July 24, 2009 at 5:54 pm

He or she would have been born in 1834, so the person would have been about 65 before motion pictures were even exhibited. Could have been a publicity stunt.

lostmemory on July 24, 2009 at 5:59 pm

That story belongs in the National Enquirer or Ripley’s Believe It or Not.