Cine El Rey Theatre
311 South 17th Street,
McAllen,
TX
78501
311 South 17th Street,
McAllen,
TX
78501
1 person
favorited this theater
Built by Interstate in 1948, Cine El Rey served McAllen’s Hispanic community for 40 years before closing down. Many of Mexico’s greatest performers made personal appearances on its stage.
The Cine El Rey underwent restoration by its current owners in 2001 and now serves the newly revitalized Downtown Improvement District.
Contributed by
Luis Munoz
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
The Cine ElRey reopened its doors in December 2002 after having been closed for 14 years. It is featuring independant films, documentaries, cult and horror films as well as foreign films. The theatre has been restored to its original glory and beauty.
The officila web site for the El Rey is
www.cineelrey.com
It features a great pic of the theatre and gives the history of the theatre on the web site.
Need to update the Cine El Rey to open.
Added to the National Register of Historical Places in 2002:
Cine El Rey (added 2002 – Building – #02000402)
311 S. 17th St., McAllen
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Texas Consolidated Theaters, Crawford, W.E.
Architectural Style: Moderne
Area of Significance: Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation, Hispanic
Cultural Affiliation:
Period of Significance: 1925-1949, 1950-1974
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture, Work In Progress
Current Sub-function: Theater
This is a recent night view of the Cine El Rey.
Here is another photo of the Cine El Rey.
Here is a myspace page dedicated to the Cine El Rey:
http://tinyurl.com/bkvwly
The December 3, 1938, issue of Boxoffice Magazine carried an article about the opening of the Azteca Theatre in McAllen. To be operated by Interstate Theatres, the new house had been converted from an existing building on which Interstate had taken a five year lease, and was intended to serve the Spanish-speaking population of the region. Guests at the opening included the Mexican vice-consul.
My guess would be that the Azteca Theatre was a precursor of the Cine El Rey. It is not yet listed at Cinema Treasures. No address was given in the Boxoffice article.
1984 Photo
This photo is from 2007.
Here is a recent night photo.