Martini Theater
522 21st Street,
Galveston,
TX
77550
522 21st Street,
Galveston,
TX
77550
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From Galveston a view of the Martini Theater.
2010 photo of the Martini Theatre.
View link
Sad photos of the MARTINI.
Several theaters have failed in Galveston, but if someone could turn the Martini around it would be a fantastic gift to the city. Plenty of street parking, and you could probably locate additional parking from some of the unused lots downtown. The area is fine, close to nightspots. Maybe beer/wine and food service ala the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin would turn a profit. Galveston values historic preservation very highly, but as stated,money is always an issue. The Galveston Historical Foundation relies heavily on private efforts. You should contact them for guidance, probably love to help. You could probably even find investors.
Just visited Galveston last weekend and this theater is in bad shape. It’s a shame. Postings above indicate that this theater may be demolished for a parking lot. If there is anything this town needs less of it is more parking lots. Galveston still has a fair number of historic structures. However, there a way too many vacant lots making it look kind of desolate. These lots need to be filled in by architecturally sympathetic structures. of course that takes money, and this being Texas, which doesn’t seem to like zoning, it will never happen. It’s too bad, because Galveston has the right bones for a thriving historic district. A theater is important to get people downtown. Here is an empty one in a prime location, but again, this being Texas, they’ll tear it down.
Here is a September 2009 photo of the exterior.
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…
View link
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?
This is a July 2009 photo.
Here is a July 1977 ad from the Galveston Daily News:
http://tinyurl.com/owwau8
1971 Photo
1984 Photo
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
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.
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
Current and historic exterior photos of the Martini are online at www.houstondeco.org
The architect was W. Scott Dunne of Dallas.
A 1983 photo of the Martini in Galveston.
www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/2224116590
This is the Martini Theater building at night.
This is another recent photo of the Martini Theater.
My image of the MARTINI taken 3/18/07.
www.flickr.com/photos/lastpictureshow/428347400
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.