Texas Theatre

Logan5 on March 13, 2012 at 2:23 pm

In “The Great Waldo Pepper” (1975) the Robert Redford character (Pepper) meets Mary Beth (Susan Sarandon) while watching Rudolph Valentino in “Son Of The Sheik” (1926) in the Texas Theatre. In the final cut we see the INTERIOR only. According to the December 6, 1973 edition of the Seguin Gazette, this scene was filmed on Monday December 3, 1973, while other filming was delayed due to inclement weather.

sarider on September 27, 2011 at 8:11 pm

The theater re-opened for events in March, 2011. On September 22, 2011 they had a “Marquee Partee” open house to celebrate the completion of newly installed neon lighting on the theater canopy and turned on the exterior lights for the first time. Photos of the exterior and interior from the event, as well as earlier (pre-restoration) photos can be seen here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/83379080@N00/sets/72157606862767276/

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lostmemory on September 11, 2009 at 9:19 pm

This is a 2008 close-up view.

danpetitpas on October 1, 2008 at 2:13 pm

Here’s a news story posted 10/1/08 on My San Antonio News.

Old Seguin theater to be new again

Roger Croteau – Express-News

After 10 years of raising money, the Seguin Conservation Society officially broke ground Tuesday on a $2.5 million restoration of the historic Texas Theatre.

“It’s exciting for Seguin,” said Steve Tschoepe, chairman of the task force organizing the project. “Every time we open the doors, someone wanders in and tells us stories of when they were kids and they came here.”

Harold Brodt, 88, said he remembers when the Texas opened in 1931 because the owner, Alvin Mueller, was a neighbor of his and had him dress as a cowboy and ride to the town square as part of his grand opening promotion.

“Mr. Mueller said, ‘You never have to pay a nickel,‘” Brodt said. “So I lived at the picture shows.”

The Depression-era movie house sports a Spanish colonial motif and was noted for its star-studded ceiling, which will be part of the restoration.

The Texas is a star in its own right. A replica of the theater’s sign is displayed at the Bob Bullock Texas History Museum in Austin and the theater has appeared in several films, including “The Great Waldo Pepper” and “Raggedy Man.”

“It was never modernized,” said task force member Nancy Masterson. “These mica lamps are original. It was repainted from time to time, but always in the original colors.”

Dan Daniels said his family purchased the theater around 1934 and ran it until it closed in the mid-90s. He sold it to the conservation society in 1996.

“I’m excited to see it being restored,” he said. “It’s a shame there’s no way to make any money with a single-screen house anymore.”

As a result, plans call for the stage to be expanded and the theater to be used for plays, lectures and musical performances as well as movies.

But more money is needed to finish the project, said task force member Stan Ledbetter.

“It took us 10 years to raise $2 million and the budgeted amount is $2.5 million,” he said. “Construction is expected to take a year or less, so that gives us a year or less to raise $500,000.”

lostmemory on September 23, 2008 at 8:34 am

According to this link, the architect for the recent restoration of this theater was Milton Babbitt.

samram on July 7, 2008 at 4:40 pm

just did, it won’t be ready for awhile bummer ;( thanks for pointing me in the right direction though!

samram on July 7, 2008 at 4:27 pm

any idea if the theater is ready to rent for special events?

lostmemory on January 18, 2008 at 10:04 am

Here is a nice recent photo of the Texas Theater.

lostmemory on August 7, 2007 at 9:07 pm

Two more recent photos of the Texas Theater can be seen here and another one here.

lostmemory on May 17, 2006 at 12:06 pm

Here is another photo of the Texas theater.

lostmemory on September 11, 2005 at 11:30 am

Here is a vintage photo of the Texas Theater in Seguin.

DanDaniels on February 11, 2005 at 11:43 pm

The Texas Theatre (please note the “re” spelling) was built by Alvin P. Mueller for his son who was an aviator and war hero. The son, however, had little interest in the theater business, and so it was run for a very short period by Interstate Theatres. It was soon purchased (in the mid 1930s) by my parents, H.A. “Windy” Daniels and Maxi Maxwell Daniels. They also bought the Palace Theatre (at 314 S. Austin Street in Seguin) and the Dixie Drive-In theatre on HWY 123 Business Route and Hwy 90. The Daniels owned movie theatres across South Texas. The company was, and is, known as Seguin Theatres, Inc. The Texas Theatre is not really western in design at all, but it has a Pre-columbian spanish motif present. The ceiling was blue with metal stars in the ceiling, and large pannels on the side walls of this very ornate theatre gave the impression of looking out large windows over a twilight lit country landscape. Red velvet curtains and gold-gilded lights adorned the theatre. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe with Vanessa Redgrave, The Raggedy Man with Sissy Spacek and Sam Shepherd, and The Great Waldo Pepper with Robert Redford all filmed scenes in the Texas Theatre in Seguin. The theatre was sold to the Seguin Conservation Society in about 2002 with the understanding and promise that the theatre would be fully restored. Just recently, the marquee was removed for repairs and restoration. The auditorium seats have been removed and the theater is nearly gutted for a complete restoration. However, it may be many years before the restoration is complete because the Conservation Society is still trying to raise sufficient funds for the project.
The theatre is a real Texas treasure, and it was the subject of a documentary produced by Chris Elley Productions and starring John Schneider of the “Dukes of Hazzard” fame.
I hope this information is helpful.
H.A. “Dan” Daniels, II
President/Owner/Exhibitor
Seguin Theatres, Inc.

atmos on December 14, 2004 at 3:42 am

The architect was W.Scott Dunne.