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.
The information above is almost all wrong. The Palace was NOT built in 1955; there was a theatre on that site since the early teens. It was never called the Texas Theatre (that is another theatre that Seguin Theatres owned down the street, it still stands and is being restored).
The original Palace bulding blew up with a natural gas explosion in around 1947 and the owner, H. A. “Windy” Daniels and his wife Maxi rebuilt the theatre immediately (they put up a screen outside in the parking lot and continued to show movies!). The Palace is in beautiful shape, has fresh paint, fairly new carpet, the booths have been retrofitted with state of the art DVD projection, modern platter systems, New Xenon bulbs, and DTS surround sound. The theatre is open almost every week for movies, special shows, plays, birthday parties, and other events. Come see shows on March 3,4,5. See www.davideo.tv for information.
— H.A.Daniels, II
President/Owner/Exhibitor Seguin Theatres, Inc.
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.
The information above is almost all wrong. The Palace was NOT built in 1955; there was a theatre on that site since the early teens. It was never called the Texas Theatre (that is another theatre that Seguin Theatres owned down the street, it still stands and is being restored).
The original Palace bulding blew up with a natural gas explosion in around 1947 and the owner, H. A. “Windy” Daniels and his wife Maxi rebuilt the theatre immediately (they put up a screen outside in the parking lot and continued to show movies!). The Palace is in beautiful shape, has fresh paint, fairly new carpet, the booths have been retrofitted with state of the art DVD projection, modern platter systems, New Xenon bulbs, and DTS surround sound. The theatre is open almost every week for movies, special shows, plays, birthday parties, and other events. Come see shows on March 3,4,5. See www.davideo.tv for information.
— H.A.Daniels, II
President/Owner/Exhibitor Seguin Theatres, Inc.