Texan Theatre
207 E. Tyler Street,
Athens,
TX
75751
207 E. Tyler Street,
Athens,
TX
75751
1 person
favorited this theater
The Texan Theatre was opened April 23, 1948. It was closed in 1984. This building is just a shell. The roof is gone, as well as everything inside the theatre. Demolition appeared imminent, but in 2018 a new roof was put on the building and renovation work began. It reopened May 20, 2018 as a music venue.
Contributed by
Ken McIntyre
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
Been like this for years just a shell…..
I went to this theater many times as a child and was told that my Great Grandfather’s only trip to a theater was at the Texan.
Here’s a photo I took back around 2001.
View link
Last time I was there, a few years back, it still looked about the same. Altho, the inside was cleaned up. No “junk” on the inside. Just the foundation..
Randy A. Carlisle
Historical Photographer
That theater closed in the early 80s along with the Trail drive-in when they built the Cinema 4 (Now owned by Cinemark) behind the old Bealls & Walmart shopping center. It has always been just “there” as if the city doesn’t know what they want to do with it. I only ever saw one movie there “Savannah Smiles” although I was 2 or 3 so I don’t remember it fully.
The Texan Theater is coming back to life! The property was recently donated to the City of Athens by the Head family and there is a renewed interest in creating a community type performance venue – the link to the new Facebook page is below
https://www.facebook.com/Texan-Theater-1661755444068377
The Texan Theatre opened in 1948 and closed in 1984, according to this article about the recent renovations and imminent reopening.
An entirely new roof had to be built on the structure, which had been vacant for more than three decades. Nothing remains of the original interior, but the vintage “Texan” sign has been refurbished and reinstalled on the facade.
An open house will be held on May 15, 2018, but there is no word yet on what sort of events the theater might host. It will be available for private rentals, so perhaps for now it should be classified as an event center.
I just noticed that the 1950 newspaper article Brian Paris uploaded to the photo page says that the Texan opened on April 23, 1948, so the completion of renovations just missed the theater’s 70th anniversary.
The Texan Theatre’s first public event (other than the open house) will a free country music concert on Friday, May 20. The official web site is listing three more free events over the next couple of months, and two that will charge admission (click the “SHOWS” link at the top of the home page.)
This article from the Tyler Morning Telegraph has a slide show with a few current photos. The auditorium has a flat floor, portable seating, and the stage end is all glass. Essentially, only three walls of the original building remain. The renovation was designed by the Austin/Dallas architectural firm Architexas.
Looks better in the google street view. 6 events in 2021.
Cool that its been given new life, my friends went to a comic convention there. Just nice that it isn’t an empty shell anymore.