Queen Theatre
700 Congress Avenue,
Austin,
TX
78701
700 Congress Avenue,
Austin,
TX
78701
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On July 31, 1952 at approximately 12:06 PM CT, the Queen Theatre became national headlines when the showing of the Joe McDoakes short “So You Want To Go To A Convention” turned into tragic. Several tons of metal lath and 30x40ft plaster fell approximately 50ft from the ceiling to the rows of seats, injuring one man and 14 children. A total of 130 people (38 adults and 92 children) were forced to be evacuated. In total, 20 rows of seats were covered in cement and ceiling plaster.
The accident caused the cancelation of the remaining half of the McDoakes short as well as the scheduled showings of the Tex Avery cartoon “Cock-a-Doodle Dog”, a newsreel, and the main feature “Tarzan’s Salvage Fury” starring Edgar Rice afterward. City building inspector John Eckert replied that the cave-in probably was the result of a gradual loosening of nails which held the lath and plaster to the joists. The Queen Theatre reopened a short time later following investigation.
1954 photo & copy added, credit Austin History Center, Austin Public Library.
Additional history and photos of the Queen in the below Austin Public Library article.
http://library.austintexas.gov/blog-entry/her-majesty-queen-465334
March 2nd, 1921 reopening in the new building:
Queen theatre opening · Wed, Mar 2, 1921 – 8 · Austin American-Statesman (Austin, Texas) · Newspapers.com
Reopened as Queen on March 8th, 1917. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
Also courtesy of the Austin History Center Facebook page.
The shell of the building is still there, but the facade is gone. The Queen went into disrepair and closed in the 1950s, but not before the ceiling collapsed (with people inside). It is now The Contemporary (formerly Arthouse), and if you go inside, you can still see some of the original ceiling and walls of the old theater.
Added undated early photo and below copy credit & courtesy of the Austin History Center Facebook page.
Queen Theater at 700-702 Congress Avenue. George Littlefield bought the original Queen at 700 Congress and its next door neighbor, the Casino Theater, in 1920 with plans to tear them both down and build an all new expanded theater. He died before the plans came to fruition, but the project continued under J.J. Hegman. The new Queen Theater opened in 1921 with the first electric light sign for a theater in town, first wiring for sound, seating for 900, a lavishly decorated interior, a unique projection room and more.
While running the Queen in the 1920s, the Hegmans battled Texas' Blue Laws, which at the time forbade most commerce on Sundays. Angry that many drugstores and cigar shops operated illegally on Sundays with impunity, the Hegmans began defying the Blue Laws by advertising Sunday pictures. Eventually, all of Austin had to close on Sundays to ensure equal enforcement of the law. We have an online finding aid for the J.J. Hegman Papers: http://bit.ly/14wE31f.
In the 1940s the Queen ran double features with a serial on Sat. Owned by Interstate Circuit.
This article about the renovation of the Austin Art House has some pictures that show traces of the former theater.