Tropic Theatre

Elsa, Texas experienced a boom, with its population growing 216% between its 1940 incorporation and 1950. Grover C. and H. Edwin Harris opened the new-build Tropic Theatre, a $115,000, 734-seat theatre in downtown Elsa in July of 1950. The area had no shortage of entertainment options. This included the Roxy Theatre that was opened in May 1947 by Miguel Benitez, Jr. along with his Sky-Vue Drive-In just south of town opening in February of 1949. The trade press also lists the Balli Theatre and the Paris Theatre in Elsa.

The theatre made the national news when Harris promised a free show during high drought anytime there was a measurable rain. That occurred on March 18, 1951 with the free show the next day. It also made news by having an anti-inflation ticket pricing guarantee of 14 cents in response to President Truman imposing wage-price controls that same year. The first night brought the theater’s first capacity crowd since its opening.

With Elsa growing, the post office relocated to a larger space just to the north of the theatre in 1951 leading to more foot traffic. In 1955, the Tropic Theatre would be sold to the Benitez Theatre Circuit. It reopened on April 29, 1955 with “Four Guns to the Border.” The Benitez Circuit appears to have programmed three days of English language films and four days of Spanish language films into the 1960’s before closing.

Both the theatre and the post office were later demolished.

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