Majestic Theatre Information
Located in the famous area of Dallas’ Theatre world – you can find The Majestic – a truly re-markable venue!
Starting as a vaudeville Theatre, the building opened it’s doors in the spring season, back in the early roaring 1920’s and led through to the 1930’s – an important time for theatrical performances as it was all about showcasing the upcoming and current superstars. Just as many others were doing, The Majestic brought to it’s stage many of the biggest actors on the scene, including the likes of; Gregory Peck, John Wayne and Audy Murphy.
As it’s reputation built, so did the set of the theatre and it’s design, Mr John Eberson, (one of the foremost designers of theaters in the early 20th Century), turned it towards a glamorous feel, with the lobby and auditorium of Baroque design; black and white marble flooring and grand marble staircases.
Just as you would expect in the 1940’s, finishing touches were added such as the two balconies and of course beautiful crystal crystal chandeliers, brass mirrors, ferns, and a marble fountain.
The Majestic Theatre Dallas in the center of Downtown Dallas is the beating heart of entertainment and creativity in the city. It is one of the city’s original performing arts venues dating back to the 1920s, but offers its patrons varied, modern, and daring performance events of all kinds.
The Majestic Theatre opened in 1921. It was originally designed as a vaudeville theater by the renowned theater architect, John Eberson, and co-founder of the Interstate Amusement Company, Karl Hoblitzelle. The Interstate Amusement Company built and operated theater venues in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas.
Like many vaudeville theater owners, from the 1930s, Hoblitzelle started to show more and more movies rather than live shows. In 1973, Majestic’s doors closed.
The Hoblitzelle Foundation gave the Majestic Theatre Dallas to the City of Dallas in January 1976. In the years that followed, the theater underwent a major restoration project, and in 1983, it reopened as a venue for performing arts.
Today the Majestic Theatre Dallas hosts just about every form of live entertainment that you could ask for – from musical concerts and theater plays to comedy shows. It has a maximum seating capacity of approximately 1,700, which is relatively small compared to some, but that just makes its events even more exclusive.
The theater is managed by the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.
The history of Majestic Theatre Dallas
The Majestic Theatre Dallas boasts a rich history that dates from the vaudeville era of the 1920s. It was designed by Austrian American architect, John Eberson, under the direction of Karl Hoblitzelle.
Hoblitzelle was an American theater owner and the co-founder of the Interstate Theaters Company, a chain of vaudeville houses. The Interstate Theaters Company is now a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.
The Majestic Theatre Dallas, which cost $2 million to complete, was opened on April 11, 1921, with a maximum capacity of 2,800 seats. The Majestic was built on the site of another theater that burned down in December 1917.
This Renaissance Revival building was constructed not only as the company’s flagship theater, but the upper four floors were also used as headquarters for the Interstate Amusement Company.
The original lobby and auditorium were baroque in style. This included two Corinthian columns flanking the stage, cartouches and egg-and-dart molding. Above the stage, the ceiling was adorned with clouds and stars that twinkled.
Black and white marble flooring and two grand marble staircases adorned the theater. To enable visitors to reach the balconies there was a cage elevator, plus additional flourishes such as brass mirrors, a marble fountain, and crystal chandeliers. With all this grandeur, it is easy to see why the Majestic was the most famous theaters in Dallas’ Theater Row. In fact, it is the only one of the original theaters that still stands, as the rest were demolished by 1980.
In its vaudeville days, world-famous performers including Bob Hope, Mae West, and Houdini graced the Majestic’s stage. The venue also showed movies and hosted premieres with actors in attendance such as John Wayne and Gregory Peck. Live music from bands and performers such as Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway also became a regular feature.
By 1932, the vaudeville era was coming to an end as movies became more popular. Eventually, the Majestic was only showing movies and had established a reputation as the “man’s house” as it showed predominantly “macho” films with stars like James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart.
Restoration
The Majestic Theatre Dallas went dark on July 16, 1973, after showing the movie “Live and Let Die” for its final showing.
In January 1976, the Hoblitzelle Foundation gave the Majestic Theatre to the City of Dallas. It was the first building in the city to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
What followed was a huge restoration project to bring the theater back to life, so it could be used as a center for performing arts. This included exterior restoration and the restoration of interior historical features in the auditorium like Corinthian columns, urns, balustrades, and trellises. Decorative accents were brought back to their former glory by reapplying gold leaf.
New seats were installed, and the capacity of the theater was reduced so that the orchestra pit could be enlarged. In addition, the second balcony was adapted to allow for modern lighting and sound technology and the first balcony was converted into boxes.
To ensure the stage could cope with modern dance performances, the stage was refloored and the backstage area was made more spacious.
On January 29, 1983, the theater reopened and received a Texas Historical Commission marker. It is now a popular venue for a range of events from plays and musical concerts to dance productions and live comedy shows.