Raging fire destroys Historic Central Texas Theater in Hamilton

posted by irpworks on December 2, 2009 at 8:00 am

HAMILTON, TX — The nearly 60 year old Texan Theater perished in a fire last Friday.

The historic Texan Theatre in downtown Hamilton was destroyed Friday night by a raging fire that also damaged adjacent buildings.

Fire units from every Hamilton County department, as well as Jonesboro and Gatesville, in Coryell County and units from Erath and Comanche counties, battled the blaze into the early hours of Saturday morning.

Fire units and investigators remained on the scene at 110 South Bell St. as late as 10:30 a.m. Saturday cooling off hot spots and making a preliminary investigation of the scene.

Read the full story at KWTX.

Theaters in this post

Comments (4)

NativeForestHiller
NativeForestHiller on December 2, 2009 at 2:57 pm

I am from NY, and I hear the cries of CT members and that of locals. A theater is a cornerstone of all communities, and some have statewide and national significance. Willing demolition due to a developer’s greed is bad enough, but it is additionally sad when it happens unexpectedly due to fire. It is truly indeed a sad day. I hope the cause is investigated, and a conclusion is made. When the timing is right, the theater owners should realize the pivotal role the theater played in the community, and in conjunction with elected officials, and community residents, rebuild a historic Art Deco gem; an endangered species countrywide.

ChasSmith
ChasSmith on December 2, 2009 at 7:15 pm

Seconded. I’m from CT, and just taking a glance at the few photos available here takes me back to many wonderful memories of similar theaters I took for granted.

Simon Overton
Simon Overton on December 2, 2009 at 11:42 pm

If every townsfolk and business were able to chip into a special fund, say about $10 a head -or more, perhaps this once lovely old cinema could return from the ashes. I hope so and good luck!

kcentner
kcentner on December 3, 2009 at 10:08 pm

The theater was a little older than “nearly 60.” This particular theater was built in 1940. (And no, it was not built in 1928 as some have suggested; that was a different theater.)

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment