Majestic Theatre
1002 E. Elizabeth Street,
Brownsville,
TX
78520
1002 E. Elizabeth Street,
Brownsville,
TX
78520
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Interstate opened here on August 17, 1949 with “The Stratton Story.” The venue made it to the end of its 25-year leasing agreement closing with a ‘Farewell Day’ on May 1, 1974 with “Silence” and “Seal Island.” As ABC Interstate, the circuit replaced it with its new-build ABC Cinema 1 & 2 opening the next day. Two original Majestic-ers made the move to the new venue in Carmen Abete and Raul Davilla.
Better quality ad:
Found on Newspaperarchive.com
From the 1950s a postcard view of Elizabeth Street along with Majestic Theatre in Brownsville.
Page 15-A of the newspaper Mike Rivest linked to just above says that the Majestic was designed by architects Pettigrew & Worley.
The grand opening announcement from August 17th, 1949 can be seen at
View link
The ad runs at least 17 pages
He or she would have been born in 1834, so the person would have been about 65 before motion pictures were even exhibited. Could have been a publicity stunt.
This was in Boxoffice magazine in December 1951:
Jimmy McNeill, manager of the Majestic in Brownsville, Texas, got a front-page photo and story in the Brownsville Herald on “The Day the Earth Stood Still”. McNeill located a 117-year-old resident who had never seen a motion picture and invited him to be his guest at the opening. The star and featured players who appear in the picture wired congratulations to the honored guest.
The Majestic was one of the theaters listed as being under construction in the March 26, 1949, issue of Boxoffice Magazine. It was slated to open in September. Listed seating capacity was 1,450, which sounds a bit high for the theater in the photos.
Help! I’m looking at an ad in the Harlingen Valley Morning Star dated 2/22/53. The Majestic in Brownsville was showing the “Jazz Singer” with Danny Thomas. The theater page lists a number of movie houses in various locales, but I cannot figure out which are listed already as the locations are rather flexible, geographically. Take a look at the list and feel free to pitch in if you have any clue:
Palace – McAllen
Rivoli – San Benito
Alto – La Feria (I have already listed an Alto in Alto, which makes sense)
Valley Drive-In Theatre – no location given
Queen – McAllen
State – Mercedes
Strand – Harlingen
Citrus Drive-In – Harlingen
Rialto – Harlingen
Ritz – Weslaco
Thanks!