Palace Theatre
220 N. Highland Street,
Marfa,
TX
79843
220 N. Highland Street,
Marfa,
TX
79843
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: O.K. Theaters Inc.
Functions: Workshop
Styles: Art Deco
Previous Names: Marfa Opera House
Nearby Theaters
Located in downtown Marfa’s main street. It was the Marfa Opera House before its cinematic incarnation as the Palace Theatre around 1930. It was destroyed by an explosion in the projection room on January 7, 1937. It was rebuilt by operator Oscar Korn in a Streamline Moderne style, reopening on June 19, 1937. It has been closed since the 1970’s. A local illustrator now uses the building as his studio.
The Palace Theatre’s claim to fame was the nightly screenings in 1955 of Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean pictures while George Stevens and his Warner Brothers crew (including aforementioned stars) were shooting “Giant” right outside of town. The dailies were screened across the street at the Texas Theater.
Contributed by
Ian Umlauf
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
The Palace Theatre seated 761 people.
There is a nice photo of this theater in the print version of October’s Traveler Magazine. Their website still shows the September issue – hope it is updated soon.
Here is another photo:
View link
Recent picture of the Palace:
http://rushcreekeditions.com/lfop/
1955 photo added courtesy of the Traces of Texas Facebook page. Palace blade sign on the right above the automobiles. Texas Theater marquee on the left behind the Hotel Paisano Hotel sign above the sidewalk.
The Marfa Opera House was where local residents saw their first films. The venue was first transformed into a movie house at the end of the silent era getting its Palace moniker / sound era name. The theater suffered a projection room explosion which destroyed both it and City Hall following its January 7, 1937 showtimes. Its current streamline moderne look occurred in a rebuilding of the showplace in 1937 by operator Oscar Korn launching as the Palace Theatre June 19, 1937.