Main Street Matters, November 2014 Page: 2
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with your community to help
restore your historic theaters.
Texas Theater, Kingsville
Written by Cynthia Martin, Downtown
Manager, Dept. of Tourism & Heritage,
City of Kingsville
A new page in the history of
Kingsville's Texas Theater started
in May of 2013, when a San
Antonio businessman, Cal Collins,
purchased the deteriorating
downtown theater. Built in
1950 according to a design by
prolific Dallas theater architect,
Jack Corgan, the theater was,
according to long-time resident
Ben Figueroa, "the place to be
in Kingsville in the 1950's and
1960's" on date night. Mr. Collins
has been producing and directing
musicals for 20 years and had
always wanted a theater of his own.
However, he had a larger vision-
to provide the community with
a new downtown attraction that
could be used by the community
for a variety of events-a vision
shared by Kingsville Main Street.
Mr. Collins applied for and
received a facade improvement
grant for $45,000 from the City
of Kingsville in recognition of theimportance of this project as a
catalyst for further development in
a downtown block that included)
If --
RU INUSS ME5
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Texas Theater's interior and 1950 facade. Image courtesy Kingsville Main Streeta number of vacant buildings.
Kingsville Main Street Manager,
Cynthia Martin, provided
technical assistance on design
and material issues that came
up during work in progress on
the theater. She worked with the
owner to facilitate the logistics of
the project such as coordinating
removal of demolition and
construction debris; arranging with
the City to have the street tree in
front of the theater trimmed to
make way for the restoration of
the vertical "Texas" sign and the
marquee; assisting with the choice
and procurement of exterior paint
for the facade; and documenting
the project and keeping it in the
public eye to stimulate interest in
hope for development of nearby
properties.
Owner Cal Collins, says the
restoration will likely take two
years as the theater hasn't beenproperly used for about 30 years.
But once done, he says "it will be a
centerpiece for downtown."
Fair Theatre, Plainview
Written by Andrew Freeman, Assistant City
Manager, City ofPlainview
Since being purchased in 1994
by the City of Plainview, and
reopened in October 1999, the
Fair Theater has re-established
itself in the cultural fabric of
Plainview.
The Fair Theatre originally
opened as a silent movie house
in 1925. It has undergone many
a transformation, from a popular
movie house, to a vaudeville
showcase, to an empty shuttered
building, to the jewel in the crown
of downtown Plainview.
In an effort to promote
tourism and recapture a bit of10
I ipotncfiJTi poec aKingsville's Texas Theater is currently under renovation. Before (left), During (center), and near completion (right), Image Cour
Main Streettesy Kingsville
2 TEXAS HISTORICAL COMMISSION Texas Main Street Program
J I
www.thc.state.tx.us
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Texas Historical Commission. Main Street Matters, November 2014, periodical, November 2014; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1551313/m1/2/?rotate=90: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.