MITTE FOUNDATION GETS RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL TO STUDY HISTORICAL RESTORATION OF ICONIC BROWNSVILLE LANDMARK

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

If you were raised in Brownsville, you will no doubt remember Saturday mornings at the Majestic Theater where you could see a movie for a quarter and still have change left over for a popcorn and a soft drink. 

That was followed by Sunday sneak previews of coming movies after which you'd go across the street to Fisher's Cafe for a burger and Coke.

City of Brownsville commissioner Roy De los Santos – who is also a member of the board of the Mitte Foundation –  has confirmed that the foundation has entered into a six-month contract with the owners to undertake a feasibility study to restore the iconic movie house at the corner of 12th and E. Elizabeth.

"The contract is between the owners and the Mitte Foundation," De los Santos said. "The city is not involved in the agreement." 

The Cameron County Appraisal District indicates that the owners are Buxani K. and Shobha Chander, represented by Majestic Investments Inc.

According to the city's downtown website, it was built in 1948, designed by the firm of Pettigrew and Worley, and was part of the interstate movie theater chain founded by Karl St. John Hoblitzelle. 

Interstate was an influential vaudeville and later movie theater company in the South. The building has stylistic influences of the modern architectural movement. The interior features Art Deco murals, stairway and terrazzo floors. Portions of the original façade, including the theater marquee, still remain.

The website also says that the Majestic Theatre was a textbook example of Art Deco style design when it opened in 1949, but neglect combined with proximity to Mexico (so that the population center of Brownsville moved steadily farther and farther away to the north) reduced it in its final years to showing second run films downstairs and adult fare in the converted balcony in the evenings.

Photographer Cosmos Mariner posted that: "Those of us who grew up here remember going to the Majestic Theater. On Saturday, a quarter would get you in to the show and you’d have enough left over to get some popcorn and pop. Those days are gone, but not forgotten. Those were the days when you could also go down another two blocks on Elizabeth, turn right and go to the Capitol to see the standard “Land that Time Forgot” for the same price. There was also the Grande Theater.

"Although the chain had theaters throughout the South, its primary location and center of operations was in Texas. The flagship theater buildings in Dallas and San Antonio still remain. Majestic theaters were considered “the most significant Texas exhibition chain until the decline of the downtown theater and the rise of the multiplex in the late-sixties and early seventies.” 

The Brownsville building has housed several businesses since the theater closed in the 1970s. Portions of the façade, including the marquee, still remain. Only portions of lobby murals remain of the original interior design.

Incredibly, it is not individually listed on the National Register despite being located in a National Register District, is also located in a local district, and is not listed as a local Landmark even though it is eligible for Historic Tax Credit.

"We're going to see whether it's feasible to restore it to it's greatness." De los Santos said. "It's an integral part of our Brownsville history."