Site of Majestic Theatre
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
At the turn of the century Ft. Worth's live entertainment consisted chiefly of saloon, dance hall, church, and school presentations. Matters changed in 1905 when Karl Hoblitzelle founded the Interstate Amusement Company and chose Ft. Worth for its Southwest Vaudeville Theater Circuit. One of Interstate's famous "Atmospheric" Majestic Theaters was built at Tenth and Commerce streets (one block south) in 1910-11. The Majestic's lavish interior included Turkish rugs, French doors and mirrors, plush Spanish leather upholstery and a lobby with marble floors, hand-painted walls, and 18 karat gold leaf ceilings. The 1,356-seat theater reportedly contained the country's first indirect stage lighting system and the country's largest concrete arch, an 80-foot balcony support beam. Performers on Ft. Worth's Majestic stage included Will Rogers, Walter Huston, Tallulah Bankhead, and Fred Allen. The Theater added feature movies to its vaudeville program in 1922 and in 1932 discontinued its vaudeville presentations. Thereafter strictly a motion picture theater the Majestic fell on hard times and closed in 1953. Despite efforts to restore it, the Majestic was razed in 1970 to make room for the new Tarrant County Convention Center. (1993)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Before 1905, Fort Worth's live entertainment meant saloons, dance halls, and church socials — until Karl Hoblitzelle founded the Interstate Amusement Company and made the city a stop on his vaudeville circuit. Built in 1910–11, the lavish "Atmospheric" Majestic Theatre dazzled with Turkish rugs, gold-leaf ceilings, marble floors, and reportedly the nation's first indirect stage lighting. Will Rogers, Tallulah Bankhead, and Fred Allen all performed here before the theater turned to movies and was finally razed in 1970.
Why it matters
The Majestic charts the golden age of American vaudeville and its slow surrender to the movies, a transformation that played out in ornate downtown theaters nationwide.
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Related people
- · Karl Hoblitzelle
- · Will Rogers
- · Walter Huston
- · Tallulah Bankhead
- · Fred Allen
Themes & tags
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