Border Theater facts for kids
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Border Theater
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Border Theater in 2014
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 Border Theater
Location in Texas
Border Theater
Location in the United States
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| Location | 905 North Conway Blvd. Mission, Texas |
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| Area | less than 1 acre (0.40 ha) |
| Built | 1942 |
| Built by | George Holliday |
| Architect | William J. Moore |
| Architectural style | Pueblo Revival |
| MPS | Mission, Hidalgo County MPS (64500644) |
| NRHP reference No. | 98001124 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | 28 August 1998 |
The Border Theater is a cool old movie theater in Mission, Texas. It's right in the middle of the city's main shopping area. Built way back in 1942, it's still a place where people go for fun today! It's so special that it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
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A Theater for Everyone
The Border Theater was the most important movie house for Robert N. and Dell Smith. They owned several theaters in the Rio Grande Valley. They hired William J. Moore, an architect from Dallas, to design the building. George Holliday was the main builder.
The theater opened on April 3, 1942. A big reason for building it was the opening of Moore Army Air Corps Field in 1941. This brought many new people to the area who wanted entertainment. The first movie shown was a Roy Rogers film called Heart of the Rio Grande.
Cool Design and Features
The outside of the theater looks like Pueblo Revival architecture. This style uses a lot of stucco, which is a type of plaster. It also has fake wooden beams called vigas and thick wooden supports called lintels above the doors.
A big sign, called a marquee, sticks out from the front of the building. It has the theater's name in large red letters. There's also a five-sided ticket booth. It's decorated with terracotta tiles and other pretty tiles showing scenes from the Southwest.
Inside the Theater
The theater has seats for 500 people. There's a main floor and a balcony. The balcony still has its original "Floating Comfort" seats. The seats on the main floor were updated in 1967.
Two large murals cover the long side walls of the theater. These paintings show beautiful scenes of Hispanic life from the area's past. When the theater first opened, these murals were painted with special fluorescent paint. This meant they would glow under a blacklight when the regular house lights were turned down. An artist named E. Risser painted them in 1942.
Building Details
The Border Theater is two or three stories tall. It faces east onto Conway Boulevard. It stands out among the other buildings on the block because of its unique design. The building is made with a wood frame and brick. The side walls have steps and brickwork that make them look strong. These tall walls can be seen above the nearby buildings.
The building also used to have other spaces. There was a small shop next to the entrance. On the north side, there was another commercial space with big display windows. Upstairs, there were offices, a clinic, and even two apartments.
Changes Over Time
The theater has had some updates over the years. In the 1990s, a metal cover over the front was replaced with a narrow hip roof made of Spanish tiles. The movie screen was also updated in 1952 to a wide Cinemascope screen.
Even with these changes, the Border Theater still looks and feels much like it did when it was first built. It's a great example of Pueblo Revival architecture. This style is quite rare in the area, where Spanish Colonial Revival architecture is more common. A special marker nearby, Texas Historical Marker #12060, tells about the Border Theater being named a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark in 1997.
See also
