Formerly: Greater Majestic
San Antonio, Texas · Founded 1929 · Building: 1929
San Antonio's 1929 atmospheric movie palace, restored after a 1970s closure and now a National Historic Landmark performance venue.
Majestic Theatre operates at 224 East Houston Street in downtown San Antonio. Architect John Eberson designed it for Karl Hoblitzelle's Interstate Theatres, and it opened on June 14, 1929 as the Greater Majestic, with an atmospheric Spanish-Mediterranean courtyard illusion, a star-lit ceiling, and early sound-film technology. After a 1970s closure, the city acquired and restored the theater, reopening it in 1989 as a live performance venue.
The Royal Theatre occupied the site later used for the Majestic Theatre.
Source: Historic Theatre Photography, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"
The Greater Majestic opened as a Spanish-Mediterranean atmospheric movie palace designed by John Eberson for Karl Hoblitzelle's Interstate Theatres. It had more than 3,700 seats, advanced sound and lighting equipment, and was the first fully air-conditioned theater in Texas.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"; Majestic Empire Foundation, "Preservation: Majestic & Empire"
The Majestic closed during the 1970s as downtown movie-palace business declined. This review did not establish the exact final year of regular movie exhibition.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"; Majestic Empire Foundation, "Preservation: Majestic & Empire"
The Majestic Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"
The City of San Antonio purchased the shuttered theater. Las Casas Foundation, now the Majestic Empire Foundation, launched a restoration campaign.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"; Majestic Empire Foundation, "Preservation: Majestic & Empire"
A $4.5 million restoration was completed and the Majestic reopened as a performing-arts venue with a 2,264-seat capacity.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"; Majestic Empire Foundation, "Preservation: Majestic & Empire"
The Texas Historical Commission recognized the Majestic Theatre as a Texas Historic Landmark.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"
The Majestic Theatre was designated a National Historic Landmark.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"
Majestic Theatre continues to host Broadway touring productions, concerts, comedy, tribute performances, and theater tours in downtown San Antonio.
Source: Majestic Theatre official website; Majestic Theatre visitor-information and event pages
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Texas State Historical Association and the Majestic Empire Foundation identify Eberson as architect, Hoblitzelle as theater magnate, and June 14, 1929 as the opening date. The theater originally opened as the Greater Majestic.
Texas State Historical Association documents that the 1929 Majestic had the latest sound and lighting equipment and was the first fully air-conditioned theater in Texas. The Majestic Empire Foundation describes it more broadly as the first fully air-conditioned public building in Texas; the theater-specific claim is independently supported.
The Majestic's Spanish-Mediterranean atmospheric design is documented as creating an outdoor courtyard effect, with a star-lit sky and clouds overhead. The exact projector technology used should not be specified without a direct architectural or engineering record.
The theater closed during the 1970s, was purchased by the City of San Antonio in 1988, and reopened after restoration in 1989. It is a preserved and active historic theater, not an uninterrupted operating venue from 1929.
Texas State Historical Association identifies the Majestic as San Antonio's oldest and largest atmospheric theatre. This is narrower than an unsupported claim that it is Texas's oldest theater overall.
The Majestic opened in 1929. It is San Antonio's oldest and largest atmospheric theatre, but this review does not support a broader claim that it is Texas's oldest theater building or theater operation.
The Majestic Theatre was designed only as a vaudeville house and did not originally have film equipment.
The Majestic opened in 1929 as a technologically advanced movie palace with modern sound and lighting equipment as well as a stage for live performance.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"
The Majestic Theatre has operated continuously since 1929.
The theater closed during the 1970s, then reopened after City of San Antonio acquisition and a major restoration completed in 1989.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"; Majestic Empire Foundation, "Preservation: Majestic & Empire"
The Majestic Theatre is the old Royal Theatre building.
The Majestic was built in 1929 on the site of the earlier Royal Theatre, which dated to 1909.
Source: Historic Theatre Photography, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"
The Majestic Theatre is Texas's oldest theater.
The Majestic's documented distinction is that it is San Antonio's oldest and largest atmospheric theatre. Its 1929 opening does not establish a Texas-wide oldest-theater title.
Source: Texas State Historical Association, "Majestic Theatre, San Antonio"
The Majestic survived because San Antonio treated its preservation as a civic cultural project. City acquisition in 1988, a Las Casas Foundation fundraising campaign that raised $4.5 million, and a major 1989 restoration transformed a deteriorating movie palace into a modern Broadway, concert, and performing-arts house without erasing its distinctive atmospheric architecture.
Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas, opened on June 14, 1929 as the Greater Majestic, an atmospheric movie palace designed by John Eberson for Karl Hoblitzelle's Interstate Theatres. It closed during the 1970s but was purchased by the City of San Antonio in 1988, restored with support from the Las Casas Foundation, and reopened in 1989 as a performing-arts venue. The theater became a National Historic Landmark on April 19, 1993.
No. The Majestic Theatre is not established as Texas's oldest theater overall; it opened in 1929. Its documented distinction is being San Antonio's oldest and largest atmospheric theatre, and it is celebrated for its 1920s movie-palace architecture and 1989 preservation-led reopening.
Yes. When the Majestic opened in 1929, it was the first fully air-conditioned theater in Texas. Its air conditioning, sound equipment, and more than 3,700-seat original auditorium made it one of the South's most technologically advanced movie palaces.
Yes. Majestic Theatre remains an active downtown San Antonio performance venue at 224 East Houston Street. It hosts Broadway touring productions, concerts, comedy, tribute shows, and occasional tours; access and box-office arrangements vary by event day.
224 E Houston St, San Antonio, TX 78205
The theater generally opens only before ticketed performances. Check the current event calendar, ticket instructions, and parking guidance before visiting.