STRATEGIC PRIORITY: Economic and Neighborhood Vitality
AGENDA DATE: October 13, 2021
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):|910|DEPARTMENT: Office of Historic Preservation
EXECUTIVE: Dr. Eric A. Johnson
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SUBJECT
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Authorize a historic preservation tax exemption for the Texas Theater located at 231 West Jefferson Avenue - Revenue Foregone: $132,039.00
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BACKGROUND
Article XI of the Dallas Development Code established the Historic Preservation Tax Incentive Program, which allows property owners to receive tax exemptions for restorations of historic properties. Dallas Development Code Section 11.201(e) requires that City Council review any exemption over $50,000.00.
Constructed in 1931, the Texas Theatre was designed by architect W. Scott Dunne. The "Texas," the largest suburban theater in Texas when it was built, is an "atmospheric" theater, a genre designed to enhance the fantasy and exoticism of the movies. The two-story building, originally owned by C. R. McHenry, is located at the commercial heart of the community of Oak Cliff. The original appearance of the theater evoked an Italian medieval structure with Venetian influences expressed in the decorative brickwork and stone. The interior of the theater was designed with a Venetian court theme, complete with sound effects, clouds and a night sky of 118 twinkling stars in the auditorium. The original movie equipment was Motiograph Deluxe sound equipment, an extreme rarity at the time. The cooling and ventilating system was almost entirely invisible to the audience and consisted of two blowers powered by ten horsepower motors. In warm weather, the air was cooled through water. A renovation prior to 1956 resulted in the addition of stucco over the brick and stone fa?ade. On November 22, 1963, following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Lee Harvey Oswald was apprehended in the auditorium, propelling the Texas Theatre into the internationa...
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