Texas Theatre, Movie theater in Oak Cliff, Dallas, United States
The Texas Theatre is a light-colored, flat-fronted cinema in Oak Cliff, Dallas. A tall vertical sign on the left of the facade stacks orange panels with blue letters spelling "TEXAS", alternating with red stars. Three arched windows sit above a horizontal marquee reading "MORRIS FILM AMERICA", with blue and yellow panels at its ends.
The building opened in 1931 as part of a cinema chain operated by Howard Hughes across several American cities. In November 1963 police arrested Lee Harvey Oswald inside the auditorium, bringing national attention to the site.
The theater's name comes from its home state, and its 1931 opening was financed by Howard Hughes as part of his chain. Since 2010 Aviation Cinemas has run it as an independent repertory cinema, and the Oak Cliff Foundation restored the building. A historical marker installed in front in November 2017 records Oswald's arrest in the auditorium.
The theater is a two-screen venue since its September 2021 reopening, with 670 seats in the main auditorium and 165 in the balcony. A historical marker stands in front of the building, and the marquee faces the street. It operates as an independent repertory cinema, so check the program before visiting.
The seat where Lee Harvey Oswald was supposedly sitting, three rows from the rear and five seats from the aisle, was later marked in gold paint with his name and the date November 22, 1963. Manager Butch Burroughs had already taken the original chair home and replaced it; the FBI confiscated the substitute the next day as evidence.
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