6 May 28 - June 3, 2026 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Finer Things in a New Life A deep look at the historic Denton institution, from its 1877 roots to its slated revival later this year, which promises a new life as a cultural hub. BY PRESTON BARTA B efore Denton had streaming, multiplexes or group chats de- bating what to watch on a Fri- day night, it had the Denton Square. And before the square’s moviegoing history settled into local mem- ory, it flickered across storefronts, opera houses and downtown facades that kept changing names. That long arc of Denton cinema was the subject of a deep-dive presentation at the Denton County Courthouse on May 15, where locals gathered to hear Curator of Collections Kim Cupit, Aviation Cinemas founding partner Jason Reimer and Axis Realty Group’s Brad Andrus trace the story of the Fine Arts Theatre from its 19th-cen- tury roots on North Elm Street to its next act. The event was part local history semi- nar, part progress report and part love letter to a building that has spent years standing silent on the square while people wondered whether it would ever live again. The answer now appears to be yes. And not in a half-assed, museum-piece way. The Fine Arts Theatre is being restored as a working cultural space for modern Den- ton: a movie theater, yes, but also a venue built for live music, comedy and the kind of communal experiences that downtowns need if they want to stay alive after dark. Based on that presentation earlier this month, the current reopening target is Sep- tember. If that timeline holds, one of North Texas’ most storied theater buildings will soon return not as a relic, but as a living room for the city. Movie History on the Square Cupit’s historical overview made clear that Denton did not stumble late into movie cul- ture. Films were being shown on the square as early as 1904. By 1909, the short-lived Majestic Theater had opened as the city’s first dedicated movie theater. In 1913, the Dreamland arrived on North Elm Street, helping establish what became known as “Theater Row.” From there, Denton’s cinematic geogra- phy grew richer and more crowded. The Majestic became the Princess. The Dream- land Theater (currently occupied by Cart- wright’s Ranch House) joined a lineup that eventually included the Strand, the Palace, the Ritz and the Campus Theatre. Names changed, buildings were reworked and screens cycled through openings and clos- ings. But for decades, downtown Denton was a place where moviegoing was woven into ordinary civic life. The Fine Arts did not emerge in isolation. It belongs to a larger local tradition of exhi- bition, performance and downtown enter- tainment reflective of Denton’s reputation as an arts enclave in North Texas. The his- tory of cinema in Denton is not solely the story of one beloved theater, obviously. But it is the story of a town that repeatedly made room for shared cultural spaces, and the Fine Arts Theatre is among the footnotes. Previous Lives One of the most fascinating threads from the courthouse presentation was just how many identities this building has worn. The site opened as the Graham Opera House in 1877. Long before digital projec- tion and repertory screenings, it was already a place designed for performance and public gathering. In later years, the building became home to furniture and undertaking businesses, includ- ing Magil and Shep- ard Furniture and Undertaking, and later, George Morrill Fur- niture Store. Then came the movie palace era. On Aug. 28, 1935, the space opened as the Texas Theatre. That chapter connected Denton to a golden age of American movie- going, when theaters elevated the art of filmmaking. Architecture, signage and inte- rior decoration all worked together to turn a night at the movies into an event. In 1957, the Texas was remodeled and reopened as the Fine Arts Theatre. The re- design gave the building the name most Denton residents still use, along with a midcentury visual identity people con- tinue to remember vividly: the red-and- blue facade, the comedy and tragedy masks and the painted murals that became part of the theater’s mythology. The build- ing also had a third-floor balcony that, into the 1960s, was at times used as segregated seating — a reminder that these beloved civic spaces also carried a history of racial inequities of the times. Inside, the theater once featured four large murals depicting London, Paris, Ven- ice and Madrid. During the May 15 presen- tation, attendees heard the kind of detail that gives local history its texture: the mu- rals were likely commissioned and created by students at Texas Woman’s University, painted on cardboard. The much-discussed elephant alongside the Eiffel Tower mural on the north wall, still lodged in local mem- ory, was based on a Paris postcard image. That is the sort of accidental poetry old the- aters collect over time — high style trans- lated through local hands, then remembered for decades. Rescue’s Beginning Every restoration story has a hinge moment. For the Fine Arts, it came when Andrus, who had once been hired to sell the prop- erty, connected with Reimer, whose experi- ence with Oak Cliff’s Texas Theatre made him an unusually credible steward for a building like this. Reimer helped convince Andrus not to let the Fine Arts slip away. Too many his- toric theaters survive just long enough to become cautionary tales — they sit empty, then compromised, then impossible. The Fine Arts was edging toward that familiar fate before a different idea took hold. NorthBridge Realty Holdings bought the property in 2018 and brought Reimer in to oversee programming and operations. That partnership appears to have set the project on its current course: preservation without nostalgia paralysis, and redevelopment that respects what the building was while being honest about what it needs to become. If you have watched the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff evolve into a genuine cultural insti- tution in Dallas, you can see why Denton resi- dents are paying attention. Reimer is not treating the Fine Arts like a decorative revival with nostalgia bait. The aim is a functioning venue with enough flexibility to serve pres- ent-day habits, not just past-day memories. Fine Arts’ New Life The walkthrough after the presentation gave attendees something history alone can- not provide: a look at the building in transi- tion. Inside, the Fine Arts currently feels suspended between ruin and rebirth. Work- ers are in the middle of asbestos and mold remediation, the kind of unglamorous labor every serious restoration requires. Yet the future is already legible in the plans. The renovated venue is expected to in- clude downstairs seating for around 240 people, designed to accommodate live music as well as film. There are plans for a second-floor bar and a multifloor layout that broadens the building’s use beyond a single-screen theater model. That matters because survival now depends on versatil- ity. A downtown venue cannot rely only on ▼ Culture Preston Barta FINE ARTS FEELS SUSPENDED BETWEEN RUIN AND REBIRTH. The Fine Arts Theatre under renovation, showing murals of Paris and London.
