Texas Theatre

The Texas Theatre was financed by film producer and aviator Howard Hughes. It was unveiled in Dallas's Oak Cliff neighborhood in 1931.

The theatre is better known as the site where Lee Harvey Oswald was captured not long after assassinating President John F. Kennedy and a local police officer.  Following the incident, the theatre underwent massive renovations as the owners attempted to distance themselves from the incident. The gorgeous Venetian design was covered over by a mid-century, Spanish-style stucco.

In 2001, the Oak Cliff Foundation purchased the building. It was then renovated and later added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. The theater was formally re-opened in 2010, becoming a fully functional cinema and event space. Further renovations have continued to expand and make the space accessible while maintaining the historical significance of the theater.

Currently, the main cinema seats 670 patrons while the upstairs cinema seats 165 patrons. Each year on November 22, the Texas Theater hosts JFK Day, recognizing the historic significance of the theater. The day includes a screening of War is Hell, the movie that was being played during Lee Harvey Oswald’s arrest. Afterward, the theater screens Cry of Battle, which was on the marquee for that day but likely never shown. Admission to both films is only $0.90, the same admission price as it was on that fateful day.