DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. You're rolling through Travis County now, and there's a story attached to this stretch of Austin that goes back over a hundred years. The year is 1915, and a businessman named Ernest Nalle has decided that this city deserves something grand.
So he builds it. A theatre. And he doesn't call in just anybody to design the thing — he reaches all the way to Chicago, to the architectural firm of Eberson, Fugard, and Knapp.
Then he hands the local work to architect George Endress to see it through to completion. The result? A showplace they called the Majestic.
That name alone tells you something about the ambition behind it. The Majestic. Like it dared you to be unimpressed.
Ernest Nalle, born in 1876, had a vision for what a building could mean to a city, and from the moment those doors swung open, the Majestic delivered. Traveling vaudeville shows rolled through. Dramatic productions filled that stage.
Musical acts, motion pictures — if it was worth watching, it found a home there. Then the 1930s arrived, and somebody decided that grand wasn't grand enough. The theatre was renamed — the Paramount now — and lavishly remodeled.
Lavishly. That's the marker's own word, and I don't think it's one you throw around lightly. So picture it: a building already built to impress, now dressed up even finer, wearing a new name like a performer stepping into the spotlight.
Ernest Nalle lived until 1950, long enough to see what he'd set in motion back in 1915 endure through decades of change. The Majestic became the Paramount, and the Paramount kept right on shining. Some things, it turns out, are built to last.
What the marker says
Originally called the “Majestic,” this theatre was erected in 1915 by businessman Ernest Nalle (1876-1950). Designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Eberson, Fugard, and Knapp, it was constructed under the direction of local architect George Endress. During the 1930s, the theatre was renamed the “Paramount” and was lavishly remodeled. Since its opening, the theatre has been a showcase for traveling vaudeville shows, dramatic and musical stage productions, and motion pictures. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark -- 1976