DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just here to make sure you hear every word of it. This is the story of the Queen Theatre, right here in Bryan, Brazos County. Now settle in, because this one's got layers.
A movie theatre has been at this location since 1913. That's before the First World War, before talking pictures, before most of the modern world had any idea what was coming. And it's been called The Queen since 1914.
But to understand what you're looking at, you've got to go back even further — back to 1889, when the three-story Stoddard Hotel was built right here on this very spot. A hotel that grand, on this corner, with a movie house tucked inside it. That's how Bryan did things.
Then along came the Schulman family. They purchased the theatre business in 1926, and then in 1938 they went ahead and bought the building itself. And apparently, once you own the whole thing, you start thinking big — because what came next was not a renovation.
It was a transformation. The Schulman family replaced the old structure with a modern building, steel framework, air conditioning, indirect lighting. The whole design came from Pettigrew and Worley of Dallas.
And the crowning touch — and I do mean crowning — was a tall, white façade topped with a revolving, neon-lit crown. A crown. For a theatre called The Queen.
On November 21, 1939, the doors swung open again. And that theatre ran for over thirty years. Now, nothing shining like that runs forever.
The building eventually went vacant. Fell into disrepair. Sat there on Main Street like a forgotten promise.
But in 2010, the Downtown Bryan Association purchased the building and restoration began. And here's the thing worth knowing as you look at it today — the Queen is the only example of Streamline Moderne architecture on Main Street. The only one.
That revolving crown didn't just top a theatre. It topped an era.
What the marker says
QUEEN THEATRE A MOVIE THEATRE HAS BEEN AT THIS LOCATION SINCE 1913 AND NAMED "THE QUEEN" SINCE 1914. IT WAS ORIGINALLY LOCATED IN THE THREE-STORY STODDARD HOTEL BUILT HERE IN 1889. THE SCHULMAN FAMILY PURCHASED THE THEATRE BUSINESS IN 1926 AND THE BUILDING IN 1938. IT WAS REPLACED BY A MODERN STRUCTURE WITH STEEL FRAMEWORK, AIR CONDITIONING AND INDIRECT LIGHTING DESIGNED BY PETTIGREW AND WORLEY OF DALLAS. THE TALL, WHITE FA��ADE WAS TOPPED WITH A REVOLVING, NEON-LIT CROWN. IT REOPENED ON NOV. 21, 1939 AND CONTINUED FOR OVER 30 YEARS. VACANT AND IN DISREPAIR, THE BUILDING WAS PURCHASED BY THE DOWNTOWN BRYAN ASSOCIATION IN 2010 AND RESTORATION BEGAN. THE QUEEN IS THE ONLY EXAMPLE OF STREAMLINE MODERNE ARCHITECTURE ON MAIN STREET.