DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this corner of Wharton's Courthouse Square. Now, some buildings just stand there. And then there are buildings that seem to reinvent themselves every time the world changes around them — like they've got a deal with history to stay relevant no matter what.
The site right here on Wharton's Courthouse Square is exactly that kind of place. It started, circa 1904, as a two-story brick structure. Practical.
Solid. The kind of thing you build when you mean business. The first floor held a large dining room, and up above, twenty rooms to let.
R. B. Huston and his wife Lula Merriwether Huston owned and operated the Plaza Hotel, and under their watch it became something more than a place to sleep off the road.
Conventions rolled through. Civic clubs gathered. Banquets filled that dining room with the kind of noise and laughter that only happens when a whole community decides a place is theirs.
But Wharton was growing, and the Plaza Hotel was not the type to be left behind. In 1929, a third floor went up — expanding the rooming capacity and, in a touch that tells you something about the ambitions of the people involved, including a small opera house. An opera house.
On the third floor of a hotel on the courthouse square in Wharton, Texas. If that doesn't make you smile, you might want to check your pulse. And that third floor kept on earning its keep.
In July of 1933, Wharton's very first radio station fired up its signal and broadcast from right up there. Then came 1934, and here's a detail that stops you cold if you weren't expecting it — Wharton was one of many cities that participated in the World Bridge Olympics. The local tournament was conducted at the Plaza Hotel.
The World Bridge Olympics. At a hotel in Wharton. You couldn't make that up, and you wouldn't have to.
But 1941 brought a turn. The lot on which the hotel stood was sold to Long-Griffith Theaters. And what happened next happened fast — the hotel was gutted, a movie theater built within that same brick shell, and by March of 1942, a gala grand opening was held.
Same walls. Whole new life. The Plaza Theatre became one of three movie theaters operating in Wharton.
It ran, and ran, and ran — until the 1970s, when it was closed. And you might think that was the end of the story. A lot of places, that would've been the end.
But in 1990, the Community Theater of Wharton reopened the Plaza Theater to provide live entertainment for the region. Same corner. Same brick shell that's been standing since around 1904.
Opera house, radio tower, card tournaments, movies, live theater — this building has held more versions of a community's life than most towns ever dream of fitting into one address. Some places just know how to stay in the game.
What the marker says
Built on Wharton's Courthouse Square, the Plaza Hotel began circa 1904 as a two-story brick structure with a large dining room on the first floor and 20 rooms to let. Owned and operated by R. B. Huston and his wife Lula Merriwether Huston, the Plaza Hotel was the site of many community activities, conventions, and civic and club banquets. A third floor added in 1929 expanded the rooming capacity of the hotel, and included a small opera house. Wharton's first radio station began in July 1933 and operated from the third floor. Wharton was one of many cities that participated in the World Bridge Olympics in 1934; the local tournament was conducted at the Plaza Hotel. The lot on which the hotel stood was sold in 1941 to Long-Griffith Theaters. The hotel was gutted and a movie theater built within the brick shell in 1941, and a gala grand opening was held in March 1942. One of three movie theaters in Wharton, the Plaza Theatre operated until the 1970s, when it was closed. In 1990 the Community Theater of Wharton reopened the Plaza Theater to provide live entertainment for the region. (1997)