DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, along the roads of Hidalgo County, in the town of Mission, there stands a building that holds onto its past like a good story holds onto a listener. They call it the Border Theater, and friend, it is something to behold.
A fine example of mid-20th century motion picture theater design, touched with regional stylistic influences that remind you exactly where on this earth you are standing. The Border Theater was completed in 1942 — right there in the thick of the century, when people needed somewhere to go and lose themselves for a couple of hours. A Dallas architect by the name of William J.
Moore drew up the plans, and a contractor named George Holliday put the thing together, brick by brick, beam by beam, until it could hold seven hundred and forty patrons under one roof. Seven hundred and forty people, all gathered in the dark, waiting for the lights to dim and the magic to begin. Now the owners, Mr. and Mrs.
R. N. Smith, kept their office right there inside the theater itself — close to the action, you might say.
Over time the building picked up a few changes along the way: a raised marquee reaching up toward that South Texas sky, and a tile canopy added to the exterior, giving the place a look that says it belongs right here and nowhere else. The Border Theater still stands as a monument to Mission's architectural and cinematic history — a place where the screen once flickered and seven hundred and forty souls could forget, just for a little while, everything waiting for them outside those doors.
What the marker says
A fine example of a mid-20th century motion picture theater with regional stylistic influences, the Border Theater was completed in 1942. Dallas architect William J. Moore designed the structure, which was built by contactor George Holliday. The theater was large enough for 740 patrons and housed the office of owners Mr. and Mrs. R. N. Smith. Changes to the edifice's exterior include a raised marquee and the addition of a tile canopy. The Border Theater remains a monument to Mission's architectural and cinematic history. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1997