Burntex Theatre

George Shaw of the Lantex Theatre in Llano announced a competitor to Burnet’s Lone Star Theatre when he built a $20,000, 250-seat theatre on the East Side of the Square in 1929. Opening temporarily as one of Shaw Theatres, he held a contest for $5 in gold ($1,000 in contemporary times) for a name that wasn’t a “stock” moniker disallowing Majestic, Palace, Queen, and the like.

The new theatre opened on June 28, 1929 and the “Burn-Tex” was the winner courtesy of Mrs. Debo. (Her son, Berton Debo, was given honorable mention for Bur-Tex Theatre - a letter shy of the gold, however.) When the signage came, it was simply the Burntex Theatre.

Meanwhile, the Lone Star changed names to the Happy Hour Theatre. But the Depression hit, the Happy Hour was no more and five different operators - including Burnet’s first exhibitrix in Mrs. W.W. McNatt - struggled to keep the Burntex Theatre going in a four year stretch. The venue added an inexpensive sound system in 1931.

It was sixth operator Tommy “T.J.” White and his wife who found the magic in 1933. Business conditions improved, a modern sound system helped presentations, and the building was expanded to 460 seats in 1935 as the town was nearly doubling from around 1,000 to just under 2,000 residents.

In 1946, Dickinson Amusement took control of the venue and the Lantex Theatre. Dickinson also created a subsidiary, Tex Theatres Inc., for its small-town lone star state venues which turned out to be short-lived. The Burntex Theatre suffered a minor fire in early-1949 leading to a new front - and its Streamline Moderne style - with a reduced seat count of 400.

Meanwhile, the Whites had re-entered the local theatrical space building a modern post-War theatre in the launch of the Texas Theatre on May 21, 1948, re-assuming control of the Burntex Theatre, and the building of the Holiday Drive-In on June 1, 1956. The Burntex Theatre was the only venue not to be upgraded to widescreen presentation.

When the Texas Theatre opened in 1948, the Burntex Theatre was downgraded to weekend operation only and then seasonal operation with the launch of the Drive-In. Locals contend a 1959 closure which seems plausible. The venue has since been demolished.

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