Majestic Theatre #3
124 E. Capitol Street,
Jackson,
MS
39201
124 E. Capitol Street,
Jackson,
MS
39201
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Publix-Saenger, Saenger Amusement Company
Previous Names: New Majestic Theatre
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This long-gone downtown Jackson movie house was opened on October 22, 1915 on East Capitol Street. It was the 3rd theatre in Jackson to operate with the Majestic name. In 1926 it was taken over by the Saenger Amusements chain. It remained in operation until 1951, when it was closed.
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Bryan
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Movie Theaters in Twentieth-Century Jackson, Mississippi, by Jerry Dallas (PDF here– see page 4) says that there were two adjacent houses Capitol Street called the New Majestic Theatre. The first house opened on September 14, 1913, at 126 E. Capitol Street, and the second, soon built on the adjacent lot at 124 E. Capitol, opened on October 22, 1915. The first New Majestic was then remodeled for use as a Woolworth 5&10 cent store.
The second New Majestic opened with 1,250 seats, and was designed in the Spanish Renaissance style. At some time after the Paramount Theatre opened across the street (both houses were under the same ownership), the Majestic was relegated to second runs, and it closed in July, 1951.
There was also the original Majestic Theatre, located in the 100 block of West Capitol Street. After the first New Majestic opened, the Old Majestic continued to operate until the fall of 1914. A footnote says that by the time it closed it was known as the Little Majestic Theatre.
This photo of the Majestic shows a bit of the first New Majestic Theatre building in the background, after it had been converted into a Woolworth store (right click on this photo to select larger sizes.)
Opened on September 15th, 1913 Grand opening ad:
Once operated by Publix.
Houston D. Bowers was a movie pioneer in Jackson. He would operate four different Jackson Theatres using Majestic. Majestic Theatre “#1” / Majestic Theatre No. 1 at 113 West Capitol Street; Gem Theatre / Majestic Theatre No. 2 at 139 East Capitol; the New Majestic Theatre / Majestic Theatre “#2” at 126 E. Capitol; and the long-running New Majestic / Majestic Theatre “#3” here at 124 E. Capitol. His tagline was “Houston Bowers: The Man who Put Move in Movies” (see photos).
Houston and his brother Joe bought a retail operation called Lightning Cash Store and transformed it to Bowers Bros. in 1899. Houston then operated his first nickelodeon, the short-lived Theatorium at on February 7, 1907 with “San Francisco Earthquake and Fire,” “Moonlight Dreams,” and “Fighting the Flames” at 120 West Capitol. It competed apparently unsuccessfully with the Jackson Theatorium which opened on March 16, 1907 at 117 North State by by W.P Flinn, its near neighbor, the Marvel Theatorium - the Theatorium’s neighbor at 113 North State Street opening June 14, 1907 and the longer-running Dixie Theatorium / Dixie Theatre at 216 S. State by Jack Hall.
Majestic Theatre #1 / Majestic No. 1 and Majestic No. 2 (aka Gem): The brothers store was bought out by R.E. Kennington who hired the Bowers Brothers at his store. Houston Bowers decided to get back into movie theatre operation opening the Majestic Theatre “#1” at 113 West Capitol Street on March 6, 1911. His movie house had first-run films and a $3,500 pipe organ - something that was uncommon in that era of nickelodeons in Jackson. Mrs. Katherine Woodford operated the competing Gem Theatre that had opened in 1910 and she was the first female film operator in town. Bowers leased that theatre at 139 East Capitol renaming it Majestic Theatre No. 2 with the original being renamed as Majestic Theatre No. 1.
New Majestic Theatre / Majestic Theatre “#2”: Bowers opened a much more significant movie theatre in the first era of movie palaces with the New Majestic at 126 East Capitol on September 14, 1913. Majestic No. 2 was sold and returned to its original Gem Theatre namesake operating to 1917. Majestic #1 on West Capitol operated just a little longer during the State Fair of 1913 before closing.
New Majestic / Majestic Theatre “#3”. The final Majestic had a 35 year run is is most remembered for its sound era operation. Majestic Theatre “#2” turned out to be undersized as movies became more profitable and better attended than live stage plays and, in many cases, live vaudeville. Bowers would sell the venue to F.W. Woolworth’s dime store which would run more than 60 years in that location. Bowers had purchased the neighboring building at 124 E. Capitol and had it razed for a new-build, very large capacity (1,800 people) New Majestic / Majestic Theatre “#3” was ready on October 22, 1915 for a soft opening with Geraldine Farrar in “Carmen.” He incorporated his entertainment company based on the theater’s opening and with designs on becoming a chain operator.
The theatre had a main floor of around 1,000 patrons with a second balcony for smokers and a third balcony for African American patrons - about 400 cap each said to be very tight. Unfortunately, just prior to the theatre’s launch, Bowers' wife, Octavine Bowers died at around age 40. Two months after the soft launch the grand opening event was just five days away from its grand opening with a major film star en route. Then Houston Bowers, dropped dead at age 44 on December 28, 1915.
His brother found a successor in his boss: dry goods store owner R.E. Kennington in April of 1916. Kennington drew up plans to modernize the theatre (as seen in photos) and - as Kennington’s Majestic Theatre (Majestic Theatre #3” ver. 2.0 - would promptly be gutted by fire in January of 1917. It would reopen on April 17, 1917 with a new look.
Saenger Amusement of New Orleans took on the Century Theatre with live programming in 1917. They made a bold move pairing up with Kennington to make the Majestic Theatre a real movie palace in 1926. Kennington-Saenger’s New Majestic Theatre #3 ver. 3.0 opened June 14, 1926. This was theatre which people remembered because it was downsized to 980 seats and given a $25,000 Morton Organ which was largely built in place of the third balcony other than the console.
The final significant transition was Majestic #3 ver. 3.5 - the addition of Vitaphone sound on September 13, 1928 with “Glorious Betsy.” In the 1930s, it was equipped with sound-on-film replacing discs. In June of 1929, Publix acquired the Majestic, Century and Istrione theaters. But streamline palaces such as the Saenger’s Paramount and the upgrading of the Century Theatre put the Majestic into a third-tier spot. When post-War suburban movie houses, drive-ins, and television put a crimp in business, the Majestic’s days were numbered. Under final operator Paramount-Gulf Theatres, the Majestic closed July 14, 1951 with Rod Cameron in “Oh, Susanna” supported by a cartoon and a newsreel.
Woolworth’s - which had bought the earlier Majestic Theatre #2 - now purchased Majestic Theatre #3 to expand to a larger store that operated all the way to April of 1977. In their tearing out of the old theatre, give Woolworth’s a ton of credit for properly de-installing the moribund Robert Morton organ console from the pit and its mechanics from the third balcony at their expense and properly documenting its donation. Woolworth’s was operating on a 40-year lease. But in 1976, the City of Jackson announced a plan to buy and raze 17 properties for a downtown revitalization project which took out the former Majestic #2, #3 and still operating Woolworth. Woolworth’s closed in April of 1977 and the building was razed thereafter.