Texas Theatre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Texas Theatre | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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The Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas
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| Location: | 231 W. Jefferson Blvd. Dallas, Texas |
| Coordinates: | 32°44′36″N 96°49′31″W / 32.74333°N 96.82528°W |
| Added to NRHP: | April 1, 2003 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 03000187 |
The Texas Theatre is a performing arts theater located in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas. Formerly a movie theater, it gained historical fame for being the place Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of President John F. Kennedy and Dallas police officer J. D. Tippit, was arrested after a brief fight.
On November 22, 1963, shortly after the fatal shooting of President Kennedy and the wounding of Texas governor John Connally (who was the front seat passenger in the Kennedy limousine) at 12:30 p.m. and the fatal shooting of Officer Tippit at approximately 1:16 p.m., Oswald entered the Texas Theatre shortly after 1:30 p.m. without paying for a ticket, ostensibly to avoid police. They were later informed by the assistant manager that a man had entered the theater without paying. The films being presented on that day were Cry of Battle and War Is Hell. Oswald briefly viewed the latter.
As a commemoration to the historic capture, the words "Lee Harvey Oswald, November 22, 1963" were later painted in gold paint on the chair Oswald occupied, which is the fifth seat from the aisle in the third to last row.
When first opened in 1931, the Texas Theatre was the largest suburban movie theater in Dallas and was part of a chain of theaters once owned by Howard Hughes.
Following its closure in 1989, the Texas Theatre was refurbished in 2003 as part of an renewal by the city's officials, and it now plays host to a variety of community events. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in the same year.

