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Ritz (Austin, Texas)
Encyclopedia
The Ritz is a historic theater in the 6th Street district in Austin, Texas
. The building's history includes use as a movie theater, music hall, club, and comedy house. It reopened after renovations in fall 2007 as the new downtown location for the Alamo Drafthouse
.
, the founding dean of the University of Texas School of Architecture, who also designed the Austin History Center
(originally the Austin Public Library). The Ritz was originally a long narrow space, and was segregated
like most movie theaters in Texas and other southern states at that time; there was a separate entrance leading to a balcony reserved for people of color.
The theater opened on 6th Street on October 13, 1929. It showed primarily first-run westerns with a lower ticket price than any other theater in town and frequently brought in stars like Wild Bill Elliott and Dub Taylor
, along with country music acts who performed before the movies.
In 1937, Hegman's son Elmo took over management and expanded the theater to 800 seats by widening the theater by 25 feet. He continued showing Westerns until television siphoned off the audience; Elmo closed the theater in 1964.
Cary White, the production designer for The Faculty
and Spy Kids
, amongst other movies, was the projectionist and janitor at the Ritz during some of its last days as a movie house.
The theater remained shuttered until 1970, when it re-opened for three years as an adult theater
. In October 1974, entrepreneurs Jim Franklin (artist)
and Bill Livinggood renovated the theater and opened the doors as a music venue, offering an eclectic mix of programming from classical to rock and including live theater and movies. This was also short-lived, and the club closed in 1975. Several other groups moved in over the years. The Center Stage theater group took it over in 1977, closing off the balcony to make a second, separate theater. Again, the venue didn't last long and the late 1970s saw a serious decline in the theater's fortunes, including another stint into porn exhibition.
In 1981, Shannon Sedwick and Michael Shelton took out a lease and turned management over to Craig Underwood, who began running the venue as a punk rock club. Shows such as Black Flag
, which inaugurated the punk era on May 7, 1982, The Misfits, Hüsker Dü
, The Circle Jerks, The Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat
and others showed that there was an audience for hardcore
and opened the doors for an influx of punk rock into the Austin music scene
. The violence inherent to punk rock shows eventually cost the operators their liquor license, forcing another closure in late 1982. In fall 1983, Sedwick and Shelton relocated their successful Esther's Follies
, a comedy troupe that still entertains Austin just a few blocks further east on 6th St. Esther's Follies was only one of the attractions hosted by the Ritz at that time. The managers also began reintroducing music, from Texas bands to heavy metal, and very cautiously brought back a little bit of punk rock.The most famous show played at The Ritz in the eighties was the Red Hot Chili Peppers
November 23 show there in 1986. The building has consistently been a music venue, bar, and pool hall since that time.
On March 20, 2007, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
announced that they would be relocating their downtown cinema, which was the original theater opened in 1997, to the Ritz. They began construction on April 1, 2007 to revive the Ritz as a movie theater.
During renovation, a group of filmmakers from Fantastic Fest
were given a tour of the construction site, and inaugurated the theater with the first film to play there — Maurice Devereaux's End of the Line
. The official grand opening was held on November 2, 2007, with a triple feature of Matango
, No Country for Old Men
, and War of the Gargantuas
.
The Ritz is still owned by the grandchildren of J.J. Hegman.
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
. The building's history includes use as a movie theater, music hall, club, and comedy house. It reopened after renovations in fall 2007 as the new downtown location for the Alamo Drafthouse
Alamo Drafthouse
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, United States. It has screens in nine locations across Texas and one in Winchester, Virginia...
.
History
The Ritz was built in 1929 by J.J. Hegman, who owned several movie theaters in Austin, Texas. It was the first theater in Austin to be built specifically for the talkies. The architect was Hugo KuehneHugo Kuehne
Hugo Franz Kuehne was an architect and planner who practiced in Austin, Texas.- Life and career :Kuehne was born in Austin on February 20, 1884. He was the youngest son of Franz and Langer Kuehne, immigrants from Germany...
, the founding dean of the University of Texas School of Architecture, who also designed the Austin History Center
Austin History Center
The Austin History Center is the local history collection of the Austin Public Library and the city's historical archive, located at 810 Guadalupe Street in Austin, Texas, United States...
(originally the Austin Public Library). The Ritz was originally a long narrow space, and was segregated
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
like most movie theaters in Texas and other southern states at that time; there was a separate entrance leading to a balcony reserved for people of color.
The theater opened on 6th Street on October 13, 1929. It showed primarily first-run westerns with a lower ticket price than any other theater in town and frequently brought in stars like Wild Bill Elliott and Dub Taylor
Dub Taylor
Walter Clarence Taylor, Jr. , better known as Dub Taylor, was an American actor who worked extensively in Westerns, but also in comedy from the 1940s into the 1990s.-Early life:...
, along with country music acts who performed before the movies.
In 1937, Hegman's son Elmo took over management and expanded the theater to 800 seats by widening the theater by 25 feet. He continued showing Westerns until television siphoned off the audience; Elmo closed the theater in 1964.
Cary White, the production designer for The Faculty
The Faculty
The Faculty is a 1998 science fiction horror film written by Kevin Williamson and directed by Robert Rodriguez...
and Spy Kids
Spy Kids
The Spy Kids series is a series of family action adventure films written, produced and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The main plot follows the adventures of two Cortez children who become involved in their parents' espionage. The rest of their family are spies as well, including their estranged...
, amongst other movies, was the projectionist and janitor at the Ritz during some of its last days as a movie house.
The theater remained shuttered until 1970, when it re-opened for three years as an adult theater
Adult theater
An adult movie theater is a movie theater where pornographic films are shown to an adult audience. There are usually continuous showings. The movie posters in front of the theaters normally feature no nudity.- Films and patrons :...
. In October 1974, entrepreneurs Jim Franklin (artist)
Jim Franklin (artist)
Jim Franklin is an artist best known for his poster art created for the Armadillo World Headquarters, a former Austin, Texas music hall....
and Bill Livinggood renovated the theater and opened the doors as a music venue, offering an eclectic mix of programming from classical to rock and including live theater and movies. This was also short-lived, and the club closed in 1975. Several other groups moved in over the years. The Center Stage theater group took it over in 1977, closing off the balcony to make a second, separate theater. Again, the venue didn't last long and the late 1970s saw a serious decline in the theater's fortunes, including another stint into porn exhibition.
In 1981, Shannon Sedwick and Michael Shelton took out a lease and turned management over to Craig Underwood, who began running the venue as a punk rock club. Shows such as Black Flag
Black Flag (band)
Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1976 in Hermosa Beach, California. The band was established by Greg Ginn, the guitarist, primary songwriter and sole continuous member through multiple personnel changes in the band...
, which inaugurated the punk era on May 7, 1982, The Misfits, Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü
Hüsker Dü was an American rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continual members were guitarist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer Grant Hart....
, The Circle Jerks, The Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
and others showed that there was an audience for hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
and opened the doors for an influx of punk rock into the Austin music scene
Music of Austin
The music of Austin, Texas, USA has gone beyond 6th Street and now includes other areas such as Red River, the University of Texas, the Warehouse District and Downtown, South Lamar, South Austin, East Austin and the Market District where bars and clubs of every kind can be found. Every night over...
. The violence inherent to punk rock shows eventually cost the operators their liquor license, forcing another closure in late 1982. In fall 1983, Sedwick and Shelton relocated their successful Esther's Follies
Esther's Follies
Esther's Follies is a modern day vaudeville theatre located on 6th Street in downtown Austin, Texas. The group is named after actress Esther Williams. Acts incorporate magic, juggling, singing, dancing, and sketches on current events...
, a comedy troupe that still entertains Austin just a few blocks further east on 6th St. Esther's Follies was only one of the attractions hosted by the Ritz at that time. The managers also began reintroducing music, from Texas bands to heavy metal, and very cautiously brought back a little bit of punk rock.The most famous show played at The Ritz in the eighties was the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
November 23 show there in 1986. The building has consistently been a music venue, bar, and pool hall since that time.
On March 20, 2007, the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
Alamo Drafthouse
The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is an American cinema chain founded in 1997 in Austin, Texas, United States. It has screens in nine locations across Texas and one in Winchester, Virginia...
announced that they would be relocating their downtown cinema, which was the original theater opened in 1997, to the Ritz. They began construction on April 1, 2007 to revive the Ritz as a movie theater.
During renovation, a group of filmmakers from Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest
Fantastic Fest is an annual film festival in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 2005 by Tim League of Alamo Drafthouse, Harry Knowles of Ain't It Cool News, Paul Alvarado-Dykstra, and Tim McCanlies, writer of The Iron Giant and Secondhand Lions. The festival focuses on genre films such as horror,...
were given a tour of the construction site, and inaugurated the theater with the first film to play there — Maurice Devereaux's End of the Line
End of the Line (2007 film)
End of the Line is a 2007 Canadian horror film starring Ilona Elkin, Nicolas Wright, Neil Napier, Emily Shelton, Tim Rozon, Nina Fillis and written, produced and directed by Maurice Devereaux.-Plot:...
. The official grand opening was held on November 2, 2007, with a triple feature of Matango
Matango
, also known as Matango, Fungus of Terror and Attack of the Mushroom People, is a 1963 Japanese tokusatsu movie. It was directed by Ishirō Honda, written by Takeshi Kimura based on the story "The Voice in the Night" by William Hope Hodgson , and had special...
, No Country for Old Men
No Country for Old Men (film)
No Country for Old Men is a 2007 American crime thriller directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, and starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin. The film was adapted from the Cormac McCarthy novel of the same name...
, and War of the Gargantuas
War of the Gargantuas
The War of the Gargantuas, released in Japan as , is a 1966 Kaiju film, sequel to Frankenstein vs. Baragon.It introduces two giant, hairy humanoids called Gargantuas, which spawned from the discarded cells of Frankenstein's monster from the previous film and are described as brothers...
.
The Ritz is still owned by the grandchildren of J.J. Hegman.