San Antonio, Texas - The Majestic Theater

THE HISTORY OF THE MAJESTIC THEATER
Located in the heart of downtown San Antonio, Texas, the Majestic Theatre was built in 1929 and was designed in a
Spanish Mediterranean style by John Eberson for Karl Hoblitzelle's Interstate Theatres.

The 2,264 seat Majestic Theatre is a National Historic Landmark, and is currently home to the Broadway in San Antonio series, along with a wide variety of
concerts and performing arts attractions. The Majestic Theatre has operated under Arts Center Enterprises’ management on a self-sustaining basis since
1989.

Theatre features included a huge cast-iron canopy covering the sidewalk, a vertical sign 76-feet tall topped with "a strutting peacock ... walking as a huge ball
rotated under his feet," and a cave-like single-story lobby that included copper lanterns, ceiling murals, and an aquarium filled with tropical fish. Inside the
theatre's auditorium were stuffed birds perched on balconies or frozen mid-flight via ceiling wire, replicas of well-known Greek, Roman, and Renaissance
sculptures, and specially treated cypress trees brought from Spain and placed on upper-level niches. The Baroque tendency to decorate with mask-like faces
is exemplified by carvings alongside the stage and under the mezzanine balcony, and in direct translation of atmospheric theater design, the Majestic's blue
ceiling "cloud scape" disguises the interior dome as an evening sky in conjunction with a cloud projector and small bulbs simulating stars. The bulbs are
actually positioned according to consultations with experts at the National Geographic Society, who instructed the designer as to the positioning of the real
stars on the night of the theater's opening.