Exterior changes approved for the Texas Theater

On Thursday, Sept. 8, the city of Waxahachie Heritage Preservation Commission unanimously approved several exterior changes to the Texas Theater, located downtown at 110 W. Main St.

“Keeping that same historic look from the past is important to us,” owner Jon Garrett told the commission.

He explained how he received a historic photo from Shannon Simpson, commission member and retired Ellis County Museum curator, and has used that photo as reference.

The picture shows a vertical sign reading “Texas” from the top of the building to just above the awning. The current “Texas” sign is horizontal. Garrett said they want to go back to the original historic vertical sign, saying they would keep “the exact same design” and use LED lights.

Located on either side of the theater doors are “coming soon” and “now playing” signs. Garrett said they plan to keep the same poster casings but place a digital LED board inside each of them. He explained how the digital sign is “more useful” over the traditional way of stapling posters up. He provided photos of examples of what the digital board would look like within the poster cases.

The final change Garrett presented was new doors for the entrance because the current ones have damage. He found doors on eBay he could get immediately. These are silver and have an intricate design. The doors are 3 inches shorter than the current doors; however, so there would be a minor adjustment to the door frame.

Garrett said his goal was to find doors that were “as close as possible” to the original.

“It seems to me that you’re trying really hard to keep the art deco style for the building, which we appreciate,” commission member Becky Kauffman said.

Many of the commission members said they “loved” the work Garrett was doing, and said they are excited to see something in the theater soon.

Anita Simpson, the city’s downtown development director and heritage preservation officer, reminded Garrett that to have a digital sign he would need to get a specific use permit through the city, saying approval from the Heritage Preservation Commission was only his first step for that process.

For updates on the renovation process, follow @TexasTheaterWaxahachie on Facebook.

Originally published September 13, 2022 - https://www.waxahachiesun.com/business/exterior-changes-approved-for-the-texas-theater/article_8417f694-33de-11ed-9c69-c7d39a67cdb2.html