HISTORY & INFORMATION
Theater History :: Renovations

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The Cactus Theater Renovation
The renovation of the Cactus Theater began in the summer of 1994 and was fully completed to make the theater ready for full time operation by January 1995.

The building was purchased in 1993 by The Cactus Theater, Inc. from Wilburn Jones, doing business as Greer Iron Works. At the time of the purchase, very few reminders of the original Cactus Theater remained, other than the sloped floor, tiered balcony, and pieces of the original eight-foot deep stage. The theater was being used as storage for Greer Iron Works. The Depot District concept was only a dream of Ronnie Thompson, the owner of the Depot Restaurant, and businesses in the area were few and far between. Most of the buildings were in bad repair. Today nearly all of the buildings in the area have been renovated and house entertainment-oriented or complimentary businesses. The city has purchased and renovated the original Depot Restaurant as the new Buddy Holly Center. The dream is now reality.

The goals of the Cactus renovation were very clear. The investors in the concept worked to: (1) Create a space to embrace the great talent of West Texas; (2) Create a venue that was extremely comfortable for both the audience and performers; (3) To restore the outside of the structure to the original look, including recreation of the marquee, neon, ticket booth, windows, entrance doors, and even the Dr. Pepper sign painted on the south side of the building in 1939. These goals were met.

Because of the desired use of the new Cactus, the interior was redesigned and modified to accommodate the staging needs and codes of today. A new stage, 25’ deep and 50’ wide was constructed. The area north of the Cactus property was rented and remodeled as dressing and storage rooms. The area was 30’ X 25’ at the time of the original renovation and is now approximately twice that size. A grand drape and proscenium curtains, along with numerous teaser and back drapes were added. 426 modern, padded seats were installed, with 298 seats on the floor and 128 in the balcony. A large sound-mixing booth was added to the front of the balcony area during the 1994 renovation, but was recently converted to a seating area for special guests. The sound-mixing booth was moved to the floor. The old projection booth was redesigned to hold projectors and spotlights, as well as a small repair shop. Large restrooms and a modern concession area were built in the lobby. The finishing touch to the auditorium was the addition of a beautiful wrap-around mural, painted by John R. Thomasson, depicting a typical Llano Estacado canyon. The spiral staircases, also added in the renovation, were painted by Thomasson to appear as marble. The concession area maintains the marble look and the beautiful art-deco style and colors run throughout the lobby, concession, and restroom areas. Modern heating and air conditioning add to the comfort. A state of the art sound and light package completed the restoration and renovation of the Cactus Theater.

PICTURES of renovation