Ritz Theatre—Private
The Ritz Theatre, located in the downtown area of Corpus Christi, Texas, was opened in 1929 by the Robb and Rowley Circuit, a prominent theatre chain in the early 20th century. It was designed in the Spanish Renaissance Revival style by architect William Scott Dunne, who was responsible for more than forty theatres in Texas and Oklahoma in the early 20th century. The interior design, evocative of a Spanish courtyard, was greatly influenced by the the “atmospheric” theatre aesthetics pioneered by architect John Eberson. A hallmark of painted decoration in atmospheric theatres is the use of bright colors applied using dry brush techniques to textured and ornamental surfaces. The Spanish revival ornament of the walls was offset by a blue ceiling, evoking the evening sky. Due to the rapid onset of the Great Depression, the theatre offered movies, plays, church services, and a place for social gatherings.
The theater operated continuously as an entertainment venue until its 1989 closure; it mainly showed feature films until 1972, transitioning to a music hall from 1974 until the late 1970s, and then as a playhouse until its closure. The interior and façade were altered several times. The front marquee was removed, the first-floor fenestration reconfigured, and the Mesquite Street entrance was enclosed and the box office and concession stand moved. Alterations to the interior include removal of some seats, modifications to the lobby and its materials, the demolishment of the proscenium to adapt the theatre for widescreen projection. Exterior and interior features were also affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma in 2017, which introduced severe moisture intrusion to the building. The theatre sat unused until 2010, when it was acquired by Corpus Christi PATCH (Positive Action Towards Cultural Heritage), which is working to restore the Ritz Theatre. The building is in the process of being added to the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2023, EverGreene was retained by OTJ Architects to conduct a conditions assessment of historic plaster and investigate historic painted finishes on the walls and ceiling of the Ritz Theatre auditorium. The purpose of the survey was to support future renovation efforts by documenting the historic color palettes and decorative motifs, as well as to document the current conditions of the remaining flat and decorative plasterwork. The plaster features were visually analyzed and sounded at close range where accessible to detect both surface and sub-surface deterioration. Overpaint was removed in select areas to identify historic colors and decorative schemes; samples were also taken and analyzed under a microscope off-site, and subsequently matched to Munsell colors. Originally, the Ritz Theatre auditorium was decorated to create an intimate setting of an old Spanish courtyard under a night sky. Unlike other atmospheric Spanish and Mediterranean style theatres of the time, which were painted in bold polychromatic schemes, the Ritz auditorium utilized a restrained color palette dominated by light earth tones.
