{"nrhp_refnum":"08000240","name":"Brauntex Theater","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"290 W. San Antonio","address_restricted":false,"city":"New Braunfels","county":"Comal County","state":"TX","lat":29.701106855000035,"lon":-98.12646521699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2008-03-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Art Moderne movie theater at 290 W. San Antonio Street in downtown New Braunfels, Comal County, Texas, built in 1941-42 and now used as a performing arts theater.","why_significant":"The nomination argues for significance under Criterion A for Entertainment/Recreation, given the theater's long role as a downtown movie house and later a community performing arts venue. Under Criterion C it is presented as a fine example of Art Moderne movie theater design, in which a vertical blade sign and marquee dominate a relatively plain façade.","narrative":"Brauntex Theater is a two-story movie house at 290 W. San Antonio Street in downtown New Braunfels, Texas. Dallas architects Jack Corgan and W.J. Moore designed it for Griffith Consolidated Theaters, and local contractor Edwin A. Hanz built it in 1941-42. It opened on January 6, 1942, with Birth of the Blues. The stuccoed façade carries the main Art Moderne features: a neon-outlined vertical blade sign, a marquee over the sidewalk, porthole windows, and a semicircular ticket booth. Inside, the auditorium seats 325 on the main floor and 273 in the balcony. The theater showed its last films in 1998 after audiences declined. A nonprofit group bought the vacant building in 1999, rehabilitated it, and reopened it in April 2000 as a performing arts venue. The listing recognizes its role in local entertainment history and its example of Moderne theater design, where signage served as the building's main decoration.","period_of_significance":"1942-1958","architect_builder":"Jack Corgan and W.J. Moore, Dallas, Texas / Edwin A. Hanz, Hanz Construction Co., New Braunfels, Texas","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Moderne","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Closed as a movie theater in 1998; rehabilitated and reopened in 2000 as a community performing arts venue, currently in use as a theater.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.409593-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/63/9715/40971563/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/08000240.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000240/dd0d9c2c90-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/08000240/dd0d9c2c90-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Billy Hathorn","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Restored_Brauntex_Theater,_New_Braunfels,_TX_IMG_3248.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Billy Hathorn</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Restored_Brauntex_Theater,_New_Braunfels,_TX_IMG_3248.JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"100012669","name":"Central New Braunfels Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/central-new-braunfels-historic-district-100012669/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971563","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brauntex_Theatre","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4958300"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/comal-county/brauntex-theater-08000240/"}