Overview

Auditorium in 1930

The Ritz Theatre opened in December 1929 with It’s a Great Life (1929)  featuring the Duncan Sisters . Built by the R. and R. Gulf Amusement company, the 1,400-seat theatre was hailed at its opening as the eleventh largest theatre in the state of Texas.

The Ritz was designed in an Atmospheric style with a Spanish courtyard theme by theatre architect W. Scott Dune, and decorated by the Peckenpaugh Construction Co. The blue sky ceiling was reported at the theatre’s opening to have “cloud effects” thrown onto it from two cloud machines mounted on turrets near the ceiling, and featured 58 twinkling stars.

The theatre closed on 11th May 1946 so that it could be remodeled in an Art Deco style to the plans of architect Robert L. Volger. It reopened on 30th August 1946 with Personality Kid (1946)  starring Anita Louise.

The theatre closed on 29th August 1972. It was later renamed the Ritz Music Hall and reopened on 24th July 1974 featuring acts such as Willie Nelson, Jimmy Buffet, Bruce Springsteen, Metallica, Def Leppard, Motley Crue, and many others. This lasted until 1989 when the theatre closed again.

Auditorium in the 2010s

Having been dormant for over 20 years, the theatre was placed onto the 2012 list of Texas’ Most Endangered Places  by Preservation Texas .

In 2014, an organization called Corpus Christi PATCH  dedicated itself to the restoration of the theatre, with the hope to repair, restore, and revive the historic theatre to its former glory.

As of early 2023 the nonprofit had raised nearly $500,000 through grants and fundraising, and was working to get the Ritz Theatre recognized as a Texas Historical Landmark and a National Historic Landmark.