1927–2027 · THE FULL STORY
Ninety-nine years on the north side of the courthouse square.
On May 19, 1927, S. D. Rainier and George Shaw opened the doors on the theater J. R. Blackmore built for them. A standing-room-only crowd paid thirty cents, a dime for the kids, to see Universal's The Fourth Commandment. It was the year of the talkies, and movie houses were going up all over America. Nearly all of them are gone. The LanTex is one of the last historic single-screen houses in the country still doing what it was built to do.
The name came out of a community contest that year, with ten dollars in gold for whoever thought of it. Two people sent in Lantex. Aubrey Rapensburg’s envelope arrived first, and took the prize.
They called it the "House of Comfort all the Year", a boast about its "conditioned air," an evaporative cooling system that beat central air conditioning to the Hill Country by decades.
The Timeline
2027–1880- 2027
One hundred years
One hundred years on May 19, 2027. We’re planning a centennial worth driving in for.
- 2014–2017
The house comes back to life
Digital projection and sound replace the old 35mm equipment. Main Street volunteers restore the auditorium and stage, repaint historic details, renovate the balcony, and install newer seating with wider aisles and ADA spaces.
- 2002
The City of Llano takes the keys
Main Street volunteers run movies, maintenance, and the concession stand. The Film Society joins in 2011.
- 1997
Lights back up · October 10
After years as a church mission, a local arts group reopens the theater with Men in Black. $80,000 in tickets the first year.
- 1989
National Register
The Llano County Courthouse Historic District, LanTex included, joins the National Register of Historic Places.
- 1970
The Salas years
The Salas family takes over operation of the theater, keeping the LanTex alive for more than a decade. In 1982, after 55 years of nearly continuous entertainment, the projector finally goes dark.
- 1951
The fire, and the rebuild
Fire badly damages the LanTex in August, leaving little beyond the walls and portions of the original structure. Owner-operator Rex Wootan rebuilds extensively, replacing the theater's Spanish Colonial appearance with the mid-century face familiar today. By March 1952 the LanTex is open again, following a reported $90,000 reconstruction.
- 1940s
The town's living room
School concerts, WWII bond drives, town halls, city celebrations. Four hundred seats and every one spoken for.
- 1927
Doors open · May 19
A packed house for The Fourth Commandment: thirty cents a seat, a dime for the kids, and "conditioned air" all the year.
- 1880s
Before the pictures
A livery, a saloon, and an auto repair shop all do business on this lot, under a building standing since at least 1880.
ALWAYS UNDER THE SAME NAME · CARL GARNER · R. N. SMITH THEATERS · REX WOOTEN · THE SALAS FAMILY · THE CITY OF LLANO
READ IT ON MAIN STREET
The marker out front
In 2014 the Texas Historical Commission set a marker by the doors. It tells the short version for everyone who stops on the sidewalk: Rainier, Shaw, and Blackmore; the thirty-cent opening night; the fire; the rebuild. The long version, you're reading now. The longest version, the regulars at the concession stand will tell you for free.
MAY 19, 2027
One hundred years. One screen. Same red marquee.
The centennial is coming, and it'll take volunteers, Friends, and sponsors to throw it right.