The Jefferson Theatre was designed by noted architect Emile Weil and built in 1927 in downtown Beaumont for the Jefferson Amusement Company, Sol E. Gordon and J. C. Clemmons, partners, at a cost of one million dollars. Constructed of the finest materials available at the time, the Jefferson was a magnificent structure as well as a center for entertainment . . .a MoviePalace. The Beaumont Journal described it in this manner: "Of striking Old Spanish architecture, the interior radiates romance and charm in the perfect blending of color, tone, architecture, sculpture, and fabric and breathes an eloquence of grandeur that is felt quite as much as it is seen." The Jefferson Theatre opened on Monday, November 14, 1927, with a program including The Jefferson Grand Orchestra conducted by Frank Harris, the organ played by Alice Richmond, and the movie "Rose of the Golden West" starring Mary Astor and Gilbert Roland. The theater hosted traveling shows, vaudevillians, and drama, in addition to some of the world's greatest motion pictures, including "It's A Wonderful Life," whose 1946 premier was held at the Jefferson Theatre, with star James Stewart and director Frank Capra in attendance. The Jefferson Theatre was THE showplace of entertainment for four decades and the pride of the Jefferson Amusement Company, led in later years by Julius Gordon, son of Sol Gordon. In addition to the theater's other dazzling appointments, a magnificent Robert Morton Wonder Organ, voiced particularly for the acoustics of the Jefferson, was installed on a platform that allowed it to rise majestically from the orchestra pit to stage level. The organ's 778 pipes and many percussive effects produced a variety of sounds rivaling those of an actual orchestra.
After serving for decades as the focal point of the community entertainment for citizens of Beaumont & Southeast Texas, by the 1970s things were looking grim. Due to economic conditions, the Jefferson was closed as a movie theater in 1972.
As downtown deteriorated, so did the theater. An assortment of owners left their mark on the theater, including the MOST HIDEOUS paint, which destroyed the beautiful rich Mediterranean colors that originally adorned the theater walls. And worse, a church rented the theater and in a moment of fiery passion destroyed all the original statuary.
In 1975, the Beaumont Junior League and Junior Forum formed the Jefferson Theatre Preservation Society (JTPS), with the goal of purchasing and preserving the historic landmark. In 1976, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Foundation, which then owned the property, deeded it to the JTPS, which assumed responsibility for, maintained, and protected the theater from “the fates of other historic buildings,” seeing to its continued operation.
The Grand Chandelier is original to the Jefferson Theatre. It is a replica of the one of the great chandeliers that hung in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.
The Grand Chandelier is over 18 feet in diameter and weighs 16,000 pounds.
The restored Jefferson Theatre celebrated its Grand Reopening November 5-15, 2003, hosting five exciting events - including a black tie gala featuring Lou Rawls in concert and now hosts regular seasons of entertainment.
Beaumont Civic Center Complex, 701 Main Street, Beaumont Texas 77701 (409) 838-3435 / (800) 782-3081 / Fax (409) 838-3715
