CURTAIN CALL

Considered one of the oldest, continuously operating theaters in Texas, the Select Theater entertains audiences with first-run movies, and live performances, symphonies, and a Halloween haunted house all under one roof in Mineola. The silent movie palace began operations in 1920, screening now-classic flicks of the silent movie era until talkies arrived in 1926 and transformed the cinema experience entirely. The advent of the Select was not a first, however, but one of a line of performance venues in Mineola beginning in 1886. The Select was operated by Martha “Mattie” Hooks and her husband R. T. for much of its formative years. In fact, Mattie named the Select after a Texas motion picture franchise called Select Pictures. The theater was first renovated in 1948, acquiring the addition of a sloping floor, raised stage, and the revolving neon tower. Today, the theater operates under the stewardship of the Lake Country Playhouse, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a home for the performing arts in east Texas.