John Eberson's 1921 Renaissance Revival showpiece on Elm Street; staff document moving backdrops, a self-unlocking fifth-floor office, and the lingering presence of founder Karl Hoblitzelle.
1925 Elm St, Dallas, TX 75201
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Ticket prices vary by performance. Check the Dallas Culture website for current show listings and pricing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic theater with accessible seating and elevators; ground-level entrance on Elm Street
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1921 · National Register of Historic Places — first Dallas listing · John Eberson Renaissance Revival atmospheric theater design · Karl Hoblitzelle / Interstate Theatres chain headquarters · Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs
The Majestic Theatre opened in downtown Dallas in 1921, the work of architect John Eberson, who designed it for Karl Hoblitzelle's Interstate Theatres chain. Eberson was the originator of the 'atmospheric theater' concept, creating interiors that suggested open-air Mediterranean courtyards beneath a starlit ceiling; the Majestic's Renaissance Revival treatment applied that sensibility to a Dallas commercial address on Elm Street.
Karl Hoblitzelle built Interstate Theatres into one of the largest theater chains in the South and Southwest from his base in Dallas. He maintained an office on the fifth floor of the Majestic — the building was effectively his operational headquarters — and remained connected to the theater until his death in 1967 at age 87. Hoblitzelle was also a prominent Dallas civic figure and philanthropist; the Hoblitzelle Foundation, established in 1942, continues operating today.
The Majestic closed as a movie house in the 1970s as urban theaters throughout the region lost audiences to suburban multiplexes. The City of Dallas acquired and restored the building in the early 1980s, reopening it as a live performance venue. It holds the distinction of being the first building in Dallas listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today the Majestic operates under the management of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs and presents a mixed calendar of concerts, comedy, and theatrical productions.
Sources
The paranormal tradition at the Majestic Theatre centers on Karl Hoblitzelle, the Dallas impresario who operated the building for decades and kept his office on the fifth floor until his death in 1967. Staff accounts, collected by CandysDirt and by the DFW tour operator bestdfwtours.com, describe a pattern of anomalies concentrated in two areas of the building: the fifth-floor office corridor and the main auditorium's fly space.
In the fly space — the area above the stage where theatrical backdrops are rigged and stored — stagehands and production crew have reported finding backdrops moved into different configurations with no one on the rigging platform. The phenomenon has been observed both during production periods and on dark nights when the building is otherwise empty.
Hoblitzelle's former fifth-floor office has a documented tradition of the door unlocking on its own at the end of each day, as if the former occupant is returning to close out business. CandysDirt's October 2024 coverage of Dallas haunted buildings names the Majestic explicitly and attributes the office-door anomaly to building staff observations over multiple years.
Additional reports include unexplained footsteps moving through empty corridors, theatrical props found in positions inconsistent with where they were left, and occasional traces of cooking odors in areas with no food preparation — a detail consistent with Hoblitzelle-era building use rather than current theater operations.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
The most accessible way to experience the Majestic's interior is attending a performance. Staff paranormal reports are concentrated in the fifth-floor office corridor and in the main auditorium fly space where backdrops have moved without human contact.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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