Waco Hippodrome Theatre

The Hippodrome Theatre had its grand opening on February 7, 1914, at 724 Austin Avenue in downtown Waco. Thomas Finnegan organized local investors to fund the project, which was designed by Waco architect Roy E. Lane in collaboration with Dallas architects Otto Land and Frank Witchell. Opening-night entertainment included a live seal act, a magic show, and a five-piece orchestra, with admission set at ten cents. Managed by J.P. Harrison and theater entrepreneur Earl Henry Hulsey, the venue quickly became the social center of downtown Waco and was nicknamed 'Hulsey's Hipp.'

The Hippodrome hosted vaudeville acts through the 1910s and transitioned to silent films as that medium took over in the 1920s, becoming a Paramount Pictures affiliate. On an evening in 1928, a fire broke out in the production booth and spread rapidly, destroying the entire front portion of the building and forcing the audience to flee. Multiple patrons were reportedly trampled in the rush to exit. Louis Dent of Southern Enterprises purchased the damaged property, rebuilt it in a Spanish Colonial Revival style, and reopened it as the Waco Theatre in 1929. Sound equipment was installed by 1931 for the transition to talking pictures.

The theater survived the catastrophic F5 tornado of May 11, 1953, which killed 114 people in downtown Waco, though the surrounding blocks sustained severe damage. It screened its final film on December 15, 1974, then sat vacant for six years before the Junior League, Cooper Foundation, and local volunteers restored it. A second closure followed in 2010; brothers Shane and Cody Turner purchased the building and restored it again, reopening in November 2014. It now operates as a concert hall and event venue.