The Citrus Theater is being redesigned to host a variety of entertainment events as The Citrus Live.
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Stay tuned, Edinburg- The best is yet to come!
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Opened with a "Black Tie Affair" on Jan. 17, 1941, The Citrus Theater was a staple of entertainment and nightlife in Downtown Edinburg for roughly 50 years. Not only did it bring cinematic classics to Edinburg residents, but it also highlighted worldwide events and news such as the Attack on Pearl Harbor, Battle of The Bulge, The Cuban Missile C
risis, Vietnam, and The Civil Rights Movement. Though it has sat empty for decades, reinventing the historic space as a live event venue, the reinvented The Citrus Live will once again bring entertainment and nightlife to a revitalized Downtown Edinburg. As a live event venue, the overall goal is to provide the space for live music, conferences, and other private events for the surrounding community.
We know it's been a while since you've seen the exterior entrance of The Citrus Live...but with good reason! 🙈
So on this , we wanted to share a reminder of what the facade last looked like before the remodel process started. 🚧🔨
Our team has been hard at work to bring the interior back to life before we focus our efforts on the exterior! 🤩 We cannot wait to open the doors and show Her off in all Her glory. 🍊
Back in 1941, there weren't high tech spreadsheets or software dedicated to figuring out the statistics of reels, shorts, and feature films back in the day. 🎞
Through the course of this project, we've unearthed some really unique and interesting discoveries! One of those was a Manager's Ledger recording the shorts, news reels, and feature films shown on a particular day, such as the one here from March 1, 1947. 📽
What's your guess as to what the numbers correspond to? 🍊
We're excited to be part of this amazing organization. And we look forward to partnering together for a ribbon cutting in the near future. 😉 🧡🍊
Help us extend a warm welcome to our latest members! Your membership is valued and we're committed to providing invaluable resources, networking opportunities, and support to help you succeed.
Explore our complete member directory at www.edinburg.com.
Thank you for being part of the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce! 🥳
College Scholarship Leadership Access Program - CSLAP
Financial Advantage Consultants @ Member Construction, Auto Servicio El Viejon, G&G Liquor Play Street Museum Mail It TX The Citrus Live, The Good & The Bad Food Truck, The Dirty Bird
A Letter From 🍊The Citrus Theater:
I debuted in January 1941. War was raging in Europe. I was here in December 1941 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. This began a hard four years of war for our families.
I was the main source of visual news for you in the time before Television. At that time, and through the 1960’s, Theaters like myself showed you newsreels of current national and world events in “News Reels”. At the end of every movie showing I showed you world news- both the good and the bad. Unfortunately, our boys were sent to war in Korea in 1951. You saw that news here, too. I showed you the ugly pictures of war in Vietnam, but by this time in the mid 1960’s you got a lot of your news from T.V., but I still showed news reels. As the times changed, and news reels were no longer necessary, we continued to lose our fine boys in war as we did in Afghanistan and Iraq.
We've lost many boys; all were heroes. Our boys have always answered their call to duty and distinguished themselves doing so. I hereby respectfully list all Edinburg boys lost in war beginning with WWI. I consider them all my boys too, as all their families continued visiting me.
Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. ❤️🤍💙
Over the course of our project bringing the Citrus back to life, we've come across some amazing discoveries and peeks into her former life. 🎞️
Thank you to Joshua Kennedy for his assistance in cleaning and cataloging the projection room. It's been amazing to look at parts of film history that were previously lost to time. 📽️
Everyday we get closer and closer to announcing her Grand Reveal. ✨ Thank you, once again, for being supportive and patient with our team. 🍊🧡
➡️ Let's take a step back in time...
For all the kids out there, before you could walk around with the world in the palm of your had, you had to 🪙 pay! each time you needed to call your parents to pick you up after the movie. There was no texting back then. 🙈
Pay phones 📞 were public usage phones that allowed someone to make a quick phone call from your location. Because it was open to the public, though, many locations imposed ⏰ time limits. Note how long you were allowed on the phone at the Citrus Theater! 😬
Who did you used to call on the pay phone?
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Thank you 🙏🏻 and for helping to capture this unique look into history during our Farewell Tour. 🤩
In 1948, the Citrus Theater 🍊 showed the 📽️ feature film "Night Song". It starred Ms. Merle Oberon and Mr. Dana Andrews.
As you can see on the marquee, a 🎞️ news reel was also shown. So was a cartoon. This was commonplace in the early years of movie theaters- patrons received much of their visual news while watching a movie. Personal 📺 TVs were not commonplace in households until the 1960s.
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📸 : Metal Print of Original Photo As Displayed at Denny's on W. University Dr.
The 📽️ Projection Room
➡️ Did You Know: The most dangerous room inside the Citrus Theater was the Projection Room. This room high above the theater housed the movie projectors that showed the films featured on the big screen. And while, today, we might think of a movie projector as a small and compact item we can easily fit in our pocket, back in 1941, these mighty and massive machines were powered through 🔥 combustion! 😳
One mishap...and well...😬🙈 Thank goodness that NEVER happened at our beloved 🍊 Citrus! 🙏🏻
But the remnants of the safety features of the day still remain- a fire tight door that sealed automatically in case something went awry, a pulley system to close the projection holes to keep any flames and 💨 smoke away from the patrons, and the precariously delicate holder for a "fire extinguisher 💣 bomb" that not only removed all the oxygen in the room so as to 😵 kill the fire, but, well, the person in the room, too. 🙈
Our team has been continuously 💪🏻 hard at work to preserve the historical integrity of some of these unique features inside The Citrus Live. 🤗 We look forward to the day when we can unveil Her in her new glory- a blending of Her 20th Century charm with the comforts of 21st Century amenities.
Thank you, Edinburg, for all your support and patience. 🧡
Marquee signs rose to prominence in the 1930s when they were used outside theaters. The rise of the automobile directly impacted the design of marquee letters. No longer was the only traffic via foot, and as a result, signage needed to be seen from a moving car on a road. Marquee signs are a significant part of theater architecture and history.
Through the course of our cleaning and working on the revitalization project, we came across the original marquee letters used to announce the films being shown at the Citrus Theater! 🤩 You may have seen our messages over the last months during our project. The years had not been kind to their condition previously, but this endeavor has put us in touch with many local experts within the film, restoration, construction, and history industries. 🤗
THANK YOU once again to 🎨 artist 🎞️ film enthusiast and local historian, Laura Sofrito, for her encouragement and for being one of the first supporters of the restoration efforts to help us put this amazing piece of Citrus Theater history back together for others to admire. 🙌🏻
Back in 1968, 🍊 The Citrus Theater featured a British film that was nominated for an Academy Award in 1969 for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay- "Hot Millions". The film, starring Peter Ustinov, Bob Newhart, and Maggie Smith, was about a con man who steals a computer whiz's identity, falls in love with his secretary, and runs away to Rio all while on the run after it's discovered he's stolen millions of dollars.
Through the course of our cleaning and working on the revitalization project, we came across the original movie poster that had been displayed to market the film! 🤩 The years had not been kind to its condition, but this endeavor has put us in touch with many local experts within the film, restoration, construction, and history industries. 🤗
THANK YOU once again to 📽️ filmmaker and 🎞️ film historian Joshua Kennedy for his support and for volunteering to help us put this amazing piece of Citrus Theater history back together for others to admire. 🙌🏻
Back in 1969, 🍊 The Citrus Theater featured one of the more risque films of its time- "If He Hollers, Let Him Go!". The film, starring Dana Wynter, Raymond St. Jacques, and Kevin McCarthy, was about an escaped convict who tries to clear his name, but ends up in a murder-for-hire scheme.
Through the course of our cleaning and working on the revitalization project, we came across the original movie poster that had been displayed to market the film! 🤩 The years had not been kind to its condition, but this endeavor has put us in touch with many local experts within the film, restoration, construction, and history industries. 🤗
THANK YOU to 📽️ filmmaker and 🎞️ film historian for his support and for volunteering to help us put this amazing piece of Citrus Theater history back together for others to admire. 🙌🏻
A Letter From 🍊The Citrus Theater:
I debuted in January 1941. War was raging in Europe. I was here in December 1941 when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. This began a hard four years of war for our families.
I was the main source of visual news for you in the time before Television. At that time, and through the 1960’s, Theaters like myself showed you newsreels of current national and world events in “News Reels”. At the end of every movie showing I showed you world news- both the good and the bad.
Unfortunately, our boys were sent to war in Korea in 1951. You saw that news here, too.
I showed you the ugly pictures of war in Vietnam, but by this time in the mid 1960’s you got a lot of your news from T.V., but I still showed news reels.
As the times changed, and news reels were no longer necessary, we continued to lose our fine boys in war as we did in Afghanistan and Iraq.
We've lost many boys; all were heroes. Our boys have always answered their call to duty and distinguished themselves doing so.
I hereby respectfully list all Edinburg boys lost in war beginning with WWI. I consider them all my boys too, as all their families continued visiting me.
Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. ❤️🤍💙
What a gem courtesy of our friends (and neighbors) at the Museum of South Texas History! 🤩
Many films were shown at the Citrus Theater in downtown Edinburg including Star Wars: A New Hope. Do you remember watching the Star War films at the Citrus? Let us know in the comments!
It's been one whole year since we last opened the doors to the Citrus Theater and welcomed our community to see her one last time during The Farewell Tour. 🥰 We loved seeing your reactions, listening to your stories, and reminiscing down memory lane with you. Thank you for being part of Her amazing history. 🍊
Our team has been hard at work behind-the-scenes ever since getting everything ready for our Grand Reveal event and to open Her doors to the public once again. We appreciate you being patient with us. 🙏 Not every day is a good day when you're in construction, but every day is worth it because of the love and support we get from you all. 🫶 We're doing our absolute best to revitalize our beloved Downtown Edinburg, and working diligently to bring entertainment and nightlife back to the area we love and believe in. 🧡 We promise it'll be worth the wait. 🙌
Stay Tuned, Edinburg! The Best is Yet to Come! 😎
Happy Easter!
-The Citrus Live Team 🍊
It's Throwback Thursday!!
And we can't believe it's been a whole year since we announced the resurgence of the Citrus Theater here in our beloved Downtown Edinburg. 🍊
We're beyond grateful for all the support we've received these last 12 months from our community. It has fueled our tanks and consistently pushed us to work hard at bringing her back in all the glory she deserves. Thank you for being patient with us as we peel back her layers and polish her up. We promise it will be well worth the wait once we can open her doors back up to the public.
We promise, Edinburg, "The Best is Yet to Come". 🧡
You have until tomorrow to submit your films entries to the South Texas International Film Festival.
Need more info? Check out the post below!
A competitive international film festival from South Texas that reaches out to filmmakers around the world.
We're sorry about the 💨 dust over here in Downtown Edinburg. 🙈 We promise, though, it'll be worth the wait. 🧡 Our "Spring Cleaning" is in full force! 🍊
😬 Better late than never! 🙈
But we finally have a Winner for our Marquee Contest.🏆 Congratulations to .motel! 🍊 We can't wait to update our Marquee with your creative and fun submission.
We look forward to welcoming you to The Citrus Live at our Grand Reveal! 🧡
The Citrus Live Announces Marquee Contest!
Be a part of our History as we continue to work towards reopening the Citrus. 🧡
Enter your best submission for the next marquee sign saying for a chance to Win 2 (two) tickets to our Grand Reveal Event!
To Qualify:
🍊: Follow Our Team- The Citrus Live, Society 204: A Coworking Community, Fox Real Estate Pros
🍊: Like This Post
🍊: Comment Your Best Marquee Sign Saying
🍊: *BONUS* Repost To Your Story & Tag Us
Last day to submit is Tuesday, February 28th. Winner will be announced on Friday, March 3rd!
Roses are Red.
Violets are Blue.
Orange you glad The Citrus Live is opening soon?
Our team has been working day and night to get the Citrus Theater closer and closer to opening day! 🍊
The Best Is Yet To Come, Edinburg. 🧡
Our friends over at the South Texas International Film Festival have some important dates coming up!
Interested in participating? Reach out to the team.
REGULAR DEADLINE SUBMISSIONS ARE APPROACHING!
For guidelines, categories, and other submission details, visit www.filmfreeway.com/stxiff
Our MOST FREQUENTLY Asked Question!
Many of you know the Citrus Theater has been empty and dormant for well over 30 years. But that's soon to change!
Our team is hard at work to bring Her back to life as a live event venue space. That means we'll be able bring concerts, comedy shows, entertainment, night life, and so much more to the Citrus! 🍊
We're working day and night to get Her to opening day. Stay tuned! The best is yet to come! 🧡
What kind of events would you reserve The Citrus for! 🍊
Dear Edinburg:
We can't wait to see you!
2023 is our year. 🧡
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A little ✨Golden Hour✨ love of our leading lady. 🧡🍊
FRIDAY FINDS! 🍊
We wanted to start sharing some of the small things we have found at The Citrus during construction. If you're into any of these two candies, you can recognize these are not their current packaging. This Red Hot candy packaging was introduced during the 1970's and the Baby Ruth old packaging we found were produced from 1951-1953.
Comment below if you'd like for us to share some of our other finds!
✨TRIVIA TUESDAY! ✨
First person to answer the question correctly wins Citrus Merch!
Comment below your answers!🍊
1.. 2.. 3.. GO!
Our team had the distinct privilege to participate at last night's Mayor's Youth Advisory Council meeting held at the Museum of South Texas History.
Along with Dr. Guajardo of the museum, we got to share about the importance of the history of Edinburg and the preservation of historic, old buildings- primarily those on the East Side of Downtown.
Thank you Mayor Garza and Committee Leader, Sabrina Walker Hernandez, for the invitation to share about our currenr endeavors to bring the Citrus Theater back to life as The Citrus Live, as well as our past project, Society 204, within the repurposed JCPENNEY building.
Our team knows that when we engage the young adults of our community to get excited about history and the endless possibilities that can happen when thinking outside the box, the future is promising. We look forward to seeing these students continue to make a passionate difference in our community.
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We wish you a happy New Year filled with peace and prosperity. 🍊
Thank you 🤗 to everyone who supported us this past year, and like we always say:
"The Best is Yet to Come" 🧡 Stay tuned to big things in 2023!
108 N. 12th Avenue
Edinburg, TX
78539
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The 📽️ Projection Room ➡️ Did You Know: The most dangerous room inside the Citrus Theater was the Projection Room. This room high above the theater housed the movie projectors that showed the films featured on the big screen. And while, today, we might think of a movie projector as a small and compact item we can easily fit in our pocket, back in 1941, these mighty and massive machines were powered through 🔥 combustion! 😳 One mishap...and well...😬🙈 Thank goodness that NEVER happened at our beloved 🍊 Citrus! 🙏🏻 But the remnants of the safety features of the day still remain- a fire tight door that sealed automatically in case something went awry, a pulley system to close the projection holes to keep any flames and 💨 smoke away from the patrons, and the precariously delicate holder for a "fire extinguisher 💣 bomb" that not only removed all the oxygen in the room so as to 😵 kill the fire, but, well, the person in the room, too. 🙈 Our team has been continuously 💪🏻 hard at work to preserve the historical integrity of some of these unique features inside The Citrus Live. 🤗 We look forward to the day when we can unveil Her in her new glory- a blending of Her 20th Century charm with the comforts of 21st Century amenities. Thank you, Edinburg, for all your support and patience. 🧡
#ThrowbackThursday Marquee signs rose to prominence in the 1930s when they were used outside theaters. The rise of the automobile directly impacted the design of marquee letters. No longer was the only traffic via foot, and as a result, signage needed to be seen from a moving car on a road. Marquee signs are a significant part of theater architecture and history. Through the course of our cleaning and working on the revitalization project, we came across the original marquee letters used to announce the films being shown at the Citrus Theater! 🤩 You may have seen our messages over the last months during our project. The years had not been kind to their condition previously, but this endeavor has put us in touch with many local experts within the film, restoration, construction, and history industries. 🤗 THANK YOU once again to 🎨 artist 🎞️ film enthusiast and local historian, Laura Sofrito, for her encouragement and for being one of the first supporters of the restoration efforts to help us put this amazing piece of Citrus Theater history back together for others to admire. 🙌🏻
#MemoryMonday It's been one whole year since we last opened the doors to the Citrus Theater and welcomed our community to see her one last time during The Farewell Tour. 🥰 We loved seeing your reactions, listening to your stories, and reminiscing down memory lane with you. Thank you for being part of Her amazing history. 🍊 Our team has been hard at work behind-the-scenes ever since getting everything ready for our Grand Reveal event and to open Her doors to the public once again. We appreciate you being patient with us. 🙏 Not every day is a good day when you're in construction, but every day is worth it because of the love and support we get from you all. 🫶 We're doing our absolute best to revitalize our beloved Downtown Edinburg, and working diligently to bring entertainment and nightlife back to the area we love and believe in. 🧡 We promise it'll be worth the wait. 🙌 Stay Tuned, Edinburg! The Best is Yet to Come! 😎
We're sorry about the 💨 dust over here in Downtown Edinburg. 🙈 We promise, though, it'll be worth the wait. 🧡 Our "Spring Cleaning" is in full force! 🍊
Merry Christmas! 🎄🍊 We hope you enjoy the holidays surrounded by all your loved ones. 🧡
Throwing it back to The Farewell Tour We can't wait to create many more memories with all of you! The Best is Yet to Come🧡
Which items are your favorite from our merch? 🍊 Comment below! The Best is Yet to Come!🍊
Throwback Thursday🧡 We love The Citrus theater memories and we're excited to continue making many more. The Best is Yet to Come! 🍊 #tbt #thebestisyettocome #thecitrus
Citrus Merch 🍊🍊🍊 Head over to our website to check it out!
Don't miss the opportunity to be part of The Citrus Event Committee. APPLY TODAY!🧡
APPLICATIONS OPEN TODAY!🍊 For more information, contact us at 956-595-1152 or [email protected].
Cheers to the weekend! Get your commemorative Citrus kozzie 🍊🧡
The Best is Yet to Come 🍊🧡🤩
Can we have a little commotion for our 🍊 merch?! 👏 Our design team is knocking it out of the park. 🤩 We've got shirts, stickers, and koozies at our administrative offices located inside Society 204: A Coworking Community. Come in to purchase your commemorative Citrus Live gear. 🧡
You'll get used to seeing this logo around. 😎 This is just the beginning! 🍊🧡
Head over to our pinned post to participate in our giveaway for a chance to win all these amazing goodies AND two tickets to our first event!! 🍊🧡
She might not be the same as she was, but we promise we're taking really good care of her! 🧡 You'll be amazed with what we have in store for you! 🍊 #thebestisyettocome
We've got a lot of fun things up our sleeves. 🧡 Stay Tuned - There's good times up ahead! 😎
The Best is Yet to Come! 🍊 And our team can't wait to show you. 🧡
It's ✨ Memory Monday ✨. Today marks a month since The Citrus Theater Farewell Tour, and we wanted to share a bit of Behind The Scenes from that special weekend. 🧡 Thank you to everyone who came to support and to share their stories and memories with us. We will always remember the Citrus Theater for her rich, beautiful history right here in Downtown Edinburg. Now, though, like we say around here- The Best is Yet to Come! 🍊
