Bringing the Kessler Theater Back to Life
It’s not every day that RDDA receives a phone call to restore a building that has been hit by a tornado, gutted by fire, and been vacant for over thirty years, but when RDDA was asked to work on the rebuilding and restoration of the Kessler Theater, the firm was eager to work on the project. Richard Davis has been a resident of Oak Cliff for many years and is active in the Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce, so his firm was a natural fit to help bring the Kessler Theater on West Davis Street back from the ashes, so to speak.
The Art Deco style movie theater was built in 1941. In the forties the Kessler was known as one of Dallas’ premier suburban theaters in the age of the great “picture show.” During World War II, in addition to catching the latest newsreel and feature film, locals could buy war ration cards at the theater. After World War II, the theater was owned by Gene Autry, the famous “Singing Cowboy.” Autry owned the theater until the early 1950s, when he sold the Kessler to the company that later became United Artists.
In 1957 the Kessler Theater was directly hit by a tornado, which destroyed the roof, most of the rear wall, and the theater balcony.
In 1962 the theater was rebuilt and was used as a religious revival tabernacle.
Unfortunately, that same year, not long after the reconstruction, the building was gutted by a large fire. After the fire, up until 1978, the building housed a variety of businesses, including a barber shop.
The building then sat vacant for over thirty years until Oak Cliff resident and entrepreneur, Edwin Cabaniss and his wife, Lisa, bought the building five years ago with plans to renovate it and bring it back to life.
The theater was an empty, brick shell when the renovation project began.
Cabaniss hired RDDA to rebuild the space and to create a music theater that could also be used for his wife’s dance studio. Additional spaces requested by the client were a lounge with a bar as a focal point, a catering kitchen, restrooms, a VIP mezzanine reception area, a green room suite for the artists, and a new balcony in the performance space. In addition, the plans included converting the rear thirty feet of the theater into a two-story office lease space.
The project presented numerous challenges that were unique to the process of preserving the seventy-year old structure, while also meeting current building codes and accessibility standards.
The work included designing the new lobby space with the lounge, bar, and catering kitchen.
The theater includes a VIP seating area and new theater balconies, which expand the capacity of the venue.
RDDA also designed a new performance space with a moveable stage and top quality acoustics. Richard Davis credits the excellent acoustics, for which the Kessler is renowned, to Jack Hagler of Schuler Shook Theater Planners.
The “green room” behind the stage is a comfortable area for musicians to relax between sets.
The new doors entry doors are replicas of the original Art Deco doors, which were destroyed in the 1962 fire.
The Kessler renovation and restoration project received a Preservation Achievement Award from Preservation Dallas in 2013. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in March 2014.
Today the Kessler is one of Dallas’ leading entertainment venues. It is proof that restoration and adaptive re-use projects can be successful and also play an important role in preserving Dallas’ history for future generations to enjoy.
To see more images of this project, please visit our website.
Regards,
Richard Drummond Davis Architects