Looking East

Something a little different today--a rooftop view looking east away from downtown across Washington Street.
This is a newspaper clipping from 1956.  The photo was taken from the Blue Bonnet Hotel on Water Street. The Catholic church is in the middle on the left. There is a building next to it with three garage bays.  I have been told that at this time the priest lived in a second story apartment over the garage. Also visible are the convent and Notre Dame School. In the far background you can see Tivy High School.
In the foreground is a building with a long roof.  In 1956 this was used by the Kerrville Bakery. The front part is the remnant of the old Dixie Theater.  Next to it, on the corner, is the H. Noll Building, which in 1956 was the Harris-Darby Appliance Company "Your Firestore Store".  You could shop, quite conveniently, for other goods while your auto was being serviced.

UPDATE  and correction from fellow history buff Bryant Saner who attended Notre Dame School 1955-1961:  This former student says that while the building with the three garage bays was for the priest, he didn't live upstairs.  It seems the upstairs of this building was a meeting room and cafeteria for the school.  The priest lived and had offices behind the garage.
And for clarification, the large rambling 3-story building at the upper right of the photo was the convent.  The school sat between the convent and the rectory.

Dixie Theater Building

This is the old Dixie Theater Building (830-832 Water Street).  The first mention I can find of this theater is in the January 10, 1919, newspaper so it was probably erected shortly before then.   The Dixie had wooden bleachers and and a dirt floor. I have been told it was partly open air.  In the winter a large pot-bellied stove provided the heat.

In 1925 William Brice, owner of the Dixie, announced  he would be building a modern, up-to-date theater in the near future on the site of the Dixie.  He intended to build the theater around the existing one.  The Kerrville Mountain Sun reported “Mr. Brice states that of the three months necessary to build the new theater, it will only be necessary to close the show for from two to three weeks, as by the arrangement of the new building most of the work can be handled without interfering in the least with the regular programs.”  For whatever reason, he did not followed through on this plan and instead bought property in the 700 block of Water for his new Dixie theater, which would instead be named the Arcadia.

The Dixie  theater operated here from at least 1919 to 1929. In 1926, the facade was remodeled to a “modern” Spanish style.  When remodeled, two shops were in the entrance, a shoe shop and the Dixie Confectionery.  About 1929 the Dixie closed and remained shuttered for six years.  In 1935 it was rebuilt and reopened.  The rebuilt Dixie didn’t last long, because less than 3 years later, in 1938, the old Dixie Theatre building, which contained a fruit market, cafe, and electric shop,was sold.  Later, the area that had been the theatre was taken over by the Kerrville Bakery, with stores remaining along the street.