Select Theater

KLTV reports that a tornado lifted the entire roof off the Select in 1963. The revolving tower with its green neon ball, built in 1948, was one of the tallest structures in Wood County and could be seen for miles. The winter storm of 2021 damaged the tower more than earlier problems had; replacing it was estimated at $60,000, and the theater's nonprofit operator, Lake Country Playhouse, held a Save the Neon Tower auction. Texas Escapes calls it the last remaining movie house in Wood County, with weekend films and Playhouse stage shows.

What the plaque says

Select Theater The Select Theater was the seventh in a long line of Mineola venues dating from 1886. Mrs. Martha (Mattie) Hooks named the theater for Select Pictures, a Texas motion picture franchise, in 1920. Mrs. Hooks and her husband R. T. Hooks operated the Select Theater for many years. In 1948 the Select was remodeled with such features as a gradually sloping floor and an elevated stage. The new neon tower had a two-part revolving base, stood 24 feel above the ground, and was visible for miles. The theater was managed by two longtime employees from 1961 to 1986, when a theater company assumed operation. (1998)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Governor Hogg Shrine — 9.0 mi
  Quitman's 27-acre city park, once a state historical park, where two houses tied to James Stephen Hogg's marriage stand beside an arboretum, a nature walk and the grounds of the Old Settlers Reunion.
• Tyler State Park — 17 mi
  A 985-acre park eight miles north of Tyler, built by the Civilian Conservation Corps from 1935 to 1941 around a 64-acre spring-fed lake, with more than 13 miles of trails.
• Camp Ford Historic Park — 23 mi
  A free county park north of Tyler on the site of the largest Confederate prison camp west of the Mississippi, with a kiosk, an interpretive trail and a historical society museum downtown.
• Goodman-LeGrand House and Museum — 24 mi
  A Tyler house begun in 1859 as four rooms, enlarged by the Goodman family over 73 years, and left to the city in 1939 with its furnishings, in a garden that fills a city block.

More markers nearby

• Mineola Opera Houses — steps away
• Government Projects in Mineola — steps away
• O. P. Pyle — steps away
• Birthplace of Miss Ima Hogg — steps away