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The Physical Structure and Layout
     The Arcadia is “L” shaped so that the front doors lead some 60 feet back and the auditorium, which seats about 850 people, opens to the right. The roof has been off for several years and extensive damage has been done to the interior. The stage measures 35×40 feet, has a 60-foot high fly-loft and has four dressing rooms underneath. Over the lobby there are several rooms which served as offices and storage areas.

Renovation / Reconstruction
     While keeping in mind that we are rebuilding a beautiful classic movie theater, we will have to basically gut the Arcadia. This means not only restoring the ornate decor, but also adding modern audio and visual projection facilities. In other words, we keep the best of the old but add the best of the new.

Why the Arcadia?
     For almost 50 years, people from all over Central Texas came to the Arcadia. It was a common gathering place for people from Troy, Rogers, Little River, Belton, Killeen and other towns, as well as Temple. Thousands of people from the area have “Golden Memories” of going to the Arcadia.
     But nostalgia is not the main purpose for rebuilding this old movie palace. The real reasons include:
  •  It will be a true theater of large capacity unlike any other in Bell County.
  •  It will provide people with entertainment not available locally.
  •  It will allow other groups, such as the Temple Symphony Orchestra, to enhance their offerings.
  •  It will create educational opportunities not available now.
  •  It will bring people into the downtown area and be an important element in the redevelopment of the business district.

What Will the Arcadia Be?
     It will be a movie and live performance theater. It will have current, classic and art film. There will be bands of all kinds, one woman/one man shows, road shows, musicals, recitals, etc. And it will be rented out to local groups needing a theater and stage for their productions.

Will It Be Successful?
     We know that not all historic theater restorations have been successful. On the other hand, many have done very well, such as the Poncan in Ponca City, Oklahoma. These have done well because they developed reasonable operational plans, learned from others which programs worked and which didn’t, and kept their overhead down.
     There are about 300,000 people in the Killeen/Temple SMSA, which should mean that, along with sound business practices, and offering what people need for entertainment — If we build it, they will come.

© 2003 Friends of the Arcadia Theater, Temple, Texas (USA), All rights reserved
P. O. Box 435, Temple TX 76503  •  254-773-9220  •  info@ArcadiaTheater.org
 Arcadia Theater website courtesy of Jody Donaldson