Reprint from the Progress Times - November 2, 2007
©Progress Times 2007 - All Rights Reserved

Border Theatre gives up ghost

By Jim Brunson

Halloween night the historic Border Theatre was bustling with activity as pirates, ghosts, princesses and even Superman converged on the scene to scoop up goody bags and catch a free movie. Inside, the animated film "Monster House" was just the treat these young disguise artists were seeking.

Mission Crimestoppers sponsored the Halloween night film to give the young celebrants a safe place to go and enjoy the evening.

One would never have known that the historic theater was about to give up the ghost. When the evening was over, the Border Theatre closed its doors, possibly for the last time.

Robert and Jeannie Pena, owners of the Border, were there greeting their young customers and making the most of the last movie the theater would show. But underneath their smiles was an inner sadness, knowing that their love affair with the theater—where the couple had met and courted 27 years ago—was coming to a close.

Things were going well. The theater was bringing in enough money to pay the bills. As school employees, Robert and Jeannie were not dependent on the theater for their income. So, all the money coming in was re-invested into the movie house.

Things took a sudden turn for the worse this summer. That was when the movie studios that supply films to the theater told the Penas the Border could no longer have first-run movies. That privilege was reserved for the big movie house across town. The Border Theatre became a sub-run theater.

As a sub-run theater, the Border would only be able to run movies months after they had been released to the large, multi-screen theaters.

"We used to get the new movies two to three weeks after they were first released. Now we don’t get them until just before they come out in the video stores," Robert said.

That has killed the Border Theatre’s business, and the theater itself.

"With the good movies, the Border Theatre had its crowds. We had sellout crowds—lots of them. But with sub-runs there was not enough interest to sustain the theater," he said.

Robert and Jeannie Pena have a love for the old theater that is visible in their eyes when they talk about it. The couple worked at the Border as teenagers in the early 1980s. Robert was janitor and usher; Jeannie was a cashier. He was just 15 years old; she was 14 when they first met at the theater.

"This was the only place we could see each other," Robert said. Jeannie’s father didn’t like the idea of Jeannie seeing boys at such a young age.

"When Jeannie’s father found out we were seeing each other, he made her quit," Robert continued. Her father soon relented and let her go back to work at the theater. But there were rules: she could not go up to the balcony with Robert.

Their courtship bloomed and they were married. Now the couple has been married 22 years. For the past six years, they have been running the Border Theatre. In 2004, they purchased the theater from Bill and Gen Long.

They were happy with the restored landmark theater that had become the symbol of hope for a revitalized downtown Mission. They were happy just to keep the theater running by offering films that their patrons could enjoy at a modest price. The admission price was $1.50.

What does the future hold for the old Border Theatre? No one really knows.

"I don’t know what is going to happen to the theater," Robert said. He cannot afford to keep making the payments on the building mortgage. He hates the idea of letting it go. He said he might just have to default on the loan from Bill Long and turn the theater back over to him.

"I fear for it. You don’t know what will happen. Other theaters have been turned into warehouses and furniture stores," he said.

Bill and Gen Long also saw much more than a building in the old downtown theater when they purchased The Border in 1995. They wanted to keep the theater alive and in use for its original purpose—showing movies and bringing joy and entertainment to the people of Mission.

"We went ahead and bought the theater even though we didn’t know a thing about running a movie theater," said Gen Long. "To me the theater is a lot of history and we would like to keep the theater open." Long had called from her home in Oklahoma, very concerned, upon hearing word that the theater was closing.

The Longs will be looking for a way to keep the theater open. Perhaps a local theater group could be formed and use the theater as a playhouse.

After acquiring the Border Theatre, the Longs applied and obtained a Texas Historic Landmark designation for the theater built in 1942 by Robert N. Smith. They restored the neon sign to its 1940s original condition, replaced the carpeting and put in comfortable seating, replacing the old hard wooden seats that patrons described as uncomfortable.

The theater maintains its historic charm—especially for those who remember going there as a child. Patrons are greeted by the 1940s ticket booth and mosaic tiles at the theater’s entry. Inside, the lobby features large wooden beams that support the structure: reflecting the conditions of the country when, in 1942, steel was a scarce commodity due to the war effort. So, the beams were made of wood, instead of steel.

Inside the theater, large murals cover the walls, depicting scenes of the early days of development in Mission with images of covered wagons approaching the little border town and a Mexican couple drawing water from a well.

Today, Mission is transforming from the small town it once was to a thriving mid-sized city. Change forces people to adapt to be able to survive. The Border Theatre, it seems, will also have to adapt to be able to survive in this changing world. The Penas and the Longs are hopeful that they, or someone, will be able to find a way to keep the Border Theatre open as a living slice of history from Mission’s early years.

They are hopeful that the old theater has not given up the ghost for good.