Historical Marker

Best Theatre Building

West · McLennan County · Dedicated 1994 · THC Atlas #5309000386

The roadside stories worth pulling over for.

Marker Inscription

Constructed by town founder Thomas M. West and local contractor J.W. Bridges about 1890, this building housed two saloons until prohibition in 1919 promoted its conversion into a grocery store and bakery. Jim Tobola modified the building in 1923 to house the Best Theatre, which offered vaudeville, local entertainment, and movies before closing in 1976. The building's whimsical architecture includes metal semicular awnings and cast concrete globe-like finials. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1994

About this site

Best Theatre Building is a historical marker in West, McLennan County, dedicated in 1994. It is one of 198 historical markers documented in McLennan County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 224 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.8032, -97.0918 near West. The nearest cataloged historic site is Groppe Building (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include The Crash at Crush, West, and First Presbyterian Church of West.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5309000386. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.

📍 31.8032, -97.0918 · West, McLennan County

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Nearby in McLennan County

First Presbyterian Church of West

West · 1979

Historical Marker

First Baptist Church of West

Church of The Assumption