The Ritz Hats
Description: The Ritz Theatre was built in 1929 by J.J. Hegman, who owned several movie theaters in Austin, Texas. Originally a long narrow space, the Ritz was the first theater in Austin to be built specifically for the talkies, aka films with synchronized sound. The theater opened on October 13, 1929, and operated continuously as a theatre until closing in 1964. The Ritz was reopened in 1970 as a XXX grindhouse, which closed to make way for a new music venue in 1974. The venue struggled until new management took over the space in 1981 and reopened it as a punk rock club, opening the doors for an influx of punk rock and hardcore into the Austin music scene. Violence inherent to punk rock shows eventually cost the operators their liquor license.
