Cole Theatre was originally called the Liberty when it was built.
Founded in 1883, the little town of Rosenberg was typical of an old west town … right out of the movies.
The rail head brought untold growth and soon Rosenberg became the center of activity for miles around.
After the great hurricane of 1900, the entire town was demolished, but by 1912, it was rebuilt.
After the 1915 release of “Birth of a Nation”, a couple of local business men took notice of the growing movie business.
On August 16, 1919, the Liberty Theatre opened with the silent movie “Wanted for Murder” staring Elaine Hammerstein.
Sixty four years later, the last regular movie played. In 1983, that 64 year run was the longest movie run in cinema history.
The building was purchased in 1937 by Mart Cole Sr. and he proceeded to raise the roof and add what is revered as classic art deco modern architecture
to the face of the building as it remains today. Another architectural note is the floor is original. It also is sloped to grade that is 8 feet
below street level and an orchestra pit that is another 6 feet and poured in concrete 3 feet thick.
Considering the land in this area was considered “swamp”, the floor is an engineering feat of its own.
Great stars like John Wayne, Tom Mix, Gene Autry and Roy Rogers to name a few all came to the theater and walked across the stage.
During the Second World War, Cole began to produce what eventually became the Rosenberg Opry. In 1948 the Ink Spots were the Headliners.
By the late 70’s regular weekly oprys became a staple of most of Ft. Bend county. http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/8435