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Legendary Forest Theater in Dallas to undergo restoration

Looking out at the seats from a theater stage
Looking out at the seats from a theater stage
Getty Images/aaboikis

The Forest Theater in south Dallas first opened in 1949, making it a sister to other historic venues in Dallas: the Lakewood, Inwood, and Majestic theaters.

The theater hosted legendary acts like Gladys Knight, Tina Turner, Prince, and B.B. King, though unfortunately closed for operation and has sat vacant since 2009.


It was acquired by Forest Forward in 2017, and over the past two years, the nonprofit organization has raised $61 million of the $75 million needed for a complete renovation and restoration of the theater!

Per FOX 4, the building will be nearly doubled in size and turned into an arts education hub that can also be used by Dallas ISD as well as the Martin Luther King Jr. Arts Academy.

Forest Forward CEO and Founder Elizabeth Watley said, "You can have a podcast room, a design studio, a flex space. We're adding on a new 200-seat studio theater. The concert hall will have 1,000 seats for shows, concerts, and performances. There will be a plaza area and my favorite amenity is the rooftop. It's the first rooftop in South Dallas where you can see all of Downtown and all of Fair Park."

Watley hopes the Forest Theater restoration will "ignite a new economic core for the South Dallas community."

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