Under the stone front of 219 E. Central Ave. is a layer of decorative tile that hasn't been visible since about 1965. A remodel that year covered the Beltonian Theatre's face with stone veneer and added an arched entrance, aluminum doors and windows, and a projecting marquee. On Oct. 13, the Belton City Council approved a $25,000 Façade Improvement Grant to help remove that veneer and restore what's underneath.
The theater reopened June 27 under new local owners Joey and Katie Carlin. Its November calendar has screenings on most weeks and most days of the week: weeknight classics, Saturday morning matinees, a free sponsored show and two live acts. The Beltonian has been a downtown landmark for most of the past century. This time the owners are running it to fill every week, and the restoration is a bet that people will keep coming back.
What the Grant Pays For
According to the City of Belton's Oct. 14 announcement, the staff report projects the front of the Beltonian will cost $120,000 to redo. The $25,000 grant covers part of it. The work includes:
- A historically inspired marquee and canopy, plus a blade sign
- Removing the stone veneer to bring back the decorative tile underneath
- Repainting deteriorated stucco and plaster
- A rebuilt storefront with aluminum-and-glass doors, fixed windows and a central lobby entrance
- LED neon in place of the old vertical lighting, and a repaired entrance ceiling with decorative metal tile, new lighting and exit signage
The grant comes after an earlier City contribution. A $7,147 Building Life Safety Grant helped pay for the life-safety and electrical upgrades that let the theater reopen in June. So the City put money into making the building safe to open first, and only then into how it looks from the street.
The theater isn't the only storefront changing on that block. DesignHer Medspa moved down the block to 310 E. Central Ave. in September, and the same council vote approved $10,281 toward its $20,563 exterior project. That work has to be finished by Nov. 30.
The Beltonian's restoration will take longer than one grant cycle. In a KWTX report before the reopening, the Carlins said they hope to restore the theater to its 1920s look "over the next three, four years and several stages." The planned marquee and the tile under the veneer would be the first visible stage of that plan.
The November Calendar, Built Around Regular Visits
The Beltonian's ticket calendar runs from early November into the first days of December. Each listing shows its first showtime, and most titles have more showings after that.
| Title | First listed showing | Showings listed |
|---|---|---|
| 3:10 to Yuma, the 1957 original | Wed., Nov. 4, 7 p.m. | 2 |
| Tombstone, rated R | Fri., Nov. 6, 7 p.m. | 5 |
| Fievel Goes West | Sat., Nov. 7, 11:30 a.m. | 4 |
| U-571, free show sponsored by Ace Hardware | Wed., Nov. 11, 7 p.m. | 1 |
| The Iron Giant | Thu., Nov. 12, 7 p.m. | 11 |
| Common Man concert | Sat., Nov. 14, 7 p.m. | 1 |
| You've Got Mail | Wed., Nov. 18, 7 p.m. | 7 |
| Toy Story | Sat., Nov. 21, 11:30 a.m. | 17 |
| Thanksgiving, rated R | Tue., Nov. 24, 7 p.m. | 4 |
| Black Christmas, 1974, rated R | Wed., Dec. 2, 7 p.m. | 4 |
The first week of November is westerns: the 1957 3:10 to Yuma, then Tombstone, then Fievel Goes West for the Saturday matinee crowd. On Nov. 11, Veterans Day, U-571 runs as a free show sponsored by Ace Hardware. After that the calendar shifts to family titles for the holidays. Toy Story has the most showings of anything listed, 17, starting with a Saturday 11:30 a.m. matinee on Nov. 21.
Two of the rated-R titles are horror, Thanksgiving and Black Christmas, both timed to their holidays. Families planning around the 7 p.m. slots should check the rating on each listing.
If you're reading this on Thursday, Nov. 5, the first 3:10 to Yuma showing has already happened. Tombstone starts Friday at 7 p.m. and Fievel Goes West plays Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Showtimes on a live calendar can change, so confirm on the SimpleTix page before you go.
This is the schedule the owners described before they opened. "When families are wondering what to do on the weekend, we want them to be able to say that something is always happening at The Beltonian," Joey Carlin told KWTX. Five months in, the November calendar matches that goal. Most weeks have both weeknight and Saturday showings.
The Stage Is Back in Use Too
The Carlins told KWTX they wanted to make the theater "a concert venue too," not only a movie house. November has two live nights back to back:
- Don't Tell Comedy, Friday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. A stand-up show listed on the theater's events page. The listing says the show address goes to ticket holders the day of the event, so check your ticket for the location.
- Common Man, Saturday, Nov. 14, 7 p.m. An indie-pop duo, with tickets sold through the SimpleTix concert page.
KCEN's coverage of the reopening said the owners also hope to bring back theatrical productions. No stage production is on the current calendar.
The theater also rents the room out. The Beltonian's booking page takes inquiries for birthdays and celebrations, meetings, private movie screenings and other events. Submitting the form doesn't guarantee a date. Questions go to (254) 613-4035 or [email protected]. With the holidays close, that matters for anyone in Belton planning an office party or a family gathering in a room with a screen.
Why a Full Calendar Matters for This Building
The Beltonian has gone dark several times. The theater's own history page tells the story. The building was a buggy shop, a crockery and a furniture store before it opened as The Beltonian in 1922, after a citywide naming contest that drew more than 300 entries. A fire in late 1926 badly damaged it, and it reopened months later in 1927. The City's staff report dates the current building to 1929 and describes it as a two-part commercial building with Art Deco influences.
The theater closed in the 1970s. Over the next decades the building was a church, an antique store and a pool hall. After a renovation finished in 2006, it reopened as a dinner theater in 2008 and closed again in 2013. Zechariah Baker bought it in 2017 and brought movies back. In 2025 it went up for sale. KWTX reported in 2025 that Baker's operation offered rentals, live events and classic films.
The Carlins first noticed the building because of that sale listing. "We saw the theater go up for sale and we were worried it was going to become something different so that's how we got interested," the couple told KWTX. KXXV reported on the June reopening, including the family's plans to make the theater a community space and restore the building. At the June 27 ribbon cutting, there was a mariachi band and free screenings of The Wizard of Oz all weekend.
The current plan runs movies, concerts, comedy, free sponsored nights and private rentals all on the same calendar. The facade project sits on top of that plan. A $120,000 marquee and storefront only pay off if people keep walking under them every week.
Where the Theater Fits Into Belton's December
The Beltonian's calendar currently ends with Black Christmas on Dec. 2 and 3. Christmas on the Chisholm Trail follows that weekend, two days of downtown programming on the City's events calendar:
- Friday, Dec. 4, 6 p.m.: Christmas movie on the Square and the annual tree lighting
- Saturday, Dec. 5, noon to 7 p.m.: More than 100 vendor booths, a food court, local restaurants and businesses, music and performances, the Winter Village kid zone, and Santa photos from noon to 5:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Dec. 5, 6 p.m.: Lighted Christmas Parade
The Friday movie plays on the Square downtown. The Beltonian's listed calendar doesn't include anything for that weekend yet, and it is worth checking again as December gets closer.
Bradley Sheppard has been helping Bell County families buy and sell homes for years, and he pays attention to what keeps downtown Belton busy, like a 1920s theater booking Saturday matinees again. If you'd like to know which nearby streets are a short walk from Central Avenue, or you just want to talk about the Belton you already live in, reach out to Bradley Sheppard. Get in Touch.
