Historic Varsity Theater Mural Mutilated

Photo by Jana Birchum

Who banged holes in the old Varsity Theater mural? The iconic painting at 24th and Guadalupe depicting the history of motion pictures has suffered major damage during a renovation of the former cinema building. Painted in 1979 by Carlos Lowry, the mural features figures as diverse as Orson Welles in Citizen Kane and Jimmy Cliff in The Harder They Come. There have been earlier renovations, such as the removal of a fire escape, and the figure of Harold Lloyd was repainted in a different position. However, this new remodeling has knocked several large holes in the mural, including one straight through an image of Greta Garbo in Queen Christina, and caused damage to other areas of the plaster. In addition, several pieces on the west end designed by local stencil artist Federico Archuleta have been completely destroyed. The building, which is being renovated for several fast-food chain tenants, including Qdoba Mexican Grill and Noodles & Co., is registered under Travis County tax records to Varsity Corner LLC, a Virginia-based company. Lowry's mural has survived tenancies by Follett's Intellectual Property and Tower Records, which abandoned plans in 1990 to paint over the mural after public outcry (see "Our Murals, Ourselves," The Arts, Sept. 4, 1998). Similarly, in 2004, fast-food chain Baja Fresh Mexican Grill backed down from plans to remove the famous "Hi, How Are You" frog by Daniel Johnston from the old Sound Exchange building farther down Guadalupe (see "TCB," Music, Jan. 16, 2004). Baja Fresh is gone; the frog is still there. However, fans of the 24th Street mural will have to wait until the construction barriers come down to see how much damage has been done to Lowry's work.