by David Moreno, Arlington Report
May 13, 2026
Arlington Music Hall is getting a small modern upgrade to its exterior signage, but owners emphasize the historic venue’s marquee will remain.
The downtown venue’s letter board below the iconic “Arlington” marquee is being switched with digital screen panels to allow for more shows to be promoted and create a safer work environment for employees, executive director Cary Moon said.
The letter board currently allows for less than three shows to be promoted at a time and venue employees have to climb a step ladder with a pole to change it daily, Moon said.
“When you often have five shows a week, it’s a challenge to update the marquee in a timely and safe manner,” he said. “Our goal is to continue to make the little Arlington Music Hall do big things.”
Construction crews began removing the board over the weekend and are expected to finish adding panels in the coming days.
Moon, a former Fort Worth council member, said the update is a testament to “the enhancements” he and fellow property owners have made to the music hall over the past decade. His group, Center Street Complex LLC, purchased the historic venue in 2015.
Arlington Music Hall opened in 1950 as a movie theater before its evolution into a live music space with more than 700 seats. From the mid-1990s to the early 2010s, the venue was home to Johnnie High’s Country Music Revue. The weekly variety show spotlighted local artists, including country music star LeAnn Rimes.
Owners invested over $300,000 in the past two years to update the building — repainting the exterior, updating sound and light systems and changing the board — Moon said.
“The artists that we bring here are unmatched for a venue of its size and we got to be able to maintain and always enhance that production value and make ourselves efficient,” he said.
Modern upgrades to the marquee have been met with mixed reviews from some Arlington residents. A post earlier this week about the sign change from the “Arlington Locals” Facebook group has been flooded with more than 269 comments as of May 13.
Some residents believed the change erases the venue’s history. Others praised the digital screens for its ability to spotlight more touring acts.
Moon said he has seen the mixed reception online and understands the sentiments. The goal remains to move the building into the future, but continue to embrace its historical significance, he said.
Geraldine Mills, Arlington Historical Society executive director, said she doesn’t think the new screens detract from the facade of the building. She joked that she’s interested in keeping some of the removed letters for the society’s archives.
“The marquee is still there,” Mills said. “People will come to accept it. When you look at it you’re still going to see the Arlington theater.”
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at [email protected] or @davidmreports.
The Fort Worth Report’s arts and culture coverage is supported in part by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and the Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust. At the Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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