Opening of Plaza Theater - 1930

Opening of Plaza Theater - 1930

A huge crowd accompanied the opening of the Plaza Theater on September 12, 1930. Designed as a modern film house with the flexibility of presenting stage shows, the Plaza eventually hosted popular traveling shows and movies. Its size (capacity of 2,410), elaborate decor, and technical innovations made it stand out: While the exterior facade was designed to be reminiscent of a Spanish mission-style parapet, patrons were awed by the interior, with its intricately painted ceilings, mosaic-tiled floors, decorative metal railings and sconces and antique furnishings (Spanish Colonial Revival style). Additionally, the Plaza offered electrically cooled drinking fountains, a nursery, a $850 marble and brass telecheck system that alert ushers when a seat became vacant, and a Brenograph machine that could throw over a thousand color effects onto the black-and-white scenes. However, in the 1950s, the Theater's patronage declined and by the 1970s it was sold. In the 1980s, the El Paso Community Foundation saved the Plaza from demolition and donated it to the City of El Paso in 1990. After, it was restored to its original splendor and today hosts concerts, shows, musicals and plays once again.

Area: Central / Downtown

Source: C.L. Sonnichsen Special Collections, University of Texas at El Paso Library. Collection Name: Plaza Theater. Photo ID: Plaza_Theater.jpg.

Uploaded by: UTEP Library Special Collections

Comments

Add a comment
Thank you for your comment

Report this entry

Choose the most important reason for this report

Your name

Your email address

Optional detail

Thank you for your report

More from the same community-collection

Neighborhoods and Shared Memories: Manhattan Heights

Manhattan Heights historic district was originally the site of a ...

Neighborhoods and Shared Memories: Manhattan Heights

Texaco

Texaco was founded in Beaumont, Texas ...

Neighborhoods and Shared Memories: Manhattan Heights

Crockett Elementary

As Manhattan Heights ...

Neighborhoods and Shared Memories: Manhattan Heights

Crockett Elementary

As Manhattan Heights ...

The New China Grocery ad, El Paso, Texas 1924

The New China Grocery ad, El Paso, Texas 1924. This was a ...

Loretto Academy, Alumnae Class of '82 El Paso, Texas May 2022

Loretto Academy, Alumnae Class of '82 El Paso, Texas May 2022

Loretto Academy, Alumnae Class of '82 El Paso, Texas May 2022

Loretto Academy, Alumnae Class of '82 El Paso, Texas May 2022

Loretto Academy Alumnae El Paso, Texas May 2022

Loretto Academy Alumnae El Paso, Texas May 2022

Loretto Academy, Alumnae Class of '82 El Paso, Texas May 2022

Loretto Academy, Alumnae Class of '82 El Paso, Texas May 2022

Loretto Academy, Alumnae Class of '82 El Paso, Texas May 2022

Loretto Academy, Alumnae Class of '82 El Paso, Texas May 2022

Display at Class Reunion for Loretto Academy Class of '82, El Paso, TX 2022

Display at Class Reunion for Loretto Academy Class of '82, El ...

League of Women Voters of El Paso

League of Women Voters of El Paso

League of Women Voters of El Paso, Texas annual meeting May 2022

League of Women Voters of El Paso, Texas annual meeting May 2022

Alumnae of Loretto, Academy patio reception May 2022

Alumnae of Loretto, Academy patio reception May 2022

Joe Fussell

Joe Fussell lived in El Paso in 1899. He worked as a cowboy and ...

Summer vacay

EP museum day

Black & Chicanx Community Table: Community Recipes

Shared recipes from community members and attendees of the Black ...

Black & Chicanx Community Table: Community Recipes

Featured Recipe: Tacos Dorados con Rajas y Costra de Queso by ...

Black & Chicanx Community Table: Community Recipes

Featured Recipe: Tacos Dorados con Rajas y Costra de Queso by ...

Black & Chicanx Community Table: Community Recipes

Featured Recipe: Palo a pique by Carmen Olimpia
Type: Main ...

Black & Chicanx Community Table: Community Recipes

Featured Recipe: Palo a pique by Carmen Olimpia
Type: Main ...

Black & Chicanx Community Table: Community Recipes

Featured Recipe: Chicken Piccata by Andrea Read
Type: Main ...

Black & Chicanx Community Table: Community Recipes

Featured Recipe: Chicken Piccata by Andrea Read
Type: Main ...

home.search_collection