Opening of Plaza Theater in 1930

Opening of Plaza Theater in 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.

Área: Central / Downtown

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

Cargado por: UTEP Library Special Collections

Comentarios

Hacer un comentario
Gracias por su comentario

Reportar esta entrada

Elige la razón más importante para este reporte

Tu nombre

Tu correo electrónico

Detalle opcional

Gracias por su reporte

Más sobre la misma comunidad-colección

James Harden-Hickey

Traveling to Tibet before his marriage, his crew made a stop in ...

Felix Martinez

Felix Martinez's most lasting contribution was his strong ...

James P. Mills, padre de Anson Mills

James P. Mills was born in 1808 in Pennsylvania. He became an ...

Ben Williams - Agente de la Ley de El Paso - El Paso, Texas

Ben Williams operated the Ben Williams Detective Agency in El ...

William Bonney, mejor conocido como Billy the Kid

William Bonney (1859–1881) Billy the Kid was a pathological ...

Dr. Charles T. Race

Dr. Charles T. Race was born in 1851 in Kentucky. He came to ...

Sr. Maurice C. Edwards

Mr. Edwards worked for Mr. Bassett in his lumber yard at Stanton ...

Capitan John Hughes - Guardabosques de Texas - El Paso, Texas

In 1886 several horses were stolen from his and neighboring ...

Helen Leavitt

Helen Leavitt poses with her dog.

Sra. Hugh Crouse

Maud Austion was the wife of Hugh Crouse, a doctor in El Paso, ...

Louise Austin Esposa de James S. Marr

Wife of Col. James Marr, who was the founder of El Paso Transfer ...

Jose Antonio Escajeda - San Elizario, TX

José Antonio Escajeda was part of an early El Paso pioneer ...

William Simon Fraser - 1900's

William Simon Fraser was born around 1893 (1930's federal census ...

Capitan John R. Hughes

HUGHES, JOHN REYNOLDS (1855–1947). John Reynolds Hughes, Texas ...

Thomas J. Beall

Thomas J. Beall, a distinguished lawyer representing various ...

Fred Felcher

Fred Felcher out for a buggy ride.

Teniente General R.S. Canby

Soon after the Civil War began, Canby was named colonel of the ...

Florence Villas, Ada Lyons y Kate McGhee - El Paso, Tejas

From left to right: Florence Vilas, Ada Lyons, and Kate McGee. ...

Pareja no identificada

The image shows two unidentified people, very nicely dressed, in ...

Niña no identificada

Unidentified girl in photo.

Teniente General Anson Mills

Anson Mills, surveyor, builder, army officer, engineer, American ...

Juez Gaylord Clarke

He studied law, and was admitted to the bar on July 19, 1869. In ...

Capitan John Hughes - Texas Ranger

John Reynolds Hughes (February 11, 1855 - June 3, 1947) was a ...

home.search_collection