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.

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

Miss El Paso and Miss El Paso Teen

Miss El Paso 2014 and Miss Teen El Paso 2014. Miss El Paso ...

Miss El Paso and Miss Teen El Paso

Miss El Paso and Miss El Paso Teen for 2014. Miss El Paso ...

Victoria Sinclair

Victoria Sinclair with friend after winning the Miss El Paso ...

Victoria Sinclair

Victoria Sinclair receiving the title from Miss El Paso 2013.

Victoria Sinclair

Miss El Paso 2014 - Victoria Sinclair. Location was El Paso, ...

Victoria Sinclair

Victoria Sinclair at the Miss El Paso contest. Location was El ...

Miss El Paso 2014

Victoria Sinclair - Miss El Paso 2014.

Victoria Sinclair - Miss El Paso 2014

Victoria Sinclair winning the Miss El Paso 2014 contest.

Victoria Sinclair

Victoria Sinclair - Miss City Magazine 2014. She went on to ...

Victoria Sinclair - Miss City Magazine

Victoria Sinclair - Miss City Magazine 2014.

Victoria Sinclair

Victoria Sinclair as Miss City Magazine. She went on to become ...

Victoria Sinclair

Victoria Sinclair - Miss El Paso 2014. Location was El Paso, ...

Victoria Sinclair

Miss El Paso 2014 contest in downtown El Paso, Texas.

Victoria Sinclair

Victoria Sinclair - Miss El Paso 2014.

Victoria Sinclair - Miss El Paso 2014

Victoria Sinclair - Miss El Paso 2014.

Victoria Sinclair

Miss El Paso 2014 contest in downtown El Paso, Texas.

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso 2014

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso 2014 with Miss El Paso 2013.

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso 2014

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso 2014 with mother, Liz Sinclair ...

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso 2014

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso 2014 with Duv Kupver who did the ...

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso 2014

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso 2014 with mother, Liz Sinclair ...

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso 2014

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso 2014.

Miss El Paso and Miss Teen El Paso

Victoria Sinclair, Miss El Paso 2014, Tulasi Gopalan, Miss Teen ...

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso finals 2014.=

Victoria Sinclair Miss El Paso finals 2014, first walk as Miss ...

home.search_collection