Plaza Theatre, Performing arts theater in El Paso, United States
The Plaza Theatre is a performing arts venue in El Paso with Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and ornate interior details. The main auditorium holds approximately 2,050 seats and is distinguished by decorative elements throughout the building.
Louis L. Dent bought the Pioneer Plaza site in 1927 and had architect W. Scott Dunne design the theatre, which opened on 12 September 1930 with the film Follow Thru before 2,410 people. In 1939 the theatre held a midnight screening of Gone With the Wind for African Americans after activist Betty Mary Goetting intervened. The city and the El Paso Community Foundation restored it after 2002.
The theater presents concerts, theatrical productions, and film screenings throughout the year with both local and international performers. These events reflect the artistic interests of the city and draw visitors from across the region.
The Plaza Theatre stands on Pioneer Plaza in downtown El Paso, where the entrance marquee faces the street. The building holds two performance spaces: the 2,050-seat Kendall Kidd Performance Hall and the smaller 200-seat Philanthropy Theatre. Events include Broadway productions, concerts and the annual Plaza Classic Film Festival.
The auditorium ceiling was fitted with twinkling stars placed in astronomically correct positions, along with projections of drifting clouds. The Wurlitzer organ installed at opening cost $60,000; it was later auctioned off during the theater's decline. The Plaza was the first public theater in the United States with air conditioning.
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