Plaza Theatre (1930), view05, 125 Pioneer Plaza, El Paso, TX, USA
El Paso, TX, est. 1873, pop. (2015) 679,000 • Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, est. 1659, pop. 1.4MM) • El Paso-Juárez Metropolitan Area, pop. 2.7 MM • Life on the Line, NY Times Magazine
• the Plaza opened as a 2,410 seat, Spanish Colonial Revival style movie theater • located downtown at the end of a 1-mile stretch of El Paso St., between Pioneer Plaza & the international bridge to Juárez • attracted moviegoers from west Texas, southern New Mexico & northern Mexico • seating for black patrons was provided in the 392-seat balcony, aka the "Colored Balcony"
• designed by St. Louis-born Dallas architect, W. Scott Dunne (1886-1937) • reflects the bi-national & bi-cultural heritage of the region • Dunne is credited with over 25 movie theaters across TX & OK • this theater has been cited as his finest
• built by Louis L. Dent (1886-1948) for Dent Theaters (est. 1918), his Dallas-based chain aka "the Dent circuit" • already controlled the major theaters in El Paso, but wanted to build a modern theater specifically designed to exhibit talking pictures, which began appearing in experimental form in 1921 • in 1926 Warner Bros. released its first Vitaphone features & followed up with more in 1927
• on 14 Feb., 1927, Dent announced the project in an El Paso Morning Times front page article • the headline read, “$1,000,000 For Pioneer Plaza” • below, Dent proclaimed, “El Paso has been good to me and I am going to put up something everybody will be proud of.” • in 1927, with the Plaza under construction, the Jazz Singer opened to great acclaim in NYC, leaving little doubt that the motion picture sound era had begun
• sound-equipped movie palaces followed, most notably the atmospheric theaters designed by Ukraine-Born Chicago architect John Eberson • one of his earliest was the 1921 Dallas Majestic [photo], its auditorium creating the illusion of an outdoor stage in an open courtyard, with clouds — projected by two $1,500 Brenographs — floating beneath twinkling stars • Dunne, undoubtedly aware of Eberson's work, designed the Plaza as an atmospheric theater [photo] • the El Paso Morning Times suggested that the interior recalled the "fabled beauty of Old Spain and the charm of Old Mexico."
• prior to the theater's grand opening [photo], it was purchased by Paramount-Famous-Pictures-Lasky Corp. • when completed, it was the largest movie theater west of Dallas, with a nursery, an air-conditioning/heating system & the 1st electrically refrigerated public drinking water in the U.S.
• the theater was also equipped with Tele-Chec, a widespread feature of Paramount theaters in the 1920s-30s • ushers used it to keep track of seat availability by dialing the number of available seats on small wall-mounted units at each row • a brass console centrally located on each foyer displayed the number of empty seats [photos] • ushers, called "splitters," were stationed on the foyers to greet patrons by directing them to specific row and seat numbers —San Francisco: Never-Ending Story, David Hartnell
• the Plaza was fitted with another Paramount signature feature, a $60,000 "Mighty" WurliTzer Balaban III organ (opus 2123), one of only six produced by the WurliTzer Company • as per W. Scott Dunne's specs., the console of the 15 rank, 1,071 pipe instrument was designed to rise from the orchestra pit
• the original Balaban Wurlitzers were built specifically for the Chicago-based Balaban & Katz theater chain, which eventually became part of Paramount • the Balaban organ series was the result of B&K's insistence on having the best possible music & sound effects for silent movie exhibition • the Balabans could produce the sounds of conventional musical instruments, cathedral chimes, horse hoofs, birds, a simulated human voice & numerous other sounds • [photo] • video: Laurie Sebastian Koval @ The Mighty Wurlitzer (1:49)
• the theater was saved from demolition in 1987 by the El Paso Community Foundation the Foundation & the City of El Paso formed a public/private partnership, with the City dedicating $15.5 MM & the Foundation $12 MM to the restoration • the effort was assisted by a grant from the U.S. Federal Government's Save America’s Treasures program • in 1996, El Pasoans Karl O. Wyler, Sr. & wife Glyn purchased the absent Wuritzer • it was restored and returned to the Plaza • on 17 March, 2006, the restored theater reopened with seating reduced to 2,050 —Cinema Treasures
• National Register #87000902, 1987
Plaza Theatre (1930), view05, 125 Pioneer Plaza, El Paso, TX, USA
El Paso, TX, est. 1873, pop. (2015) 679,000 • Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, est. 1659, pop. 1.4MM) • El Paso-Juárez Metropolitan Area, pop. 2.7 MM • Life on the Line, NY Times Magazine
• the Plaza opened as a 2,410 seat, Spanish Colonial Revival style movie theater • located downtown at the end of a 1-mile stretch of El Paso St., between Pioneer Plaza & the international bridge to Juárez • attracted moviegoers from west Texas, southern New Mexico & northern Mexico • seating for black patrons was provided in the 392-seat balcony, aka the "Colored Balcony"
• designed by St. Louis-born Dallas architect, W. Scott Dunne (1886-1937) • reflects the bi-national & bi-cultural heritage of the region • Dunne is credited with over 25 movie theaters across TX & OK • this theater has been cited as his finest
• built by Louis L. Dent (1886-1948) for Dent Theaters (est. 1918), his Dallas-based chain aka "the Dent circuit" • already controlled the major theaters in El Paso, but wanted to build a modern theater specifically designed to exhibit talking pictures, which began appearing in experimental form in 1921 • in 1926 Warner Bros. released its first Vitaphone features & followed up with more in 1927
• on 14 Feb., 1927, Dent announced the project in an El Paso Morning Times front page article • the headline read, “$1,000,000 For Pioneer Plaza” • below, Dent proclaimed, “El Paso has been good to me and I am going to put up something everybody will be proud of.” • in 1927, with the Plaza under construction, the Jazz Singer opened to great acclaim in NYC, leaving little doubt that the motion picture sound era had begun
• sound-equipped movie palaces followed, most notably the atmospheric theaters designed by Ukraine-Born Chicago architect John Eberson • one of his earliest was the 1921 Dallas Majestic [photo], its auditorium creating the illusion of an outdoor stage in an open courtyard, with clouds — projected by two $1,500 Brenographs — floating beneath twinkling stars • Dunne, undoubtedly aware of Eberson's work, designed the Plaza as an atmospheric theater [photo] • the El Paso Morning Times suggested that the interior recalled the "fabled beauty of Old Spain and the charm of Old Mexico."
• prior to the theater's grand opening [photo], it was purchased by Paramount-Famous-Pictures-Lasky Corp. • when completed, it was the largest movie theater west of Dallas, with a nursery, an air-conditioning/heating system & the 1st electrically refrigerated public drinking water in the U.S.
• the theater was also equipped with Tele-Chec, a widespread feature of Paramount theaters in the 1920s-30s • ushers used it to keep track of seat availability by dialing the number of available seats on small wall-mounted units at each row • a brass console centrally located on each foyer displayed the number of empty seats [photos] • ushers, called "splitters," were stationed on the foyers to greet patrons by directing them to specific row and seat numbers —San Francisco: Never-Ending Story, David Hartnell
• the Plaza was fitted with another Paramount signature feature, a $60,000 "Mighty" WurliTzer Balaban III organ (opus 2123), one of only six produced by the WurliTzer Company • as per W. Scott Dunne's specs., the console of the 15 rank, 1,071 pipe instrument was designed to rise from the orchestra pit
• the original Balaban Wurlitzers were built specifically for the Chicago-based Balaban & Katz theater chain, which eventually became part of Paramount • the Balaban organ series was the result of B&K's insistence on having the best possible music & sound effects for silent movie exhibition • the Balabans could produce the sounds of conventional musical instruments, cathedral chimes, horse hoofs, birds, a simulated human voice & numerous other sounds • [photo] • video: Laurie Sebastian Koval @ The Mighty Wurlitzer (1:49)
• the theater was saved from demolition in 1987 by the El Paso Community Foundation the Foundation & the City of El Paso formed a public/private partnership, with the City dedicating $15.5 MM & the Foundation $12 MM to the restoration • the effort was assisted by a grant from the U.S. Federal Government's Save America’s Treasures program • in 1996, El Pasoans Karl O. Wyler, Sr. & wife Glyn purchased the absent Wuritzer • it was restored and returned to the Plaza • on 17 March, 2006, the restored theater reopened with seating reduced to 2,050 —Cinema Treasures
• National Register #87000902, 1987