{"nrhp_refnum":"02000908","name":"Teatro La Paz","other_names":["El Cine Rio","Rio Theatre","Cafe Rio","Joe's Meat Market"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"514,516,518 Doherty","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mission","county":"Hidalgo County","state":"TX","lat":26.211141879000024,"lon":-98.32482860299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-08-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Hispanic","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A complex of three connected brick commercial buildings at 514, 516 and 518 Doherty Avenue in Mission, Hidalgo County, Texas, built between 1915 and 1933. It centers on the two-story Teatro La Paz, later called the Rio Theatre, built by Juan Bautista Barbéra.","why_significant":"The theater was the only one in Mission that catered to the large Spanish-speaking population, and it served as a cultural center for Hispanic arts and entertainment from the 1910s through the 1940s and beyond. The complex is also an intact local example of early 20th century commercial architecture with Spanish Colonial Revival details. It is Mission's oldest surviving theater and its only surviving Spanish-language arts venue.","narrative":"Teatro La Paz, later known as the Rio Theatre, is a group of three connected brick commercial buildings on Doherty Avenue in Mission, Texas, built between 1915 and 1933. Juan Bautista Barbéra, a bricklayer from Spain, completed the two-story theater in 1915 and later added flanking buildings for a pharmacy, pool tables and a bowling alley. It was the only theater in town that served Mission's Spanish-speaking residents, hosting touring companies from Mexico, lecturers, silent films and later Mexican films. New owners renamed it El Cine Rio in 1945, and it later housed an art institute and gallery. Its design resembles an ordinary vernacular two-part commercial block, with segmental-arched windows, a stepped parapet, a small balcony and green glazed tile. The neighboring buildings add Spanish Colonial Revival touches such as tile canopies and pineapple finials. The complex is valued as a long-running center of Hispanic culture and as a well-preserved group of early commercial buildings.","period_of_significance":"1915-1952","architect_builder":"Barbéra, Juan Bautista","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Mission/Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Described as in excellent condition with a high degree of integrity. The theater still operates, showing classic movies one weekend a month, and the adjoining buildings house a restaurant, an art studio space and a meat market.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.959299-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/1/9696/40969601/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/02000908.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000908/64b542af11-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02000908/64b542af11-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Onleal91","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teatro_La_Paz.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Onleal91</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teatro_La_Paz.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969601","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000034"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/hidalgo-county/teatro-la-paz-02000908/"}