{"nrhp_refnum":"87000902","name":"Plaza Theatre","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"125 Pioneer Plaza","address_restricted":false,"city":"El Paso","county":"El Paso County","state":"TX","lat":31.75898812400004,"lon":-106.48958194799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-06-04","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Entertainment/Recreation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A steel-framed, brick-faced movie palace at 125 Pioneer Plaza in downtown El Paso, Texas, designed by architect W. Scott Dunne and built in 1929-30. It has a four-story auditorium and a two-story entrance wing.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the theater is a notable example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, with a lavish interior and advanced stage, sound and mechanical equipment. It was the \"Showplace of the Southwest\" and a major regional cultural center until the 1960s. It is one of few remaining theaters of its kind and the only one in El Paso with this level of architectural extravagance.","narrative":"Plaza Theatre, at 125 Pioneer Plaza in downtown El Paso, opened on September 12, 1930, to a capacity crowd. Architect W. Scott Dunne fitted the steel-framed, brick-faced building into an irregular block, with a four-story auditorium and a modest entrance wing facing Pioneer Plaza. The exterior uses restrained Spanish Colonial Revival detail, while the interior is elaborate: mosaic tile floors, molded plaster, painted ceilings, and metal railings. The auditorium seats 2,410 and was designed to suggest an outdoor garden, with terraced side walls, foliage, a cloud machine, a bird machine and a ceiling of twinkling lights. It was billed as the largest theater of its kind between New Orleans and Los Angeles. It hosted films and live acts, and a Wurlitzer organ was installed, later removed. The entrance has been altered and its Mission-style parapet removed, but the interior decoration remains intact. The theater was nominated as an architectural and entertainment landmark and as one of few surviving examples of its kind.","period_of_significance":"1900- (specific dates 1929-30)","architect_builder":"W. Scott Dunne, Architect; C. A. Goetting, Contractor","architectural_style":"Spanish Colonial Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Operating as a movie theater in sound structural condition with interior intact; entrance facade altered, parapet removed, and the Wurlitzer organ and many furnishings removed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.512853-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/85/9718/40971885/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/87000902.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000902/400535469b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87000902/400535469b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Donitza Marie","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Plaza_Theatre.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Donitza Marie</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:The_Plaza_Theatre.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971885","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaza_Theatre_(El_Paso)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q573955"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/el-paso-county/plaza-theatre-87000902/"}