Historic Theaters

An Entertainment Legacy

Explore Albuquerque’s entertainment history through historic architecture along Route 66.

Find theaters and performing arts spaces to enjoy on your trip today.

Cinema in the Southwest: A Brief History

Dreams come to life on the big screen, and New Mexico has set the scene for many iconic films and television series. Filmmakers have been inspired by New Mexico’s serene mesas, mountain ranges and painted desert skies since the earliest days of movie production.

New Mexico’s film history dates back to 1898, when Thomas A. Edison shot a 50-second silent film titled “Indian Day School” in Isleta Pueblo, south of Albuquerque. The film depicted a line of children following their teacher out of the schoolhouse and back in again – one of the earliest examples of a documentary-type film (an “actuality”) made in the United States, and the first film ever shot in the American West. Almost 15 years later, pioneering filmmaker D.W. Griffith paused in New Mexico in 1912 for one fateful week while en route to New York, filming a feature-length love story “The Tourists” and a short film “A Pueblo Legend.”

When the “talkies” took over the film industry, Westerns set in the American Southwest became increasingly popular among the moviegoing masses. Hollywood stars would arrive for their shoot at the Albuquerque train depot and stay at the famous Alvarado Hotel, a former Harvey House on Route 66. Cinematographers captured the landscapes of New Mexico through their lenses, while Billy the Kid and fictitious cowboys led the narratives.

Silent film star Alma Rubens at the Alvarado, 1925. Photo by William Steele Dean. Albuquerque Museum, PA1982.128.203.

In the 21st century, Albuquerque got its big break on primetime with AMC’s “Breaking Bad” and its spinoff “Better Call Saul,” both of which were not only filmed in Albuquerque, but also set there. Albuquerque’s film reputation was boosted by Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” where the Duke City’s own Skate-o-Mania was featured (you can visit this classic roller rink with a quick detour off of old Route 66). The 2020s brought a renaissance for Native American-led film and television projects in New Mexico, notably “Dark Winds” and “Rez Ball.”

Route 66, the cinema, and Albuquerque go hand-in-hand. These distinct lines of history converge at a half dozen historic theaters that were built during Route 66’s heyday and are still welcoming guests. The most famous of the city’s historic theaters is the KiMo, an embodiment of a fantastical Southwest where cultures were interpreted through performance and architecture.

KiMo Theatre

   The KiMo Theatre was built in 1927 by the Boller Brothers architecture firm for entertainment entrepreneur Oreste Bachechi. Bachechi had a vision of a metropolitain Albuquerque, complete with a “picture palace” that reflected the romance of the Southwest and could compete with the Greek, Egyptian, Mayan and Chinese-inspired theaters on the West Coast. Its walls are decorated with various Pueblo and Navajo motifs and kitsch, rooted in the Spanish-Pueblo vernacular of the region with an eye towards modern Art Deco trends.
   The KiMo’s corner of Downtown Albuquerque served as the stage for a real-life romance as well. Italian opera composer Giacomo Puccini composed the score for “The Girl of the Golden West,” which made its American debut in New York in December 1910. Though Puccini wrote it having never seen the American West, in 1913 he set out by train to view the magnificent desert landscapes. Rumors spread that he would visit Albuquerque during his trip.
   Oreste’s daughter, Iole, was thrilled that the famous Italian artist was going to visit her hometown. She waited at the Alvarado train station for Puccini, only to be met with a different Puccini – his cousin, Luigi, a young journalist born in Tuscany who had been living in New York. The story goes that Iole and Luigi fell in love at first sight, and were soon married in 1914.

The KiMo Theatre, 1927, gelatin silver print. Albuquerque Museum, gift of John Airy.

KiMo Theatre Stage, ca. 1932, gelatin silver print. Albuquerque Museum, gift of John Airy. PA1982.180.720.

Hanna & Hanna for Albuquerque Progress, El Rey Theatre, June 27, 1941, gelatin silver print. Albuquerque Museum, gift of Albuquerque National Bank. PA1980.061.357.

El Rey Theater

The Puccini-Bachechi marriage would birth an entertainment legacy in West Downtown. Luigi Puccini opened the doors of his own movie theater, which he called El Rey Theater, in June 1941, setting it apart from the KiMo Theatre by evoking Spanish Mission Revival architecture. El Rey had a neighboring cocktail lounge – Puccini’s Golden West Saloon – named after the opera that Luigi’s cousin wrote. Puccini’s Golden West Saloon was destroyed in a fire in 2008, but the shell of the beloved bar is now an open-air dancefloor attached to El Rey. No longer a movie theater, El Rey’s stage now hosts energetic live performances from touring musicians and local emerging voices.

Sunshine Theatre

The Sunshine Theatre is a fully operational performance venue and office complex on 1st Street and Central Avenue (Route 66). The 1,200-seat theater opened May 1, 1924, with a premiere of “Scaramouche” (1923), complete with an orchestra pit and a hand-operated elevator system. The Sunshine was designed in the Neo-Renaissance style by architect Henry C. Trost (the man behind Downtown landmarks including the First National Bank building, the Occidental Life building and the historic Albuquerque High School). The Sunshine was Albuquerque’s first “movie palace,” showing not only films, but presenting live performances and vaudeville. At the time, it was among the first “skyscrapers” in a rapidly-growing Downtown Albuquerque.
The Sunshine’s neon sign was removed around 1981. After a long public debate over the fate of the historic theater, a grassroots preservation movement protected the Sunshine as a part of Albuquerque’s early urban period. Sunshine has hosted a myriad of musical acts since the 1990s.

Sunshine Theater, ca. 1940, gelatin silver print. Albuquerque Museum, gift of John Airy. PA1982.181.200.

Opening night at the Lobo Theater, August 19, 1939, gelatin silver print. Albuquerque Museum, gift of John Airy. PA1982.180.744.

Lobo Theater

On August 19, 1938, the Lobo Theater opened its doors to a buzzing crowd in the warm Albuquerque night. It was the Nob Hill neighborhood’s first motion picture theater, so the event required a lavish celebration. Throughout the 1940s, the Lobo was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc., and later operated by local entertainment company Albuquerque Exhibitors Inc. By 1953, the Lobo was nicknamed the “Lobo Art Theatre” or “Lobo Fine Arts Cinema.” The original screen was sold in 1956, and the Lobo served the college community as a “dollar theater” for its twilight years. In 2021, the Lobo was restored as an entertainment venue.
The Lobo Theater is a simple Art Deco building, with a stepped, geometric roofline and a marquee wrapped around the facade. Lobo’s neon sign is lined with green and orange-red light – the typical colors of authentic neon. Notably, the women’s bathroom bore a 10-foot tall mirror with a floral edge, which inspired owner J. Richard Rivas to reimagine the entire theater as a late Art Deco lounge, as glamorous as its 1938 opening night gala. The Lobo now hosts live music and film screenings, along with regular brunch events and karaoke nights. For lovers of blues, soul and traditional big band music, the Lobo is calling!

The Guild Cinema

The Guild Cinema opened in 1966 in Albuquerque’s Nob Hill neighborhood with a focus on foreign films, art films and “adult” movies. In April 1971, Bert Manzari, a graduate of the University of New Mexico who served in the New Mexico Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, used the GI Bill to purchase the struggling art house theater. “I had a crazy idea that people would be interested in watching old movies,” Manzari said. For the time, the Guild featured revival films from the mid-’60s. “Art House” was an entertainment industry designation from the late 1950s to the early ’60s, consisting of smaller movie theaters that screened classic, cult and foreign films. Today, the Guild still serves that niche, luring crowds of late-night moviegoers to see rare and celebrated flicks.

Il Vicino and Guild Cinema, 1992, 35mm color slide. Albuquerque Museum, gift of Historic Albuquerque, Inc. PA2022.001.988.

Hiland Theater (1950)

Hiland Theater, June 1950. Albuquerque Museum, gift of Albuquerque National Bank. PA1980.186.096

Hiland Theatre

The Hiland Theatre was the last of the mid-century movie palaces to rise along Albuquerque’s Route 66, built in the Streamline Moderne style with rich green accents. Built in 1950, the Hiland’s staggering animated neon sign illuminates the east end of Nob Hill. Upon opening, the Hiland’s greatest modern appeal for moviegoers was its large, private parking lot with over 300 spaces – a feature we now take for granted! Hiland’s automobile-friendly architecture ruled it Albuquerque’s “first suburban theater.” It stopped screening films in 1995, but showcases live performances today. The Hiland Theater reopened its doors as the home of the National Dance Institute of New Mexico in 2012.

April 20, 1950, Grand Opening Advertisement, Albuquerque Tribune.

“Welcome President Kennedy,” marquee on Hiland Theatre honoring President John F. Kennedy’s visit to Albuquerque in 1962.

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