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The Rio Grande Theatre came to life on July 29, 1926 with the opening of the film “Mare Nostrum, a powerful story of the
sea.” This silent film was directed by Rex Ingram and starred Alice Terry and Antonio Moreno and the showing was accompanied on the pipe organ by Miss Elsie Dean Bristol, who was brought to
Las Cruces by the Central Theatres Corporation, a theatre management company out of Denver. Thus began a new chapter in the history of Las Cruces and in the memories of countless area residents
The original builders of the Rio Grande Theatre were C. T. Seale and B. G. Dyne who acquired the old Hacker Hotel, razed the building, and began construction. Southwest architect Otto Thorman,
who designed a number of commercial projects in El Paso such as the El Paso Free Public Library and the Women’s Club of El Paso, created the look of the Rio Grande Theatre in the Italian
Renaissance Revival style popular in the 1920’s and 30’s. The renovation design was executed by architect Ron Nims of Studio D architects, who was guided by the original blueprints
discovered in the archives at the University of Texas-El Paso. The reconstruction was performed by DnD Contractors of Santa Teresa.
The theatre’s arched second-floor windows and
entryway with its bas-relief violins, horns, and foliage were uncovered early in the renovation process and have become symbols of, as well as motivation and inspiration for, the renovation
process. Unique tile work at the base of each column was another hidden treasure uncovered by the removal of the metal front, stucco walls, and marquee.
The Rio Grande Theatre survived
an earthquake in the early thirties – metal rosettes on the front of the building were anchors for metal cable strung through the structure for additional support – and a fire in
1933. It is a testament to the determination of Misters Seale and Dyne that despite the nation’s depressed economic state they chose to bring back the Rio Grande even more gloriously than
before. The décor is outlined in a special newspaper released in November of 1933 just prior to the reopening and graciously provided to DAAC by the B. G. Dyne family. “The redecoration was
decidedly of the Spanish baroque style and included white velour wall tapestries with red velvet festoons depicting historical figures: Carlos Rex, Coronado, a Spanish dancer, a Spanish padre, an Aztec
chief, and a Navajo Indian. The grand drape was turquoise velvet with a gold plush valance and gold satin appliqué and was painted with the figures of caballeros in a falcon scene. There were nine
great chandeliers that hung from the main ceiling and the main lobby was decorated with wall paintings and elaborate hangings symbolizing the spirit of the southwest. Color combinations of reds,
yellows, and blues and gilded heraldic devices were the order of the day.” The theatre boasted a “washed air” cooling system – basically a large evaporative cooler –
that employed a system of vents that ran underneath the floor and out through the walls. In a bit of psychological trickery, the walls featured real vents and ones that were painted on to give the
appearance of more washed air flowing into the space than there actually was. The effort and expense the owners put into bringing the theatre back to life after the fire leads one to believe that
they must have recognized the important role the theatre would play in the life of Las Cruces.
The small storefronts on the north and south sides of the main entrance have their own set of
memories associated with them as they have housed a number of different businesses over the years – a beauty parlor/barbershop, a jewelry store, children’s clothing store, trading card shop,
and vitamin store.
Over the years the Rio Grande was operated by various corporations including Fox, Video Independent Theatres, and National General and it was leased/managed by several
different families and individuals such as Jimmie Wheeler, Mike Zelesney, and Ollie Wilhelm. But it continued to be owned by the same two families, the children and grandchildren of C. T. Seale and
B. G. Dyne. Allen Theatres took over the operation in 1982 and the RGT ran mostly “second run” films until it closed in 1997.
For over seventy years the Rio Grande Theatre
had been a community gathering place in downtown Las Cruces. Many local residents have come forward with their memories of films they saw there, dates they had in the balcony, newsreels, serials,
cartoons before the main feature, and even live entertainments. Another prominent recollection is that of using Price’s milk caps and cartons to get in to the Saturday matinee or on a
Wednesday morning during the summer. Prices for that first movie in 1926 were forty cents for the main floor, thirty cents for the balcony, and the gallery and child prices were fifteen cents, but
the tradition of the milk caps lasted long after the cost of a movie went up
In 1998, Jan Clute and Carolyn Muggenburg, granddaughters of C. T. Seale, gifted their portion of the theatre to the
Doña Ana Arts Council. It was determined that DAAC should try to acquire the other half and to use the facility as a performing arts and education venue as well as the permanent home for the arts
council. After some emergency fundraising, DAAC became sole owner of the property and a dream began to become a reality.
The Rio Grande Theatre is a 422-seat, state-of-the-art performing
arts facility with a forty-foot fly loft, dressing rooms, digital projector, sound and lighting equipment, acoustical panels, refrigerated air, a refurbished lobby, and gallery spaces. It also
contains the offices of the Doña Ana Arts Council. It is through the dedicated activism of numerous volunteers, board members, and staff, the generosity of many private individuals, businesses, and
government officials that we are able to raise the curtain on the stage of a reborn Rio Grande Theatre.
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