Sunshine Theatre
120 Central Avenue SW,
Albuquerque,
NM
87102
120 Central Avenue SW,
Albuquerque,
NM
87102
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Paramount Pictures Inc.
Architects: Henry C. Trost
Firms: Trost & Trost
Functions: Nightclub
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
505.764.0249
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Mar 2, 2010 — Happy 45th, "The Sound Of Music"
- Mar 27, 2009 — Remembering Cinerama (Part 24: Albuquerque)
Opened on May 1, 1924, the 1,200 seat Sunshine Theatre was designed by El Paso architect Henry C. Trost, and was Albuquerque’s first big movie palace. By the early-1940’s it was operated by Paramount Pictures Inc. through their subsidiary Hoblitzelle & O'Donnell.
It continued to operate as a movie theatre into the 1980’s, and has recently been reborn as an all-ages night club, with an over-21 bar in the former balcony and a second bar called the Moonlight Lounge in one corner of the main floor.
Contributed by
Joe Vogel
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
On October 29, 1952, the Sunshine was featuring Mario Lanza in “Because You’re Mine”. The Albuquerque Journal on that day also advertised these area theaters:
Sandia, Isleta – Spanish language films
Terrace Drive-In, 66 Drive-in, Sunset Drive-In, Tesuque Twin
Drive-In, Star Drive-In
Kimo, Cactus, State, El Rey, Hiland, Lobo, Ernie Pyle
The Sunshine Theater is now a disgrace. I paid $30 to see a major musician there last night. Because it was “General Admission,” I got there early and waited outside in the cold for an hour (they also opened late). Patrons were frisked like prisoners upon entry. The venue seems to be unheated; it was VERY cold inside. It is decrepid, dirty and in ill-repair. The bathrooms are like the worst bus station you’ve ever been in; stinky, no soap, stall doors don’t even close. I’ve lived in under-developed countries and have rarely been in a theater that is so gross. I am embarrassed for Albuquerque. Hopefully someone will buy this building and rennovate.
A 1987 view of the Sunshine Theater in Albuquerque.
When theatres are allowed to deteriote and go down hill like that, it’s clearly a wake-up call that it’s demise is around the corner, so to speak. Not a good sign, imho.
I’m at my wit’s end. I first attended the Sunshine in 1973 for GONE WITH THE WIND, and my immature mind could not put a finger on what was wrong. I attended regularly in the late 1970s when it was a repertory house, and I still could not put my finger on what was wrong. Now I can. The entire interior of the theatre was drastically remodeled in 1948 in art moderne style. The only remaining trace of architect Henry C Trost’s and the anonymous decorator’s original design is the plaster mold surrounding the proscenium. Many moons ago I went through the microfilms of the local papers from circa May 1924 and found a single illustration of the original interior: a detail of an exit door, which was framed by three arches, all traces of which have been erased forever. The Henry Trost archives appear to have nothing about the Sunshine. The Albuquerque Public Library has nothing. The Albuquerque Museum has no illustrations of the original interior, and UNM’s Center for Southwest Research has papers relating only to the hideous 1948 remodeling. Does anyone, anyone, anyone at all have illustrations of the original 1924 interior? Many thanks!
Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/y9qxkft
Thanks ken mc.
Nice Theatre,interesting story by lhl12.
1950 photo added courtesy of Jeff Cavin.
May 1st, 1924 grand opening ad in photo section.