What's playing at the Plaza Classic Film Festival this summer?

What's playing at the Plaza Classic Film Festival in downtown El Paso, August -17?

Wizard of Oz plays on the big 1930 screen in the restored
Plaza Theatre in downtown El Paso during the Plaza Classic Film Festival

Office Space

The Seven Year Itch

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

This summer, don't miss the opportunity to see classic films on the big 1930 screen at the Plaza Theatre in downtown El Paso as part of the Plaza Classic Film Festival, August 7-17!   Click here for the schedule.  Click here to purchase tickets!

On the BIG Screen at the Plaza Classic Film Fest!

The Matrix

12 Angry Men

Spartacus

The Kid

El Paso hosts a WONDERFUL film festival every year...showing classic films on the BIG 1930 screen.  They've got another great lineup again this year, don't miss it!   Visit the fest's website, and plan to attend August 7-17!

Plaza Classic Film Festival Announces Schedule!

Enjoy your favorite classic films in a beautifully restored 1930 movie theatre, El Paso's Plaza!  The festival just announced the lineup for August 6-17, and we're excited!  Check it out at www.plazaclassic.com

Guess who's coming to sign autographs?  Shirley Jones will be celebrating the showing of her 1955 classic, Oklahoma! at the festival! 

Ms. Jones will also be signing autographs for ticket holders. 

Best of 2013: A Dream Vacation for Classic Film Fans

Another of our favorite posts--and favorite adventures--of 2013!

 

Interior of the fully restored Plaza
Theatre in downtown El Paso

Every year, film lovers in the know head to El Paso for the largest (and probably the best!) Classic Film Festival anywhere, its home base the lovingly restored Plaza Theatre.  This 1930 theatre (Wurlitzer organ and all!) offers a step into the past for film buffs.  Full screen showings of some true classics.  Meet and greet opportunities with stars.  Great, great fun.

What's showing?  Old classics like The Graduate,  Fahrenheit 451, The Third Man, West Side Story and It Came From Outer Space!  And new classics like Far Marfa!  Here's a link to the schedule! 

Watch new and old cinema classics
at the Festival!

El Paso's lovely Union Station

Inside El Paso's train station

May we suggest a true adventure?!?  Take a COMPLETE step into the past by arriving at the festival by TRAIN!  El Paso's station is just blocks from the Plaza Theatre...and the city is on Amtrak's Sunset Limited Line. Get on the train in Alpine, San Antonio, New Orleans, Tucson or Los Angeles to get to the Festival...no cars needed! link to the festival's website for more information!

Once you arrive, you'll be in the center of downtown's museum cultural "campus" with plenty of lodging and dining opportunities!  Here's a

Lodging and dining opportunities just
steps from the Plaza Theatre!

Eating Vegan in El Paso

Sometimes traveling is a challenge for folks with dietary concerns, so we wanted to take a day to point out some options for vegans in El Paso.  Not a vegan, but like to consider vegetarian options?  The Vegetarian Society of El Paso has MANY options listed on their dining guide, HERE.

Vegan Tacos at Hello Day Cafe

Located a block from the historic El Camino Real Hotel, the El Paso Museum of Art and the Plaza Theatre is the tiny Hello Day Cafe, at 209 S. El Paso Street, where we sampled the Vegan Tacos late this week.  They use a spicy vegan queso with roasted broccoli, black beans, tomato and green onion.  Their menu is here.  (Meat eaters will find burgers, etc.!)  Their facebook page is here.

Another place for great vegan dining is The Green Ingredient, also in downtown El Paso, in the main floor of the Chase Bank Building at the edge of the Plaza (now under renovation), 201 E. Main, Suite 112.  We've had several delicious meals there, and the menu, like at the Hello Day Cafe, can accommodate poultry and fish-eaters, too.  Their facebook page is here.

Causa Limena from The Green Ingredient
Lemony potato puree with avocado and marinated vegetables

Kale Deluxe Salad from The Green Ingredient

Raw Pasta with Marinara
The Green Ingredient

Avocado Chocolate Mousse
The Green Ingredient

A DREAM Vacation for Classic Film Fans!

Interior of the fully restored Plaza
Theatre in downtown El Paso

Every year, film lovers in the know head to El Paso for the largest (and probably the best!) Classic Film Festival anywhere, its home base the lovingly restored Plaza Theatre.  This 1930 theatre (Wurlitzer organ and all!) offers a step into the past for film buffs.  Full screen showings of some true classics.  Meet and greet opportunities with stars.  Great, great fun. 

What's showing?  Old classics like The Graduate,  Fahrenheit 451, The Third Man, West Side Story and It Came From Outer Space!  And new classics like Far Marfa!  Here's a link to the schedule! 

Watch new and old cinema classics
at the Festival!

El Paso's lovely Union Station

Inside El Paso's train station

May we suggest a true adventure?!?  Take a COMPLETE step into the past by arriving at the festival by TRAIN!  El Paso's station is just blocks from the Plaza Theatre...and the city is on Amtrak's Sunset Limited Line. Get on the train in Alpine, San Antonio, New Orleans, Tucson or Los Angeles to get to the Festival...no cars needed! link to the festival's website for more information!

Once you arrive, you'll be in the center of downtown's museum cultural "campus" with plenty of lodging and dining opportunities!  Here's a

Lodging and dining opportunities just
steps from the Plaza Theatre!

Visiting El Paso's beautiful downtown!

El Paso's Museum of Art is hosting Rembrandt, Rubens, and Golden Age of Painting in Europe 1600-1800 from the Speed Art Museum and From Church To Village: 16th and 17th Century Dutch and Flemish Paintings

Enjoying the garden at the Museum of History

Downtown El Paso packs a whallop of surprises in cultural offerings, all within walking distance of each other.  Consider the museums alone...park your car and walk to each one!

El Paso Museum of Art
El Paso Museum of History
Insights Science Center
El Paso Holocaust Museum
Railroad and Transportation Museum of El Paso
Lynx Exhibits



Not to mention the historic Plaza Theatre, next to the Museum of Art!

Oasis Bistro outside the historic Plaza Theatre

Our Texas Mountain Trail Executive Director, Beth Nobles, is also a Grassroots Ambassador for Stonewear Designs, a clothing company specializing in women's active wear  which she'll be testing on her adventures throughout Far West Texas.  For more information, visit Nobles' blog for newcomers to fitness, "One Foot in Front of the Other."

A good ride in El Paso

Historic Union Station in El Paso
(photo by Randy Mallory, courtesy: Texas Historical Commission)

Inside the historic Plaza Theatre, in downtown El Paso

Along the route is Concordia Cemetery, and the grave of famed gunfighter, John Wesley Hardin!

There's a great bike route mapped by El Paso's GeoBetty.com from cycle-friendly hotel Hyatt Place El Paso Airport to downtown.  Here's the route, which is rated as an easy 12 mile ride.  More photos of sights along the way are here!  In addition to downtown's museum and cultural campus, the ride takes you past historic Concordia Cemetery and the lovely Magoffin Home, a facility maintained by the Texas Historical Commission.

Classic Movie Adventure



Lobby of the 1930 Plaza Theatre today



Look up!  Lovely details everywhere, including the ceiling




Stencil art in the Plaza Theatre

 Coming up August 4-14, movie enthusiasts can not only escape the summer heat by slinking down into cushy movie seats and watching classics such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Fantasia, 8 1/2, The Searchers, Guys and Dolls on the BIG screen, but they can do it in perfectly restored 1930s loveliness.  Ten days of glorious movie history (plus some new flicks, too!) will be shown at the historic--and fully restored--Plaza Theatre in downtown El Paso.  Critics such as Leonard Maltin will host screenings and share thoughts about the films.  The Plaza Classic Film Festival is the world's largest festival devoted to classic film!
Visit our Plaza Theatre Film Adventure page for more information and links!

You won't encounter gooey seats or an "old" theatre experience...the Plaza is gorgeous and perfectly and lovingly restored.  We invite you to take the virtual tour, via the link on this page!  See it for yourself!


 

The Plaza offers a theatrical experience
inside the theatre itself,
as well as the lobby...here a lovely light fixture

History from the Plaza Theatre's website: 
By the late 1920s, El Paso was a growing metropolis. With a population of 100,000, El Paso already had two airports, numerous theaters, a fully-developed trolley system and all of the amenities of any other modern city.

At the center of it all was the Plaza Theatre, which opened September 12, 1930 to a capacity crowd of 2,410. It was advertised as the largest theater of its kind between Dallas and Los Angeles. Designed as a modern film house with the flexibility of presenting stage shows, the Plaza eventually hosted popular traveling shows and movies, becoming a fixture in the lives of theatergoers for generations to come.

Although several theaters existed in downtown El Paso at the time the Plaza Theatre opened, its size, elaborate decor, and technical innovations made it stand out. No expense was spared in creating this elaborate building, designed in Spanish Colonial Revival style of architecture. While the exterior facade was designed to be reminiscent of a Spanish mission-style parapet, patrons were awed by the interior, with its intricately painted ceilings, mosaic-tiled floors, decorative metal railings and sconces and, to heighten the effect, antique furnishings. With such grandiose rococo design, itís no wonder the Plaza was known as The Showplace of the Southwest.

Perhaps most impressive of all was the $60,000 Mighty Wurlitzer Organ, elevating from the orchestra pit to accompany vaudeville shows, sing-a-longs, and to entertain patrons before and after films. Its toy box provided it with the versatility to replicate such sounds as horses hooves, the ocean surf and birds chirping.

Within steps, fun on the same block in downtown El Paso!




Friday nights, El Paso hosts a free concert downtown in the space between the Museum of Art and the restored Plaza Theatre. Across the street is the El Camino Real Hotel with its beautiful Tiffany glass dome ceiling.  Last night's concert offering was La Imperial Sonora, a tropical, cumbia band, and the crowd loved them.  Lots of fun, all on the same block!

 

Interior of the bar, El Camino Real hotel in downtown El Paso, marble and cherrywood with Tiffany glass dome ceiling





El Paso Museum of Art, downtown El Paso, has an impressive collection



1930 beautifully restored Plaza Theatre, downtown El Paso

How's this for a Friday afternoon and evening?

Start by taking in the offerings of the Museum of Art, but be sure to get their early enough to take strong collections in European and American Art, as they close at 5pm.  Yesterday we saw a lovely special exhibition of French Masterworks:  Monet to Matisse. 

Pop across the street to the Hotel El Camino for a cocktail under the Tiffany glass dome ceiling.

Take in one of El Paso's free Alfresco Fridays concerts, or attend a show at the Plaza Theatre.

Finish with a beautiful dinner at Cafe Central. Their chef, Armando Pomales has been nominated twice for a James Beard award.  His signature cream of green chile soup makes us swoon!

For a schedule of this year's free Alfresco Fridays concerts, click here.
To learn more about the Plaza Theatre, click here.
To learn more about the Museum of Art, click here.
A few more steps, down the block a way is the Central Cafe.

Enjoy!

El Paso's Plaza Theatre

Fully restored, El Paso has a jewel of a theatre in the Plaza, and its website says the theatre, "opened September 12, 1930 to a capacity crowd of 2,410. It was advertised as the largest theater of its kind between Dallas and Los Angeles. Designed as a modern film house with the flexibility of presenting stage shows, the Plaza eventually hosted popular traveling shows and movies, becoming a fixture in the lives of theatergoers for generations to come."

The theatre's full history is here and the calendar of performances is here!  Plan to attend a performance soon!

Congratulations, Plaza Theatre of El Paso!

We love the twinkling stars on the ceiling, the glamour powder rooms, the restored organ...and the Texas Mountain Trail organization was honored to write a support letter for the application for this prestigious award!

Press release from the National Trust for Historic Preservation below:

National Trust for Historic Preservation Presents Preservation Honor Award for the Plaza Theatre

in El Paso, Tex.

Showplace of the Southwest Reclaimed for Next Generation of Moviegoers

Nashville, Tenn. (October 15, 2009)—Today, the National Trust for Historic Preservation presented its Preservation Honor Award to the El Paso Community Foundation for the rehabilitation of the Plaza Theatre in El Paso, Tex. The project was one of 23 award winners honored by the National Trust during its 2009 National Preservation Conference in Nashville, Tenn.

In 1930, Fred Astaire, Clark Gable and Greta Garbo were the brightest stars on the silver screen, and the lavish, newly opened Plaza Theatre was the brightest star in El Paso, Tex. Billed as the largest theatre of its kind between Dallas and Los Angeles, the Plaza, in the Spanish Colonial Revival style, boasted intricately painted ceilings, mosaic-tiled floors and decorative metal railings and sconces. Perhaps most impressive of all was the mighty Wurlitzer organ, rising from the orchestra pit to accompany vaudeville shows and sing-a-longs and to entertain patrons before and after films.

In 1986, after years of decline, the theatre’s owners announced that the Plaza would be demolished and replaced with a parking lot. Spurred by a groundswell of community support, the El Paso Community Foundation raised $1 million in six weeks to purchase the building and save it from demolition. In an innovative partnership, the Foundation teamed with the City of El Paso, and in May of 2004, work began on the Plaza’s meticulous restoration. The 3-year, $41.5 million project included the rehabilitation of an adjoining building to house a smaller auditorium, roof garden and concession space, and the return of the Plaza’s long-lost Wurlitzer organ. Today, the Plaza hosts an array of live performances, films and special events. Enthusiastic patrons have given the facility a 90% sell-out rate, and that success has sparked the renovation of other downtown buildings.

“In the 1930s, a ticket to the Plaza Theatre admitted patrons to a wonderland of plush seats in a Spanish courtyard under a star-studded ceiling – and 70 years later, it still does,” said Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. “Thanks to the efforts of the City of El Paso and the El Paso Community Foundation, the restoration of the Plaza Theatre is the spark that has ignited an entire downtown.”

Along with the El Paso Community Foundation, the City of El Paso was honored today as a co-recipient of the award.

The National Preservation Awards are bestowed on distinguished individuals, nonprofit organizations, public agencies and corporations whose skill and determination have given new meaning to their communities through preservation of our architectural and cultural heritage. These efforts include citizen attempts to save and maintain important landmarks; companies and craftsmen whose work restores the richness of the past; the vision of public officials who support preservation projects and legislation in their communities; and educators and journalists who help Americans understand the value of preservation. The winners of the National Preservation Awards will appear in the November/December issue of Preservation Magazine and online at www.PreservationNation.org/awards.

Step Back to 1930

One of the loveliest places in the Texas Mountain Trail region, is El Paso's Plaza Theatre. Built in 1930, the beautifully restored theatre reopened a few years ago. At the time, it was the largest theatre between Dallas and Los Angeles. Take in a show there, and you step into complete elegance of another time. Mechanical stars blink cheerily overhead, the house feels like a visit to a nighttime Spanish villa. Take a look at the shows scheduled...there's something for everyone!

Atop El Paso

Not only does the Plaza Theatre offer El Paso terrific entertainment in 1930s elegance, but it also provides patrons with great views of the city.

To learn more about the Plaza's history and restoration, click here.

To learn more about the shows coming to the Plaza Theatre, click here.

Sheer Grandeur at the Plaza Theatre

El Paso's Plaza Theatre was lovingly restored to its 1930 magnificence a few years ago, and currently offers a great line-up of quality entertainment for visitors and El Pasoans.
Look up to the painted ceiling, look down at the tiled floors, every inch of the theatre lends a feeling of majesty to a night's entertainment.

We can thank the City of El Paso and the El Paso Community Foundation for their partnership in restoring the theatre. For a brief history of the Plaza Theatre, click here.

For the theatre's home page and information on upcoming shows, click here.

For a virtual tour of the Plaza Theatre, click here. (It takes a few moments for the tour to load.)