Serf Theater

The Theatre name was the intials of my Great Uncles children – Sara, Eddie, Richard, and Fannie. There was also a SERF hotel nearby that was torn down in the 80’s…

Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/y93v2gl

Here is a May 1953 ad from the Las Vegas Daily Optic:
http://tinyurl.com/qe4x6e

The October 9, 1937, issue of Boxoffice Magazine said that the Graham Brothers Theatre Supply Company of Denver had shipped various items to the new Serf Theatre in Las Vegas, New Mexico. These included 500 seats, 340 yards of carpeting, two blowers and motors, two curtains with tracks and controls, a sound screen, and complete booth equipment.

The Maloof Bros. were apparently the owners of the building, but the house was operated by Fox Intermountain Theatres when it opened, according to the October 23, 1937, issue of Boxoffice.

In its April 15, 1950, issue, Boxoffice said that the Maloof Bros. had closed the Serf Theatre for repairs when it was discoverd that the back wall was sagging. Fox Intermountain must have taken this opportunity to expand the theater, as the November 4, 1950, issue of Boxoffice said that the company had reopened the Serf with 726 seats.

The remodeled lobby featured a wagon wheel chandelier with six brass lanterns, and the walls were decorated with murals depicting the Santa Fe Trail. The auditorium was painted in shades of aqua and turquoise, and the screen had a turquoise velvet curtain.

The Serf (I always wondered how it got that name)as it appeared in 1995:
View link

What a strange name for a theatre. I wonder if the owner/builder stopped to consider that the initials spelled a word that means a slave or indentured servant.

This is a recent photo of the Serf Theater.

According to its owner, Eddie Maloof, the Serf Theater was built in 1937 from an empty lot. It was built by Eddie’s father and its name is actually an acronym for his four children: Sarah, Eddie, Richard, and Frida (S.E.R.F.). The theater has not run film for the public since the spring of 2005. The marquee lists a showing of “In Her Shoes” but it didn’t run.

The projection booth was converted from a changeover setup to a plattered projector about 20 years ago (though it’s hard to know for sure exactly when). One projector was dismantled to make room for the SPECO platters and both carbon-arc lamphouses were removed. The remaining Simplex XL projector head now runs with an Imperial Xenon lamphouse.

The seat counts near 800 are probably too high, but I would guess there are just under 700 seats. I have photos of the seats if you’d like to count them for yourselves.

The Serf remains closed until further notice.

Here is a 2006 photo of the Serf Theater.

Could that be the build/opening date ‘1937’ on the lower part of the ticket booth?

In Film Daily Yearbook’s' 1941 edition they list a Fox Surf Theater (incorrectly spelt in the theatres listing, but spelt as ‘Serf’ in the circuit listing) with a seating capacity of 793. It’s the Serf Theater with 793 seats operated by Fox in the 1943 edition of F.D.Y. The 1950 edition of F.D.Y. gives a seating capacity of 777.