El Dorado Theatre

5909 E. Broadway Boulevard,
Tucson, AZ 85711

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: ABC Theatres, Cineplex Odeon, Plitt Theatres

Architects: Henry George Greene

Styles: Spanish Colonial

Nearby Theaters

Cine El Dorado

ABC’s El Dorado Theatre was the first theatre in Tucson to accommodate multiple film formats, including 70mm. It had 725 seats. The official opening was June 14, 1967 with a world premiere of “El Dorado”. In June 1975 it was expanded with the addition of a second screen.

The El Dorado Theatre was later taken over by Cineplex Odeon, and in 1988 the original theatre and its addition were demolished. A 2,000-seat six-screen multiplex of the same name was built at a different location on E. Broadway Boulevard.

Contributed by Joe Vogel

Recent comments (view all 17 comments)

Logan5
Logan5 on February 27, 2012 at 2:07 am

The El Dorado was part of the Plitt chain and then Cineplex Odeon when I lived in Tucson in the late ‘80s.

mousemovie
mousemovie on March 7, 2012 at 11:20 pm

IA – Mr. Congelli and Frank are a couple of names I haven’t heard in a very long time. Good times…

ajtarantex
ajtarantex on January 20, 2013 at 8:07 pm

yeah Ed Congelli was at the Northpoint and the District Office in San Francisco when it ABC Plitt. Jackie was his Assistant

Tucsonman
Tucsonman on August 5, 2014 at 10:12 am

Aerial photos show that the 2nd screen was built on the west side of the original.

Tucsonman
Tucsonman on August 13, 2014 at 11:54 am

Here are said aerials:http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=2000&lon=-110.86620882154&lat=32.221724912524&year=1980

Tucsonman
Tucsonman on August 28, 2014 at 7:22 pm

My mom, my aunt, & my nana saw A New Hope here.

Tucsonman
Tucsonman on September 10, 2014 at 12:55 pm

Here’s a link to a photo when they were replacing the 2-screen building with the 6-screen building:http://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-time-capsule-el-dorado-movie-theater-made-way-for/article_6f986ee0-9111-5956-89b4-0cbce2a2f14f.html

rivest266
rivest266 on October 20, 2016 at 6:20 pm

June 14th,1967 grand opening ad in the photo section for this cinema.

rivest266
rivest266 on October 20, 2016 at 6:26 pm

June 26th, 1975 grand opening ad for this cinema as a twin also in the photo section.

MSC77
MSC77 on February 25, 2018 at 11:51 am

Here’s the link to a new historical article about large format and roadshow presentations at El Dorado and other Tucson cinemas.

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