Hi David, thanks for the compliment. I hope more people pitch in with their memories not just of movies attended, but of the personnel, the businesses, the finances, and any peculiar happenings, and heaven knows there were a few! Yes, eventually I’ll write up some more cinemas. I know of 22 that are not yet on Cinema Treasures. I regret not having done all this research in the 1970’s when so many important people were still alive.
The address is incorrect. The Mission Theatre was at 121 Central Avenue NW. In 1924, the Sunshine Building would be built directly across the street from it.
The cinema at 121 Central Avenue NW was opened on Wednesday, April 16, 1913, as the Lyric Theatre.
On Sunday, September 1, 1918, there was a change. The Lyric owners opened their new Lyric at 312 Central Avenue SW, and the old Lyric, under new ownership, was renamed the Ideal Theatre. The final advertisement for the Ideal Theatre was on Monday, June 11, 1928, and I presume it went dark afterwards.
On Saturday, February 22, 1930, the Ideal reopened as the Mission Theatre and remained in business through Monday, June 13, 1949.
Now, let’s think again about the Lyric. The owners of the Lyric opened their new Lyric on Sunday, September 1, 1918, and that was at 312 Central Avenue SW.
Where did the 315 address come from? It was a typographical error. Kistler Collister was at 315 Central Avenue NW, and later Montgomery Ward took over. There was never a theatre or cinema at 315.
What fascinates me about the Mission Theatre was its status as Albuquerque’s first “art house.” Beginning on Tuesday, April 14, 1936, and then two or three nights almost every week for the next several years, the Mission Theatre collaborated with UNM’s Foreign Language Group in presenting foreign films that would normally fly under the radar. In the summer of 1939, alas, there was a change, and the foreign films were all Mexican. The series came to an end in March 1941, shortly after UNM itself began presenting 16mm films from the Museum of Modern Art collection.
The March 1977 date cited by the Rocky Horror Wiki is a bit off. The Rocky Horror Picture Show had its Albuquerque premiere at The Guild on Friday, April 8, 1977, and it ran two weeks through Thursday, April 21, 1977, regular shows only, not midnights. The midnight showings began at Don Pancho’s on Fri/Sat, January 27/28, 1978, and continued every Friday and Saturday until the cinema was closed. Its last show there was Sat/Sun, January 16/17, 1988, a decade-long run. By that time, I had left the state and did not keep up with things. I understand that RHPS went to The Mall at the Wyoming shopping center for a while and that it then moved to the Lobo, but I never witnessed any of that and, by that time, I no longer cared.
My first viewing was Sat/Sun, April 15/16, 1978. The audience members were extremely rowdy, nearly all were dressed as various characters in the film, a few of them so perfectly that they were indistinguishable from the characters on screen. Everybody was puffing marijuana the whole time, and, because of the way the building was ventilated, I got the draft. That is how I learned that what our teachers taught us in school is false: second-hand marijuana smoke is not psychoactive at all, but it does stink like all get-out. Staffers suggested that I not lower the lights ahead of starting the movie. I took their advice and then I understood why they had made that suggestion. The instant the image hit the screen, there was a reflexive synchronized 238-person roar that could be heard in the next county.
Hi David, thanks for the compliment. I hope more people pitch in with their memories not just of movies attended, but of the personnel, the businesses, the finances, and any peculiar happenings, and heaven knows there were a few! Yes, eventually I’ll write up some more cinemas. I know of 22 that are not yet on Cinema Treasures. I regret not having done all this research in the 1970’s when so many important people were still alive.
Ah! I see that somebody corrected the address. Thank you!
The address is incorrect. The Mission Theatre was at 121 Central Avenue NW. In 1924, the Sunshine Building would be built directly across the street from it.
The cinema at 121 Central Avenue NW was opened on Wednesday, April 16, 1913, as the Lyric Theatre.
On Sunday, September 1, 1918, there was a change. The Lyric owners opened their new Lyric at 312 Central Avenue SW, and the old Lyric, under new ownership, was renamed the Ideal Theatre. The final advertisement for the Ideal Theatre was on Monday, June 11, 1928, and I presume it went dark afterwards.
On Saturday, February 22, 1930, the Ideal reopened as the Mission Theatre and remained in business through Monday, June 13, 1949.
Now, let’s think again about the Lyric. The owners of the Lyric opened their new Lyric on Sunday, September 1, 1918, and that was at 312 Central Avenue SW.
Where did the 315 address come from? It was a typographical error. Kistler Collister was at 315 Central Avenue NW, and later Montgomery Ward took over. There was never a theatre or cinema at 315.
What fascinates me about the Mission Theatre was its status as Albuquerque’s first “art house.” Beginning on Tuesday, April 14, 1936, and then two or three nights almost every week for the next several years, the Mission Theatre collaborated with UNM’s Foreign Language Group in presenting foreign films that would normally fly under the radar. In the summer of 1939, alas, there was a change, and the foreign films were all Mexican. The series came to an end in March 1941, shortly after UNM itself began presenting 16mm films from the Museum of Modern Art collection.
The March 1977 date cited by the Rocky Horror Wiki is a bit off. The Rocky Horror Picture Show had its Albuquerque premiere at The Guild on Friday, April 8, 1977, and it ran two weeks through Thursday, April 21, 1977, regular shows only, not midnights. The midnight showings began at Don Pancho’s on Fri/Sat, January 27/28, 1978, and continued every Friday and Saturday until the cinema was closed. Its last show there was Sat/Sun, January 16/17, 1988, a decade-long run. By that time, I had left the state and did not keep up with things. I understand that RHPS went to The Mall at the Wyoming shopping center for a while and that it then moved to the Lobo, but I never witnessed any of that and, by that time, I no longer cared.
My first viewing was Sat/Sun, April 15/16, 1978. The audience members were extremely rowdy, nearly all were dressed as various characters in the film, a few of them so perfectly that they were indistinguishable from the characters on screen. Everybody was puffing marijuana the whole time, and, because of the way the building was ventilated, I got the draft. That is how I learned that what our teachers taught us in school is false: second-hand marijuana smoke is not psychoactive at all, but it does stink like all get-out. Staffers suggested that I not lower the lights ahead of starting the movie. I took their advice and then I understood why they had made that suggestion. The instant the image hit the screen, there was a reflexive synchronized 238-person roar that could be heard in the next county.