It’s not a sure thing, but plans to revive the historic Pecos Theatre in downtown Santa Rosa, New Mexico, got a big boost last week when a state official enthusiastically supported Guadalupe County’s proposal to buy and renovate the theater, according to an article in the print edition of the Guadalupe County Communicator.
The town’s theater closed about five years ago, because of a weak economy and problems with a natural spring under the structure.
The newspaper reported:
At a retreat this summer, Guadalupe County Commissioners raised the prospect of the county purchasing the building from owner Rudy “Spider” Sanchez and then seeking state funding toward a modern make-over that would cost an estimated $700,000 to $1 million.
New Mexico Economic Development Secretary Jon Barela said such a restoration has “great potential” to add vitality to Santa Rosa, and he cited restoration projects in places such as the nearby Route 66 town of Tucumcari.
Commissioner Albert E. Campos Jr. told the newspaper the purchase proposal now is on a “fast track,” and a vote to do so could come as early as fall. Campos said Barela’s support was crucial.
“We don’t want to buy a building and it just be vacant. It’s something we really want to move forward with,” he said. “I wanted him here because he’s secretary of Economic Development. When you hear it from Secretary Barela, he is going to work on it. It was plain as day that he supports it. The faster you do this, the more chances you have of getting money.”
Much of the flooring will have the be replaced because the natural springs running beneath it have rotted the boards away. Restrooms also will have to be renovated so they comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Finally, the film projection system needs to be converted to digital.
Sanchez said he supported the county’s plan, describing it as the last and best hope to resurrect the theater.
At the time of the Pecos Theatre’s closing in October 2010, it was the oldest operating theater on Route 66. The Pecos began as the El Paso Tiempo in 1919, then was the Santa Rosa Theatre in 1920, the Kiva in 1951, the Rodeo in 1936, and finally the Pecos in 1981. The Pecos still less than a block south of Route 66 in downtown.
According to Cinema Treasures, it holds 350 seats.
If Guadalupe County needs direction on how to restore an old theater in a small town into a piece of civic pride, it needs to look no further than the Coleman Theater in Miami, Oklahoma.
(Image of the Pecos Theatre by anyjazz65 via Flickr)