Guadalupe County officially struck a deal to buy the closed Pecos Theatre in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, according to last week’s print edition of The Communicator, based in Santa Rosa.
The newspaper reported the county signed a purchase agreement of $60,000 from longtime owner Rudy “Spider” Sanchez.
The theater, however, will need an estimated $700,000 in upgrades before it can reopen. The county will seek funding help from the New Mexico Economic Development Department’s Historic Theater Initiative and other sources.
The county’s goal is to reopen the Pecos Theatre by its centennial in 2017.
The newspaper reported:
At Friday’s signing ceremony, Sanchez spoke of the agreement as part of a bigger effort to preserve historic structures throughout the county. He spoke of the theater’s colorful history, hosting boxing and wresting matches, serving as a community hall for dances and wedding receptions, and even serving as a basketball gym for Santa Rosa High School.
The name has changed over the years, from Pasa Tiempo to the Santa Rosa Theatre, to the Kiva Theatre, then Pecos Theatre, then Rodeo Theatre, and back to the Pecos Theatre.
The last film screened at the theater was “Legends of the Guardians” in November 2010.
According to Cinema Treasures, the theater holds 350 seats. The theater is on Fourth Street downtown, about 1 1/2 blocks south of Route 66.
Long term, county officials didn’t say whether they wanted to convert the Pecos for theater productions, movie screenings or both.
(Image of the Pecos Theatre in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, by Pete Zarria via Flickr)
“The theater is on Fourth Street downtown, about 1 1/2 blocks south of Route 66.”
That part of Fourth Street is the early alignment of US 66.