The reopening of a Pecos Theatre in downtown Santa Rosa, New Mexico, apparently is drawing near. Workers recently installed the marquee for the historic venue, one of the last steps in the theater’s restoration.
According to two photographs published in the print edition of The Communicator in Santa Rosa, workers from Ram Studios Signs of Farmington, New Mexico, installed the marquee.
A grand reopening date hadn’t been announced, the newspaper stated, but “it’s getting close.”
Here’s a photo posted on Facebook of the company installing the marquee:
Guadalupe County now owns the theater, which sits along an original stretch of Route 66 on Fourth Street in downtown Santa Rosa. The county finalized the purchase in early 2017.
According to a previous report, the Pecos Theatre will screen first- and second-run movies and stage live entertainment and events.
Stoben Construction Co. of Albuquerque was supposed to have the restoration work done by last fall, but the change orders in the renovations caused a delay.
The theater opened in 1917. The last film screened at there was “Legends of the Guardians” in November 2010 before it closed.
At the time of its closing, it was the oldest operating theater on Route 66. The Pecos began as the El Paso Tiempo, then was the Santa Rosa Theatre in 1920, the Kiva in 1951, the Rodeo in 1936, and finally Pecos in 1981.
According to Cinema Treasures, the theater holds 350 seats.
(Image of the new Pecos Theatre marquee by Jasmine Sunshine courtesy of Richard Delgado; image of the marquee installation by NMSU Guadalupe County CES via Facebook)