| What makes it historical? |
Originally a stop on the Santa Fe Trail, then on the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, Raton brought in entertainers from across the country! At first, there was the Opera House and Garden Coliseum, but when motion pictures came along in 1915, it was time for a new type of theater!
While not the first movie theater in Raton, the El Raton Theater was the first to support “talkies!” It was the product of a partnership between Dr. L.A. Hubbard and Thomas Murphy, who hired George M. Williamson from Albuquerque to design it!
Mr. Williamson designed this theater to look like a medieval Spanish castle then gave it a neon marquee to draw in motorists! The inside looks like a castle or courtyard too! This painting work came from J. Charles Schnoor, who was the grandson of Baron Jacob Carlzevalt Von Schnoor, illustrator of the German bible! The first movie to play here on April 20, 1930 was Song of the West, which not only had sound, but was also filmed in color! |
