Art Deco Theatre Discovered in Albuquerque!

On a cross-country trip recently, Bob and Kathie King stopped in in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The keen eye of Kathie King spotted the Kimo, a Pueblo Deco picture palace located in Albuquerque's downtown center. The Kimo is a unique 1927 vaudeville and movie theatre that was the dream of immigrant, Oreste Bachechi, an enterprising entrepreneur who came from humble beginnings. Oreste rose to fame and fortune in Albuquerque, with many businesses bearing his name.

After many successful and profitable ventures, Bachechi decided in 1925 to fulfill his true dream of building a unique Southwestern style theatre to rival the Greek Temples and Chinese Pavilions of contemporary movie design. He hired Carl Boiler, who had designed a Wild West Rococo-style theatre in San Antonio and a Spanish Cathedral-style structure in St. Joseph, Missouri. After months of research, Boiler submitted watercolors of a Pueblo Deco design to Bachechi who excitedly spurred on the project. This architectural style was a flamboyant short-lived fashion that fused the Native-American culture with Art Deco.

The theatre, which cost $150,000, was completed in less than a year, opening in September 1927. The elaborate Wurlitzer organ was an extra $18,000. A year after realizing his dream, Oreste Bachechi died, leaving the management of the Kimo to his sons who combined Vaudeville and out-of-town road shows with movies and expanded the services offered to theatergoers.

However, the Kimo fell into disrepair following the exodus from downtown that many cities experienced in the 1960s and 1970s. Slated for destruction, the Kimo was saved in 1977 when the citizens of Albuquerque voted to purchase Oreste Bachechi's dream. It was renovated and reopened to the public in 2000. The city restored the artwork in the lobby and auditorium and worked lavishly to reconstruct the original proscenium arch and main curtain that returned the Kimo to its Picture Palace era grandeur. This architectural gem is now listed on the National Historic Register.

We thank the Kings for taking the time to alert DAADS members to this unique Art Deco treasure. Incidentally, "Kimo" is a combination of two words liberally interpreted as "king of its kind." Could this be just a coincidence?
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