A more than century-old theater in downtown El Paso may soon be in line for both renovations and upgrades in the wake of an ownership change.
The three-story Alhambra Theater, at 209 S. El Paso Street, was designed in the Moorish Revival tradition by legendary architect Henry Trost and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Opened in 1914, the theater for decades offered motion pictures and live entertainment, and was one of the city’s foremost vaudeville destinations.
Nearly a decade ago it became the home to a concert venue known as Tricky Falls, which moved out of the structure last year.
Now, the Abundant Faith Living Center, a massive non-denominational church with more than 20,000 members, has purchased the structure with plans to turn into a new place of worship.
The listed asking price for the Alhambra was $1.6 million.
The church already has one location on the east side of the city at 1000 Valley Crest, and another on the west side at 7100 N. Desert Boulevard.
The east side church can serve 1,900 worshippers, while the Alahambra has a current seating capacity of around 1,500.
It is not yet know when work on the historic structure will begin.
By Garry Boulard
