Funding has been secured for a project that will see the renovation of a more than 100-year-old theater in downtown Tucumcari.
Built during World War I, the building at 110 E. Main Street was originally called the H-H Theater and featured live Broadway shows, vaudeville, and silent films.
It was renamed the Princess Theater in 1921. Some 17 years later, the theater was substantially renovated and designed in the Streamline Moderne style.
A fire significantly damaged the building in the fall of 1962. In the decades since, because the structure is owned by the City of Tucumcari, city officials have been trying to find a new use for it, with the possibility of it becoming a performing art venue.
Now Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has approved a $150,000 capital outlay passed earlier this spring by New Mexico lawmakers that will go for upgrading the building and bringing it back to life.
That $150,000 will be combined with a $135,000 capital outlay that was approved last year by the Governor, also for work on the theater.
City officials are currently in the process of completing a preliminary cost estimate for the renovation effort.
May 13, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of the Friends of the Princess Theater
