On February, 1927, Louis L. Dent bought a property with the intention of doing something good for El Paso. Louis told El Paso Times “El Paso has been good to me, and I am going to put something everybody will be proud of”. Construction of the Plaza Theatre began in 1929. H.T. Ponsford & Sons built the theatre, it was designed by W. Scott Dunne, an architect from Dallas. The plaster and ornamental stone designs were created by the Dallas Architectural Decorating Company, and were installed by Ramon Grado of El Paso.
The Plaza Theatre opened on September 12, 1930. The Plaza started as a burlesque and then turned to drama, and music. The Plaza Theatre declined in people due to television. A new competition rose, which was drive-in theatres in the late 40s. The theater is one of the city’s landmarks, and is still running today.
On September 12, 1930, the theatre had its opening night. The movie that played opened to a crowd of 2,410, the movie was named “Follow through”. The Plaza Theatre stood out from all of the other theatres in the area. The theatre was advertised as the largest between Dallas and Los Angeles. The plaza’s first stage drama was on February 10, 1934, the drama was called Richelieu. The cast included Walter Hampton, Dallas Anderson, John Davenport, and Mable More. The Plaza Theatre became known as "The Showplace Of The Southwest." Eighteen months after the Plaza Theatre opened, the Plaza started facing hard times. An early theatre worker told El Paso Herald-Post years later that in 1932 staff worked without pay, just to keep their beloved theatre open. The Plaza Theatre also played the films "El Paso", and "The Brave Bulls". The Plaza Theatre was sold in the 1970s. Lots of artwork, amenities were auctioned off, as well as the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ. . In 1972, the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ was sold to a private collector in Dallas.