History of The KiMo
The KiMo Theatre stands as a testament to Albuquerque's rich cultural heritage and architectural legacy. Built in 1927 during burgeoning Southwestern expansion, it was a focal point for the community's entertainment and cultural expression. The KiMo's unique Pueblo Deco design, blending Indigenous Pueblo motifs with Art Deco elements, reflects the city's embrace of its Native American roots amidst a rapidly modernizing landscape.
Throughout its history, the KiMo Theatre has witnessed the ebb and flow of Albuquerque's diverse communities. From its early years as a vaudeville and movie house, through the challenges of the Great Depression and destructive urban renewal of the 1950s, to its resurgence as a cultural hub during the mid- and late-20th century, the KiMo remained a symbol of resilience and community spirit.
Today, the KiMo Theatre continues to play a vital role in Albuquerque's cultural scene, hosting performances, film screenings, and community events. Its significance lies not only in its historical importance but also in its ongoing relevance as a gathering place celebrating art for residents and visitors alike. As Albuquerque evolves, the KiMo Theatre remains a cherished landmark, connecting past, present, and future generations through the shared experience of art and entertainment.
Virtual Tour
Take a quick virtual tour of the historic KiMo Theatre, with the previous theater manager as your guide. From the recreation of the neon sign to the original projection booth, learn fun facts about the building and view historic photos you may have never seen before. Get an up-close look of this local treasure that has evolved alongside our ever-changing City. Once you Meet the KiMo, you'll Love the KiMo. (Virtual Tour).
Founding Family
The genius behind the KiMo was Oreste Bachechi, a motivated entrepreneur from humble origins. Oreste Bachechi came to the United States in 1885 and set up a business in a tent near the railroad tracks in Albuquerque.
Bachechi's fortunes expanded with the city's growth; he became a liquor dealer and proprietor of a grocery store while his wife Maria ran a dry goods store in the Elms Hotel. By 1919, the Bachechi Amusement Association operated the Pastime Theatre with Joe Barnett. In 1925, Oreste Bachechi decided to achieve "an ambition, a dream that has been long in realization," by building his own theater, one that would stand out among the Greek temples and Chinese pavilions of contemporary movie mania.
Oreste and Maria Bachechi
KiMo Lobby
KiMo Stage, 1927
Bachechi envisioned a unique, Southwestern style theater, and hired Carl Boller of the Boller Brothers to design it. The Bollers had designed a Wild West-Rococo-style theater in San Antonio and a Spanish cathedral with Greco-Babylonian interior in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Construction of the Theatre
Construction begins on a new theater with Oreste Bachechi, who moved to the United States from Italy in 1885, joining other Italian American entrepreneurs setting up businesses in Albuquerque in the early twentieth century. The opening program for the first show in 1927 stated that “the Bachechis proposed to give the people of Albuquerque a playhouse that should not only combine capacity and comfort but should house the most modern of theatrical facilities in a setting of antiquity, one in harmony with the spirit of the Southwest and of Albuquerque.” Oreste Bachechi saw the opening of his Theatre before his passing in 1928. Victor Bachechi, seen here on the far right of the photograph, was the KiMo Theatre Manager.
In just over a year, at a total cost of $150,000, which included $18,000 for the intricate organ, the KiMo Theatre was completed. Architect Carl Boller, whom Oreste Bachechi commissioned to undertake the project, embarked on a journey through the Navajo Nation, and the Pueblos of Acoma and Isleta, respectively. Boller wanted to infuse the Theatre with motifs and symbols inspired by Southwestern Indigenous cultures.
The KiMo Theatre, located at 423 Central Avenue in downtown Albuquerque, became an example of Pueblo Deco architecture amidst the large, elaborately decorated movie theaters, or ‘picture palaces,’ of the era. This unique architectural style blended geometric ornamentation and vertical lines of Art Deco style with stucco walls and rounded parapets characteristic of Pueblo Revival techniques, making it the only theater drawing inspiration from the Native peoples of New Mexico.
Pueblo Influence
Pueblo Deco was a flamboyant, short-lived architectural style that fused the spirit of the Native American cultures of the Southwest with the exuberance of Art Deco. Pueblo Deco appeared at a time when movie-mad communities were constructing film palaces based on exotic models such as Moorish mosques and Chinese pavilions.
Native American motifs appeared in only a handful of theaters; of those few, the KiMo is the undisputed king.
Carl Boller traveled throughout New Mexico, visiting the pueblos of Acoma and Isleta, and the Navajo Nation. After months of research, Carl Boller submitted a watercolor rendering that pleased Oreste Bachechi.
The interior was to include plaster ceiling beams textured to look like logs and painted with dance and hunt scenes, air vents disguised as Navajo rugs, chandeliers shaped like war drums and Native American funeral canoes, wrought iron birds descending the stairs and rows of garlanded buffalo skulls with eerie, glowing amber eyes.
None of the designs were chosen at random. Each of the myriad images of rain clouds, birds and swastikas had historical significance. The Navajo swastika is a symbol for life, freedom and happiness.
Like its abstract symbols, color, too, was part of the Indian vocabulary. Yellow represents the life-giving sun, white the approaching morning, red the setting sun of the West and black the darkening clouds from the North. The crowning touch was the nine large wall murals painted in oil by Carl Von Hassler. Working from 20 foot high scaffolding, Von Hassler spent months on his creations.
The theater, which cost $150,000, was completed in less than a year. The elaborate Wurlitzer pipe organ that accompanied the silent films of the day was an extra $18,000.
Opening Night
Billed as “America’s Foremost Indian Theatre,” the KiMo’s first day on September 19, 1927, opened with an impressive program and a full house. Two thousand people raced to the theater, built for an audience of 1,300, to purchase tickets for 75 cents. After a series of newsreels and cartoons, the first feature was the silent comedy, Painting The Town, starring Patsy Ruth Miller and Glen Tyron. The event was described the next day in the Albuquerque Journal through printed excerpts from telegrams received from several celebrities, including actor and filmmaker Douglas Fairbanks, actress and producer Mary Pickford, and then-city commissioner Clyde Tingley.
Route 66 History Trivia
Prior to 1937, Route 66 passed through Albuquerque from north to south on what is now 4th Street.
In 1937 the Highway was realigned east to west along Central Avenue. The KiMo is located at 5th Street and Central.
Native Language - detail
The name KiMo is commonly pronounced with a hard 'K' sound for the first letter and an 'ee' sound for the letter "i". However it is more correctly pronounced with a soft 'k', more like a short 'H' and a short 'i' as in 'is'. ( him-o ) Due to the use of the name outside it's native Tiwa culture it is now a 'dead' word and is no longer used by native speakers.
Isleta Pueblo Governor Pablo Abeita won a prize of $50, a magnificent sum for the time, for naming the new theater. Reflecting the optimism of the time, "KiMo," is a combination of two Tiwa words meaning "mountain lion" but liberally interpreted as "king of its kind".
Vivian Vance, who gained fame as Lucille Ball's sidekick in the "I Love Lucy" series, performed at the KiMo. The theater also hosted such stars as Sally Rand, Gloria Swanson, Tom Mix and Ginger Rogers. When the theater was packed, the balcony—which spans the east to west walls without support and was designed to give and sway—would drop four to eight inches in the middle.
A year after the realization of 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. Extra revenue came in from a luncheonette and curio shop on either side of the entrance. In later years, the Kiva-Hi, second floor restaurant, and KGGM radio, housed on the second and third floors, were major tenants.
The KiMo Throughout the Years
The Vitaphone, a new set of equipment including speakers and a phonograph, allowed the KiMo to move away from silent films. Advertised as ‘The First Picture with Talking, Singing, and Dancing,’ the grand midnight opening began a shift in KiMo Theatre offerings focused on talking attractions. Although the advent of ‘talkies’ firmly established the motion picture as the medium of entertainment at the KiMo, the picture palace with its elaborate stage equipment also hosted various plays, shows, and vaudeville acts. The KiMo Theatre boasted the first Wide Range Sound System in the state.
After the end of World War I in 1918, living standards were improving and the growing power of the labor movement forced a shortening of the workday, increasing leisure opportunities such as seeing films and performances at Theatres. This changed, however, in the 1930s during the Great Depression. KiMo staff had to entice visitors with extra activities like bingo nights, car giveaways, and exclusive film premiers to survive through those tough economic times. Prices reflected this with seats going for 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for children.
On February 3, 1948, the KiMo Theatre hosted the world premiere of Albuquerque, a Western movie of twists, turns, and betrayal starring Randolph Scott and Gabby Hayes. These two stars attended and spoke on stage at the first public showing of Albuquerque at the KiMo Theatre. The film was also screened at the Sunshine Theatre later that same night and the evening showing was repeated for the next five nights. The Bachechi family that opened the KiMo Theatre remained involved. Their relationship with executives at Warner Bros. enabled the KiMo to premiere box office hits like Casablanca in January and February 1943.
The KiMo continued to provide a space for more than just movie-goers. Children could attend matinee performances and leave their unlocked bicycles on Central Avenue on the curb under the marquee. With a coffee shop at street level and Ki-Va restaurant above, KGGM Radio broadcasted their programs from the second and third floors of the building, with one studio in the theatre lobby.
50 years after opening, the KiMo Theatre was designated as a National Register of Historic Places. The report outlined that the KiMo was “a fine example of regional Theatre architecture which incorporates New Mexico's architectural and cultural heritage in its rich and elaborate ornamentation.” This aligned with the words of Ada Louise Huxtable, architectural critic for The New York Times who said that the KiMo Theatre displayed "some of the richest and most extravagantly romantic architecture this country has ever produced."
In recognition of the KiMo’s architectural and cultural significance, the City of Albuquerque purchased the aging movie palace in 1977. Refocusing artistic output towards local theater productions and music concerts, the KiMo steadily regained popularity.
Preserving a Treasure
A large fire in the early 1960's nearly destroyed the stage and severely damaged adjacent areas at the front of the auditorium. The KiMo fell into further disrepair following the exodus from downtown that so many American cities experienced in the 60's and 70's.
50 years after opening, the KiMo Theatre was designated as a National Register of Historic Places. The report outlined that the KiMo was “a fine example of regional Theatre architecture which incorporates New Mexico's architectural and cultural heritage in its rich and elaborate ornamentation.” This aligned with the words of Ada Louise Huxtable, architectural critic for The New York Times who said that the KiMo Theatre displayed "some of the richest and most extravagantly romantic architecture this country has ever produced."
Slated for destruction, the KiMo was saved in 1977 when the citizens of Albuquerque voted to purchase this unrivaled palace.
Restoration of the KiMo
Read more about restoration of the KiMo.
Edited by John Arnold, New Mexico Museum of Natural History, with information provided by the KiMo Theatre.