The Plaza was designed as a modern film house in a Spanish Colonial revival style with the flexibility of presenting stage shows.

[4] Although several theaters existed in downtown El Paso at the time the Plaza Theatre opened, its size, elaborate decor, and technical innovations made it stand out.

"[4] In 1949, the Plaza hosted the world premier of the film El Paso, which drew a capacity and star-studded crowd, and also showed Tom Lea's The Brave Bulls.

The Dipp family, owners of several downtown properties at that time, including the nearby Plaza Hotel, purchased the theater.

[2] In 1989, after years of infrequent programming, the Dipp family sought to demolish the Plaza Theatre in order to make way for a parking lot.

With only six weeks to raise the funds, fundraising events were held across the community with the most visible effort being staged by actress Rita Moreno the day before the deadline.

Furnishings and artwork had been removed, the facade had been altered, and parts of its once-advanced electrical systems were no longer functional, yet the interior structure appeared as it had for close to seventy years.

In 2000, a volunteer steering committee, assembled by the El Paso Community Foundation, began to assess the viability of restoring the Plaza Theatre.

The committee concluded that the project was feasible, and in 2001, a leading promoter, producer and marketer of live entertainment events, conducted an extensive survey of El Paso's local performing arts community.

The companies took particular interest in the project, noting that "With over 2,000 seats at the commencement of restoration, the Plaza is currently one of the nation's largest non-functioning theaters in the United States."

[8] Despite the completion of the project, the El Paso Community Foundation continues appropriating funds to buy back original art and furnishings of the Plaza.

At the point where the entrance wing of the Plaza adjoined the auditorium, a domed tower rises in three tiers, projecting above the roof line.

Other exterior references to the Spanish mission-style included modest brick delineations at the building's corners, simple cartouche motifs and stepped and curved parapets with tile accents along the roof line.

While the exterior facade was designed to be reminiscent of a mission-style parapet, patrons were awed by the interior, with its intricately painted ceilings, mosaic-tiled floors, Posh carpeting, decorative wrought iron banisters and sconces and, to heighten the effect, antique furnishings.

Further emphasis of the illustrious interior stands in the $60,000 Mighty Wurlitzer Organ, designed to elevate from the orchestra pit to accompany vaudeville shows, sing-alongs, and to entertain patrons before and after films.