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West Theater

118 W. Santa Fe. Ave., Grants, NM
Phone: 505-287-2083

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The West Theater has stood along Route 66 in Grants since the spring of 1959 and was still showing first run movies in 2018. . J.C. West bought the still under construction proposed El Sol Theater from a Mr. Means. West then finished the building and renamed it the West Theater. It opened as a single screen theater with a balcony. The balcony was later closed off to provide space for a second screen.

Mr. West had bought the Lux Theater in 1950 and built the Sahara Drive-In Theater in 1958. Together with the Trails Drive-In that gave him four theaters in Grants.

Roy McDowell bought the West Theater in the 1980s. A fire in the 40 year old popcorn machine caused the theater to be closed for a few months from November of 2010 to February of 2011.

Neon letters next to the stars on this sign spell out WEST. Notice the neon cacti on each side of the marquee sign.

I'm a bit unsure about the history of the theater because the National Register of Historic Places filing for "Movie Theaters in New Mexico, 1905 to 1960 states West converted a former warehouse into the theater, I guess both could be right if Means had started the conversion and sold the unfinished project to West.

Photo(s): 2009