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| This is the history of the Fountain Theatre plus images of the theatre over the span of its life. | ||||||||
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Mesilla ("Little Tableland") is the best-known and most visited historical community in Southern New Mexico. Since its' beginning, around 1848, Mesilla has had a major influence on the economic, cultural, historical, and political life of the Mesilla Valley. From the Gadsden Purchase, to the Civil War, to the Butterfield Stage Coach Trail, to the trial of Billy the Kid, to being a lively social center in the 1880s--Mesilla has been a prominent part of the rich history of the Southwest.
Today, many of Mesilla's population of nearly 2,200 residents are direct descendents of Mesilla's early settlers. A visit to the Gadsden Museum, located two blocks east of the Fountain Theatre, recounts the history of local personality Albert Jennings Fountain, whose feud with Albert Fall of Teapot Dome infamy was legendary around southern New Mexico. Built in 1905, the Fountain Theatre is New Mexico's oldest movie house, and in the early days, presented both cinema and vaudeville performances. In the 1930's it was not uncommon to see the entire Fountain Family, including children, on stage performing with the band. The theatre stands on the site of a Confederate army barracks, used during the Civil War, and is still owned by a member of the Fountain family. In addition to being the oldest theatre in New Mexico, the Fountain Theatre also bears the distinction of being the only continuously-operating movie theatre in the state. For a fascinating history of Mesilla, visit the New Mexico Department of Tourism's web site, http://www.oldmesilla.org |
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Inside the Fountain Theatre, 2006 (photo courtesy Bob Peticolas) |
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copyright © 2009 Mesilla Valley Film Society
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