1930 Spanish Colonial Revival movie-palace-turned-performing-arts theater haunted by a tuxedoed 'Smoking Man' who appears on the upper balcony before plunging out of sight.
125 W Mills Ave, El Paso, TX 79901
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Show tickets vary by production; venue tours available through El Paso Live and ghost-tour operators.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Restored historic performing arts venue with accessible entries and seating.
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1930 · Spanish Colonial Revival movie palace, opened 1930 · Pioneer Plaza downtown landmark · Plaza Classic Film Festival anchor venue · Restored performing-arts venue and El Paso heritage site
The Plaza Theatre stands at 125 W Mills Avenue on Pioneer Plaza in downtown El Paso, Texas, a Spanish Colonial Revival movie palace that opened on September 12, 1930. In 1927, Louis L. Dent purchased the plot of land with the intent to build a grand theater, and the resulting building debuted with a crowd of 2,410 attendees.
The Plaza was designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival tradition popular for movie palaces of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Its interior was lavishly appointed to evoke a romanticized vision of Old Spain and Old Mexico, with an atmospheric auditorium ceiling and ornamental detail throughout the lobbies and balcony. For decades it served as El Paso's signature downtown movie theater.
As television and suburban multiplex theaters changed the moviegoing landscape, the Plaza fell into disuse and faced threats of demolition in the late 20th century. A community preservation effort and major restoration revived the building, and it now operates as a performing-arts venue on the Pioneer Plaza, hosting concerts, touring shows, the Plaza Classic Film Festival, and the El Paso Live programming calendar.
The theater has been recognized in regional travel writing — including a Texas Highways feature listing it among the most haunted places in Texas — for both its preserved Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and its enduring paranormal lore. It is one of the most-visited heritage destinations in downtown El Paso.
Sources
The Plaza Theatre's most-documented apparition is the 'Smoking Man,' a tuxedoed figure said to appear on the upper balcony dressed in 1930s-era attire. According to US Ghost Adventures, KISS El Paso and Texas Haunted Houses, his arrival is heralded by the smell of cigarette smoke — invisible source — followed by the figure appearing on the balcony. In multiple accounts the Smoking Man speaks the words 'We all have our time to die' before plunging head-first off the balcony, only to reappear on the balcony and repeat the action.
Staff and ghost-tour participants have also described the laughing voice of a young girl heard from the back row of the auditorium, along with the sound of a ball bouncing down the Grand Lobby stairs. An eerie red-orange light is reported to travel across the mezzanine without an apparent source, and house and stage lights have been observed cycling on and off without input from technicians.
The Plaza was included in a Texas Highways list of the five most haunted places in Texas, and KTSM and other El Paso outlets have produced local-news features on ghost tours through the building. The legend is unusually consistent across multiple independent retellings, though no individual death has been documented in newspaper archives to match the Smoking Man.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Plaza Theatre is featured as a stop on US Ghost Adventures' El Paso ghost tour and other regional ghost-tour itineraries. Tours focus on the 'Smoking Man' apparition, the giggling little girl in the back row, and unexplained light phenomena.
See a performance or attend a venue tour at the restored 1930 Spanish Colonial Revival theater. Check the box office for production schedules and historic-building tours.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Ashland, KY
The Paramount Arts Center opened September 5, 1931 in Ashland, Kentucky as one of the first movie palaces purpose-built for sound film. Designed by Rapp and Rapp, the theater closed in 1971 and was rescued from demolition by the Greater Ashland Foundation, reopening as a performing-arts center in 1972.
St. Louis, MO
The Fabulous Fox Theatre opened in January 1929 as one of five 'Fox' picture palaces commissioned by film magnate William Fox. Designed by C. Howard Crane in a 'Siamese Byzantine' style, the 4,500-seat auditorium was the second-largest in the United States at its opening. After decades of decline the theatre closed in 1978 and was restored by the Fox Associates beginning in 1981, reopening in 1982 as the centerpiece of Grand Center.
Tucson, AZ
The Fox Tucson Theatre opened on April 11, 1930, as a combined vaudeville and movie house. After closing in 1974 and standing vacant for 25 years, the building was purchased in 1999 by the non-profit Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation for $250,000 and reopened in 2006 following a multi-year, multi-million-dollar restoration.