Sunshine Building
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Central Ave. facade
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Location | 120 Central Avenue SW, Albuquerque, New Mexico |
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Built | 1924 |
NRHP Reference # | 85003619 |
NMSRCP # | 1170 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | 1985 |
Designated NMSRCP | March 8, 1985 |
The Sunshine Building is a historic structure in downtown Albuquerque, in the U.S. state of New Mexico, at the intersection of Central Avenue and Second Street. The six-story building was designed by the El Paso firm of Trost & Trost and built in 1924, originally housing offices and a 920-seat movie theater. It is of reinforced concrete construction, with a facade of yellow brick.
The Sunshine Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 and has been designated as a Historic Landmark by the city.
F. D. Fogg and Company, Jewelers, operated a fine jewelry store in the building from 1948 until the 1970s. The store's classic neon sign and pink marble facade were recognized downtown Albuquerque landmarks throughout that period.
The TV Show In Plain Sight filmed the exterior of this location, as the fictional office of the US Marshal's Witness Protection Service.
The Sunshine Theater, which occupies a significant portion of the building, was Albuquerque's first movie palace. The first film shown there was Scaramouche, starring Ramón Novarro and accompanied by a special orchestra for the occasion. The theater stopped showing first-run movies in 1974 and closed completely in the 1980s, but has since been remodeled into a popular live music venue. The Sunshine Theater has hosted a number of notable acts such as The Strokes, Snoop Dogg, Deltron 3030, Stone Temple Pilots, The Smashing Pumpkins, Queens of the Stone Age, The Dead Weather, Arctic Monkeys, Modest Mouse, Rancid, Coheed and Cambria, Awolnation, Cannibal Corpse, Ratatat, Social Distortion, Pennywise, Hollywood Undead, Deftones, Nightwish, Melanie Martinez, Damian Marley and Deadmau5 among others. The Sunshine Theater's set up is an open floor, a large balcony, and a bar that seats a 21 and older audience, in all they accommodate about 1,000 people. The theater is the most popular venue in the Albuquerque metro area to accommodate smaller but still notable acts, many with five or more shows in one month.