The Luna Theatre Complex

Est. 1916

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 9, 2025

1. The Luna Theatre Complex Marker

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From the National Register Nomination prepared by David Kammer, Ph.D., 6/2006:
The Luna Theater, named the Mission Theater from its construction in 1916 until 1935, is a two-story building with a concrete foundation, an excavated basement, and a barrel roof masked by a

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 9, 2025

2. The Luna Theatre Complex Marker

The marker is mounted on the right side of the theatre ticket booth, seen here within the recessed, vaulted, tiled main lobby entrance.

stepped parapet with a concrete coping. Sharing a common basement and facade, consisting of the same construction materials, and undertaken as part of a single project is the adjacent 6 Main Street, a former mercantile store now vacant.
The building has brick walls faced with pebble-dash stucco facing. A marquee topped by a wall-mounted neon sign, both of which were added in 1935, is located over the recessed entry while a metal awning fronts the adjacent vacant mercantile store. Two small commercial spaces flank the vaulted recessed entry of the theater, and a tiled sidewalk within the recess leads to a ticket booth flanked by paired modern commercial doors. A concession stand is located along the rear wall of the lobby, and restrooms are located on either side of the lobby with a stairway along the east side of the lobby leading to the projection room. The auditorium seats 375 and faces a deep stage with a taupe curtain. An outside stairwell along the west wall leads to a former ballroom located in the basement beneath the theater.
One of the oldest extant theaters in New Mexico, the Luna Theater has been a landmark on Clayton's Main

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 9, 2025

3. The Luna Theatre Complex (northwest elevation)

Railings for the outside stairwell leading down to the former ballroom located in the basement beneath the theater can be seen here along the west [right] wall.

Street since its construction as the Mission Theater in 1916. Built on the site of a mercantile store destroyed by fire, the theater and the adjoining store, now vacant, represented the Herzstein family's effort to recover from a disaster with an even grander commercial space.
Although there had been short-lived theaters in Clayton previous to the opening of the Mission Theater, its completion gave the residents of largely rural Union County a modern motion picture theater. The inclusion of a ballroom in its basement further contributed to the building's significance as a gathering place in Clayton, the county seat, not only for movies but for a broad range of activities occurring on the stage of the theater and in the ballroom.
The acquisition of the theater in 1935 by Gibraltar Enterprises marked an early effort by entrepreneurs in New Mexico and nearby states to develop an independent network of theaters and film distribution. Seeking to modernize the theater, Gibraltar's representative, T.F. Murphy, oversaw several changes including the addition of a marquee and wall-mounted neon sign as well as interior changes. The result is a

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 9, 2025

4. The Luna Theatre Complex (north/front elevation)

theater that retains many of its original details and plans dating to the 1910s as well as some additions associated with theater norms of the 1930s. The theater is significant for its association with entertainment and recreation in Clayton and for its architecture.

Excerpt:  It was opened as the Mission Theater in 1915 and was renamed to the Luna Theater in 1935. The building includes Mission/Spanish Revival architecture and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The theater was saved by preservationists and continues to show movies today.

Excerpt:  Opened February 7, 1916 as the Mission Theatre, with just under 400 seats. It remains in operation on Main Street in Clayton. It has had the same owners for two decades, who saved the theater from certain doom. The Mission style exterior, and the interior, with its Art Deco style touches, has been painstakingly restored and refurbished over the years, including all new

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projection equipment.
Originally, in the basement of the Luna Theater was a grand ballroom, the Mission Ballroom, which later was converted into a long-gone roller rink. The beautiful Luna Theater won the New Mexico Heritage Preservation Award in 2001. The Town of Clayton purchased it in 2009, and with state funding and the help of volunteers, refurbished the theater including with digital projection and sound.

Excerpt:  A short history of the Luna Theater in Clayton, New Mexico, from 1915 to the present. Clayton MainStreet is currently operating the theater, showing 35 mm films and trying to raise the money to go digital so they can continue showing films.