Sunshine Building

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The Second Street facade of the Sunshine Building.
The Second Street facade of the Sunshine Building.
The Central Avenue elevation.
The Central Avenue elevation.

The Sunshine Building is a historic building in Albuquerque, New Mexico, located at the intersection of Central Avenue and Second Street downtown. The six-story building, which contains the 920-seat Sunshine Theater as well as retail space on the ground floor and offices on the upper floors, was designed by prominent El Paso architect Henry C. Trost of Trost & Trost and built in 1924. Trost, a pioneer of reinforced-concrete construction, used it on the Sunshine Building in combination with yellow brick facing.

The Sunshine Theater was Albuquerque's first big movie palace. The first film shown there was "Scaramouche," starring Ramon Novarro and accompanied by a special orchestra for the occasion. The Sunshine ceased screening films in the 1980s, but has since been remodeled into a venue for live music performances.

The Sunshine Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Interestingly, the building contained the last attendant-operated elevator in New Mexico until very recently.

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