History

(1884): Frank Allen Arrives in New Mexico. He is 24 years old.

(1893): Frank moves to Farmington.

(1912): Allen Opera House opens. Shows first motion picture, only 10 cents per person. Frank's youngest daughter, Mary, "cues" the silent picture on the piano.

(1922): Allen Opera House Burns down. Brand new theatre built, called "The Allen".

(1930): First "talkies" shown at Allen Theatre,. Founder Frank Allen passes away.

(1937): First airconditioner installed by Augusta, Frank's widow.

(1941): Aztec Theatre in Aztec purchased and rebuilt.

(1946): Augusta Allen passed away.

(1947): First concession stand put in "The Allen."

(1949): Brand new theatre, the Totah, built and opened.

(1952): Russell Allen, Frank and Augusta's son, and his wife Helen, with business partners Kelly and Evelyn Crawford build two drive in theatres, The Apache Twin (1952) and the Valley (1954).

(1961): Russell Allen passed away.

(1962): Kelly and Evelyn Crawford leave the business

(1963): Boyd Scottt becomes General Manager.

(1967): Bought 2 theatres in Cortez, Colorado.

(1971): Cameo Theatre opens in Farmington, NM. First fully automatic theatre in New Mexico.

(1975): Larry and Lane Allen buy Allen Theatres from Helen.

(1975): Totah Theatre changes to platter system from 2 projector system. Other theatres owned by the Allens follow suit over next two years.

(1982): Larry and Lane Allen, sons of Russell, buy all theatres in Las Cruces, New Mexico, a total of 11 screens.
(1990): Larry and Lane buy out big portion of United Artist's circuit in New Mexico, which included theatres in Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Clovis, Roswell, Hobbs, Portales and Gallup.

(1995): Brand new theatre, The Allen 8 built in Farmington. Largest theatre with the most screens to date for the circuit.

(1998): Brand new theatre, the Telshor Cinemas, built in Las Cruces, surpassing the Allen 8 as the largest theatre. Telshor Cinemas has 12 screens, all state of the art sound, with stadium seating.

(1999): Circuit currently has 21 theatres in 10 towns, for a total of 74 screens.

(2003): Brand new theatre, the Red Rock 6 in Gallup, NM include all Digital Sound and all stadium seating

(2003): Addition to the Allen Theatre chain, the Sierra Cinema in Ruidoso, NM

(2003): Installed computerized ticketing in all theatres throughout the chain.

(2004): Opening of the Eagle 7, formally the Cinema 3, in Hobbs, NM re-opens with 4 additional screens, all digital sound, all stadium seating as well extended new lobby and concession stand.

(2005): Contruction completed on the North Plains Theatre in Clovis, NM. Re-opened with 3 additional screens, all digital sound, all stadium seating as well extended new lobby and concession stand.

(2006): Construction completed of the new Galaxy 8 in Roswell, NM. 8 screens with all stadium seating.

(2006): Construction completed of the new Animas 10 in Farmington, NM. 10 screens with all stadium seating.

(2007): Construction completed on the Aviator 10 Theatre in Alamogordo. Opened with 10 screens and Christie Digital projectors.

(2007): Allen Theatres teams with AccessIT to install New Christie Digital Projectors & Doermi servers at Theatres in Las Cruces, Farmington, Roswell, Hobbs, Clovis, Alamogordo and Gallup, 77 screens total.

(2008): Contruction begins on the Cineport 10 in Las Cruces.

(2008): 3D screens added to Las Cruces, Farmington, Roswell, Alamogordo, Gallup, Clovis & Hobbs.

(2009): Construction completed of the new Cineport 10 in Las Cruces, NM. 10 screens with all stadium seating, digital projection and the full service restaurant, THE LAUNCH PAD CAFE.

(2012): Allen Theatres purchased the Gaslight Twin and Durango Stadium 9 located in Durango, CO.

(2016): Allen Theatres was purchased by the the fourth generation, Russell, Heather, Natalie, Nathan & Asa Allen from Larry and Lane.

(2017): Construction completed on Telshor 12 in Las Cruces, NM and Allen 8 in Farmington, NM. Electric luxury recliners installed in every auditorium.

(2017): Additions to the Allen Theatres chain: Stargazer 5 in Safford, AZ and Morenci Theatre in Morenci, AZ.

(2018): Construction completed on Eagle 9 in Hobbs, NM and Durango 9 in Durango, CO. Electric luxury recliners installed in every auditorium.

(2019): Construction completed on Red Rock 10 in Gallup, NM and Fiesta Twin in Cortez, CO. Electric luxury recliners installed in every auditorium.

(2019): Circuit currently has 17 theatres in 13 towns, for a total of 116 screens.

(2020): Temporary Drive-Ins make an unexpected comeback at Allen 8 in Farmington, NM and Telshor 12 in Las Cruces, NM as the COVID-19 pandemic shutters movie theatres for over a year.

(2020): Circuit currently has 16 theatres in 13 towns, for a total of 112 screens.

(2021): Construction completed on Sierra CInema in Ruidoso, NM and Cineport 10 in Las Cruces, NM. Electric luxury recliners installed in every auditorium.

(2021): Construction completed on Telshor 12 in Las Cruces, NM. The first Adult Beverage counter in the circuit is installed, featuring wine, beer, and spirits.

(2021) Construction begins on "AXP" auditorium at Cineport 10 in Las Cruces, NM. AXP auditorium will feature a wall-to-wall Premium Large Format screen, immersive Dolby Atmos surround sound, ButtKicker active seating haptic technology, and a premium 4K Christie digital projector.

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