KiMo Theatre

Kimo, how do I love thee? For your bizarre glowing eyed skeletons, and your red velvet drapes. And is it haunted? Hmmmm. We may never know.
Gem of downtown Albuquerque, the Kimo theatre is home to Burlesque, live theater, comedy shows, and the silver screen. Yes. All of these things. I love when they do film festivals. Nights upon nights of old film noir and classics. And every February, Southwest Burlesque makes me want to quit my job and become a dancer. The Nutcracker every December. Ah, the memories.
Literally, my only complaint is the seating. It's very old school. Which is fine, but those comfy new-fangled seats in the new theaters have me (and my tush) spoiled.
Hint - restrooms are on the sides down a hallway that doesn't seem like it belongs to the building.

The Kimo is a gem in the Albuquerque area! Tonight we attended the Kimo's 90th anniversary celebration and it was simply magical. Mayor Berry had a real silver screen installed as well as new carpet to compliment the well preserved vintage space.

The Kimo is a destination for all lovers of the arts. It is host to book readings, poetry, and movie showings. For tonight's event, we were treated to Buster Keaton's "The General" with the Alloy Orchestra playing the score live for just $0.50 per ticket with free water, popcorn, and cake. (Concessions typically not included in movie ticket pricing.)

The movie was outstanding and the Alloy Orchestra was a once in a lifetime experience. The Kimo has so many of these incredible events that people need to know more about. I know our family will be attending more of them!

Our first time! I know, I know, how lame is that, huh? However, everyone has a "First Time" in their life, right? The first time you drove a car, ate sushi, drank beer, had... Well, you get the idea. This was ours, and it was very special! Something we'll dream about for years to come? Maybe not that deep, let's be real, it was a theater experience, not a showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show! No Time Warps were experienced.

However, it was cool! Even from the Nose Bleed Section you really were able to see and experience everything on stage. The sound was great and, though I'm not much of a ballet guy, "The Buttcracker" proved to be everything they say it is.

Would I go again? Not to a ballet, I already took one for the team, but bring on a play or a musical and I'm there! Count me in!

This theater is visually stunning. As a piece of architecture as well as history, it really represents a large part of Albuquerque. The architecture and decor are absolutely one of a kind. It is truly one of Albuquerque's unique gems.

The Kimo Theater is absolutely stunning its located right in the heart of our city. Such a historic venue. It first opened in 1927. So many things take place here such as, films, theater, musical performances, and local art show cases. I have been to the Kimo for small plays as a child for field trip but I am booking my next show soon, I recently had to opportunity to step inside again during the Art Walk. The doors were open to everyone and the staff was so friendly inviting passerby's inside and filling us in on all the information about the local vendors that were participating. There was also staff educating people on the history of the building which is so interesting. The Kimo Theater is beautiful on the outside but my goodness it is even more extraordinary on the inside. Check your local events to see what new performances are headed to the Kimo in the future!

You should see the KiMo and take one of these free tours! Note: THIS TOUR IS NOT FUN FOR LITTLE KIDS (they will grow restless and probably detract from everyone's experience). These interactive guided tours are Free and occur every Wednesday and Sunday (non holiday). They are about an hour long and allow casual attire. Just please don't bring food or beverages. More tour and historical information is available online.
Rescued just one day from demolition, the city now owns what used to be a favorite hangout for all ages. Inside there is much artwork and craftsmanship to see from a century ago and is charming enough to still draw today's visitors.
Not huge, but apparently big enough to compete with other venues and support itself, the full stage and seating for 687 people are available for anyone to rent. It is used for movies, plays, comedy tours and presentations. Since Central Avenue has hosted a lot of local movie filming, this theater has hosted crews and actors from "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul", but also a slew of many other well-known productions.
If you take one of the free tours, I believe you'll find that the mezzanine level has the neatest views within. Still, the entire building has restoration work throughout and brings an original charm back to life no matter where you stand.
If you visit, ask about Bobby Darnell, the little boy (8 yrs old?) who lost his life in the theater near the main entrance. His ghost reportedly haunts the building and his mischief is the reason behind a shrine dedicated to him under the stairwell stage-right. There's a second ghost, a woman, who also appears but is, however, less-known.
Owned by the city of Albuquerque since 1976, the KiMo Theater has also incorporated an art gallery on site where you can get on the 2year-long waitlist to display your artwork, or buy someone else's. It is co-located with the concessions area. This art/concessions area is not part of the original building but it helps drive revenue for the city's planned upgrades. Some of these future plans include newer LED lighting and new seating, both of which scream "1980s".
Yes, if you are local, a business needing a venue or have interest in historic sites, this is a city gem open to view on the tour days above and available for rent to anyone. Come learn more about the KiMo, and take part in the local charm of Albuquerque and the culture of the Southwest.

I love this theatre and spending time with family and friends. What else can I say but please support the wonderful theatre

Wow! This is a really fantastic example of Pueblo-Deco in the heart of Albuquerque - and simply a must see. Beautiful on the outside, spectacular on the inside and featuring deco detailing you won't see anywhere else. The murals by well-known Santa Fe movement artist makes this landmark well worth visiting!

So after living here for nearly two years, we FINALLY went to the KiMo! About darn time!

We went to see Seth Meyers, and it was pretty cool. Not just Seth - obviously, that was awesome. But the theater itself is pretty and even though we were up in the nosebleeds, we could see perfectly well and really enjoyed the show.

The theater itself is beautiful - decorated very traditionally Southwestern (it seems to me - I am no expert) and in a subtle manner - enough to keep you interested prior to the show, but not so much that it's distracting once the show begins. The ceiling is really pretty, with zigzag cutouts and twinkly lights above, so it appears that you are looking up into the night sky. Pretty cool. (However, the fake cow skulls all over the place with their glowing red eyes are fairly disturbing...)

Now that I think about it, we should have stayed back and checked out the lower level. I would like to have seen what the view from the seats down there is like for future reference. It's always weird to choose seats online when you haven't been somewhere, and that was our opportunity to check it out - oh, well. It's a fairly small place, and there aren't really any bad seats.

The balcony does give you a little bit of a distorted angle - you are very much looking down, since it goes pretty quickly vertically up - good for keeping it small, but like I said, distorts it a bit.

I think we need to pay more attention to the cool stuff that goes on there. There was a poster for some old movies playing this summer, and a Hitchcock retrospective.

Don't be fooled by the seating chart online - I was. The seating chart shows seats divided into sections in the balcony, but they are just one long row, so anyone sitting in the middle has to pass through the entire row of folks seated along the way, there is no break anywhere. The bottom floor has two side sections and a center section, so that appears accurate.

All in all, a good place to do cool stuff - you should definitely check it out!

Quite possibly the best venue to catch a show in ABQ, bar none.

When I say "show", the KiMo does it all. Standup, film, orchestrations, plays, rock concerts and hip-hop, burlesque, the place runs the gamut, with style and a regional sensibility that dares you to embrace our heritage. But let's get down to the obvious, shall we?

The place is decked out in what the untrained eye might perceive as swastikas They most certainly are not. Nazis inverted the symbol in an attempt to coup its very essence and, well, judging from our collective twentieth and twenty-first century conscience, it's obvious they succeeded. Over millennia the symbol was "an important symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, among others, and was also used in Native American and Jewish faiths prior to World War II. By the early twentieth century it was regarded worldwide as symbol of good luck and auspiciousness." (http://www.warpaths2peacepipes.com/native-american-symbols/swastika-symbol.htm)

Come here for a great performance. The balcony is almost as good as the ground floor. Dig those glowing skulls. Reclaim the symbol, so central to the people who claimed this place as home. And enjoy the show.