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Plaza Theater

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1946, Harwood K. Smith. 1018 Hidalgo St.

On the north side of Mercado Square, this rare example of Art Moderne in Laredo functioned as a downtown movie venue until 1992. The asymmetrical facade covered in glazed green tile creates a concave space to one side above the marquee that is topped by a flat, cantilevered circular canopy highlighted in neon, which is balanced, at the other end, by the vertical theater sign.

At 1102 Hidalgo, the John Valls Building (1927, John M. Marriott) is a two-part commercial block with cast-stone details reminiscent of Spanish Plateresque.

Writing Credits

Gerald Moorhead et al.


What's Nearby


Gerald Moorhead et al., "Plaza Theater", [Laredo, Texas], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—,

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of Texas

Buildings of Texas, Gerald Moorhead and contributors. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2013, 271-271.



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