Constructed 1915.
The Shuler Theater is a historic theater located in downtown Raton. Home to the local performing arts scene, you can see live plays, dramas, comedies, concerts and musical theater suitable for all ages. The foyer of the theater features eight mural panels created by Manville Chapman in 1934 as a result of a New Deal program. Chapman’s murals, created under the PWAP, depict scenes from the history of Raton and surrounding communities, including an annual buffalo hunt, “Elizabeth” a mining town on the Red River, Clifton Station stagecoach stop, and five other historic scenes. — Source “Public Art and Architecture in New Mexico 1933-1943” by Kathryn A. Flynn.
The Shuler Theater opened on April 27, 1915 in downtown Raton, and was designed by architects Issac H. Rapp & William Rapp. It was built for Dr. James Jackson Shuler, an early 20th century Raton mayor. It was originally called the Shuler Auditorium and presented opera, legitimate theater, concerts and other forms of live entertainment. Later, the Shuler Theater became a movie house but by the 1950�s had closed down. Early in the 1960�s, the legitimate Kaleidoscope Players used the Shuler Theater for their productions, and restoration of the theater began. Today, the Shuler Theater is still used for live theater and other peforming arts.
131 N. 2nd St. Raton, NM 87740 | 575-445-4746
Image by Amy M. Barnhart
