The Wood Brothers Lensic Performing Arts Center Santa Fe

The Lensic Performing Arts Center is defined as the cornerstone of downtown Santa Fe. The venue opened for the first time in 1931, and since then, it has been enriching lives by presenting diverse art and people. The venue is best known for presenting national, international, and local artists. It serves as a center of community events, education, and youth events, with the help of accessible and affordable programming.

The Lensic opened its doors as the grandest movie palace and vaudeville stage of the city. The venue was built by a local merchant named Nathan Salmon along with his son-in-law, E. John Greer. The center was designed in a “Spanish-Moorish” style, and it was officially dedicated to the people of Santa Fe. After running as a movie house for decades, the Lensic closed briefly in the late 1990s.

It underwent a renovation led by visionaries Nancy and Bill Zeckendorf and the Santa Fe community. The theater relaunched in April 2001 with state-of-the-art production capabilities added and its original beauty restored. It is now the hub of Santa Fe’s social life. As the city grew, the venue grew equally and is now managed by United Artists.