Once inside the original Elitch Zoological Gardens in Denver, CO, (38th & Tennessean) this was the original crown jewel of the park from opening day May 1st 1890. Designed by John Elitch he unexpectantly died before it was completed, leaving his wife Mary to run the park.
Open for nearly 90yrs many legends from theatre, film, and TV have performed on the stage. The first films in the West were exhibited here in Colorado in 1896. It was the first longest running, summer stock theatre in the country. Then closed in 1991. The amusement park closed in 1994 then moved downtown to reopened in 1995. In 2006, structural work was completed on the exterior leaving the old interior sits ready for a second life.
Funding is still needed to complete major interior renovations. The vision is a multimedia performing arts center with educational programs.
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Help Save this Historic Treasure! The non-profit board overseeing the theatre is desperately seeking the funds to reopen it. Their Mission is to restore it as a fully functional multimedia performing arts complex for the Denver community.
http://www.historicelitchtheatre.org
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-- STAR CREDITS --
Douglas Fairbanks, Sara Burnhardt, Vincent Price, Steve Allan, Grace Kelly, Raymond Burr, Cloris Leachman, Kitty Carlisle, Helen Bonfils, Jack Gurtler, Budd Gurtler, James Coco, Roger Smith, Forrest Tucker, Dick Van Pattan, Vivian Vance, William Shatner, Shelly Winters, Lynn Redgrave, Ginger Rodgers, Mickey Rooney, Gloria Swanson, Myrna Loy, Cliff Arquette, Cesar Romero, Cecil B DeMille.
Video and Photography by Zac Miller - July 2010
Music by Scott Joplin
it is interesting, that auditorium was a no dressing room host, they were always protecting the art on the wall, my family has one of the only sets of photographs in the world of the portraits and still shots they had hung up, it takes me back to childhood, i was there the day it closed forever as a amusement park, i rode all the rides, it was most awesome
thanks for the flash backs
MrShunLife 1 year ago