Elitch Theatre
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The Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre
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| Location: | W. 38th Ave. and Tennyson St., Denver, Colorado |
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| Coordinates: | 39°46′6″N 105°2′46″W / 39.76833°N 105.04611°WCoordinates: 39°46′6″N 105°2′46″W / 39.76833°N 105.04611°W |
| Area: | Highlands |
| Built: | 1890 |
| Architect: | Lee & Liden |
| Architectural style: | Stick/Eastlake, Shingle Style |
| Governing body: | Non-Profit |
| NRHP Reference#: | 78000844 [1] |
| Added to NRHP: | March 21, 1978 |
The Historic Elitch Theatre is located at the original Elitch Gardens site in northwest Denver, Colorado. Opened in 1890 it was centerpiece of the park that was the First Zoo West of Chicago. The theatre was home to America's first, and oldest summer-stock theater from 1893 until 1987. The first films in the West were shown there in 1896. Cecil B. DeMille would send yearly telegrams wishing the theater another successful season, calling it "one of the cradles of American drama."
Closed in 1991.
Exterior restoration work was completed in 2007. Fundraising continues for interior renovations before opening to the public.
The vision is to reopen as a multimedia performing arts complex for the community offering education, film, live music, and of course theater in a year round program.
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[edit] History
John Elitch and Mary Elitch Long first opened Elitch Gardens on May 1st 1890, with animals, bands, flowers and an open air theater where Mayor Londoner of Denver spoke.[2] Inspired by Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, the first shows were vaudeville acts by accomplished local and national performers. In 1891 Boston Opera Company performed musicals, and light opera starting with "The Pirates of Penzance." In 1893 the First "Summer stock theatre" company, The Norcross Company, was organized in the East and brought to the gardens. Vaudeville shows continued until 1900.
In 1896, Edison's Vitascope was exhibited at the theatre showing the first films in Colorado.[3]
The Elitch Gardens Stock Theatre Company began performing in 1897 under the management of Mary Elitch Long. Its first season in 1897 opened with leading man James O'Neill, (whose son became America's foremost playwright Eugene), who had promised John that he would act in the new theater when it was ready. The first show performed there was Helene.[4] The company became known for putting on ten plays in a ten-week summer season and attracting internationally known stars of the theatre and screen.
Sarah Bernhardt came to Denver in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake destroyed the California Theatre where she was scheduled to perform. At Elitch's she played "Camille" The Lady of the Camellias at the matinée and "LaSorcier" at night. Douglas Fairbanks was hired into the same company. Prior in 1905, he was hired to sweep the stage for theater tickets.
The costs of running the park became too much for Mary Elitch, the First Woman to Manage and Own a Zoo. With the purchase of Elitch Gardens by John Mulvihill in 1916, Mary Elitch stepped down from control of the Gardens and theater. However two lower theater boxes were always reserved for her and her friends. Mulvihill oversaw the theatre until his death in 1930 and was succeeded by his son-in-law Arnold Gurtler.[4]
Mary Elitch Long die at 80yrs old on July 16, 1936. Stories of people seeing her ghost in the gardens and the theater began shortly after and continue thru today.[citation needed]
A fire at "The Olde Mill" ride kills six-people at the park. The fire comes dangerously close to the historic theater. The "Olde Mille Ride" featured 20-miles of canvas all elaborately hand painted using oil to recreate scenes for an around the world boat trip. The fire happened eight years to the day Mary Elitch Long died. Investigators ruled the fire to be negligence by park management. Fire codes in Denver are drastically changed.
In 1953, the Elitch Theatre was used for two days to film scenes for The Glenn Miller Story.
The Elitch Garden Theatre Company became its own incorporated business, separate from the Elitch Gardens Park, renting the theatre in 1963. The company stopped operating as a traditional resident summer-stock switching to single, star-packaged shows out of New York. The company had many successful years but as time and culture changed the theatre building was neglected.
The World Famous Trocadero Ballroom was torn down in 1975. Fearing a similar fate the community was able to add the theatre to the National Historic Registry in 1976.
The Elitch Theatre Company's last season was in 1987. The park booked the "Amazing Acrobats of China" for a season then one night musical acts before it was officially closed theatre in 1991. The Robber Bridegroom (musical) was performed with Patrick Cassidy for the theatre's centennial anniversary. Actor Raymond Burr (1917-1993) raised $2-Million dollars for an educational program at the theatre. The money is instead donated to local Cole Middle School.
The Elitch Gardens amusement park moved to the current central Platte Valley location in 1994. The new $94-Million dollar park was opened in 1995 with attendance reaching one-million. The original Elitch property was sold to Perry Rose in 1996 with the conditions that the theater and carrousel shell never be demolished.[4][5] Two fires in 1995 on the old Gardens property near the theatre cause public outcry for additional security.
Non-Profit, The Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre Foundation was formed in 2002 to raise funds, maintain, preserve and restore the Elitch Gardens Theatre and carousel pavilion.[6] In 2006, groundbreaking for the renovation of the theatre began with restoring the building's exterior, including a cement foundation for the building.[7]
As of 2010, the exterior restoration of the building is complete but the interior remains unrestored.[8] In 2011, Barbara Medill, a friend of Mary Elitch Long's, donated some of Long's possessions to the Foundation, including an engraved silver place setting.[9] Actress and 25yr Producer with the Elitch Theatre Haila Stoddard dies at 97.[10]
[edit] Restoration
In 2006, The Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre Foundation was awarded 5-Million dollars in federal, state, city, grants and private donations. Work began on saving and restoring the Historic exterior. A cement foundation was poured under the exterior walls replacing beams resting on large stones on the bare ground. The roof, gable, main entrance/lobby, and the exterior walls were all replaced and painted. A fire suppression sprinkler system was also installed.
Interior historic restoration work is still needed. Currently without plumbing, electrical, air condition the building needs modernizations while preserving the original woodwork and design. Fundraising continues by the Historic Elitch Theatre Foundation to reach those goals.
In 2010 the decorative historic curtain, hand painted oil on canvas (1900s), was properly taken down and stored. Generations of pigeons and foxes were evicted in 2011 as volunteers cleaned up after years of neglect.
[edit] Stars Who Appeared at The Elitch Theatre
- Steve Allen, 1974
- Morey Amsterdam, 1968
- George Arliss, 1905-06, '13
- John Astin, 1973-74
- Sarah Bernhardt, 1906
- Helen Bonfils, 1934-47
- Raymond Burr, 1944
- Sid Caesar, 1971, '74
- Kitty Carlisle, 1965, '70
- Cecil B. DeMille, 1905
- Brandon De Wilde, his final appearances, 1972
- Patty Duke, 1973-74
- Douglas Fairbanks, 1905
- Douglas Fairbanks Jr., 1971-73
- Jose Ferrer, 1973
- Arlene Francis, 1964-65, '69
- Barbara Bel Geddes, 1964
- George Gobel, 1971
- Julie Harris, 1978
- Kim Hunter, 1975
- Gabe Kaplan, 1982-83
- Grace Kelly, 1951
- Cloris Leachman, 1982-83
- Harold Lloyd, 1914
- Myrna Loy, 1969
- Fredric March, 1926-28
- Jayne Meadows, 1974
- Patricia Neal, 1947
- Maureen O'Sullivan, 1972, '82-83
- Walter Pidgeon, 1964
- Antoinette Perry, 1904-05
- Vincent Price, 1979
- John Raitt, 1977, '79
- Robert Redford, 1955
- Lynn Redgrave, 1975
- Debbie Reynolds
- Edward G. Robinson, 1922
- Ginger Rogers, 1975
- Cesar Romero, 1964
- Mickey Rooney, 1972-74
- William Shatner, 1975
- Gloria Swanson, 1967
- Lana Turner, 1977
- Joan Van Ark, 1960
- Dick Van Patten, 1968
- Nancy Walker, 1987
- Shelley Winters, 1973, '83
- Jane Wyatt, 1939
[edit] References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ "Elitch Gardens Opens: Crowds Brave Rain," Rocky Mountain News, May 2, 1890
- ^ "Edison Invention At Elitch's, Rocky Mountain News, August 16, 1896
- ^ a b c Moore, John. "Famous, soon-to-be-famous crossed Elitch stage". Denver Post, April 16, 2006.
- ^ Sinisi, J. Sebastian. "Landmark status urged for Elitch Theatre". Denver Post, August 29, 1995: B-03
- ^ "Elitch Theatre announces restoration plan". Denver Business Journal. April 17, 2006
- ^ Voelz Chandler, Mary. "Cleaning up its act". Rocky Mountain News. August 15, 2006.
- ^ Frazier, Donald. "Beyond the Lighted Stage". 5280. October 2010. p. 60-64.
- ^ http://www.denverpost.com/theater/ci_17426495
- ^ Weber, Bruce (February 25, 2011). "Haila Stoddard, Actress and Producer, Dies at 97". "New York Times"
[edit] External links
- Historic Elitch Garden Theatre Foundation
- Historic Elitch Gardens Theatre 2010 Video
- Elitch Gardens Official Site
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