“My dad gave me a quarter: 14 cents to get in, 10 cents for popcorn and I brought a penny home.”
The Colorado Theater at 4th & Main Street replaced the historic Adler-Sullivan Opera House (1890-1922) after the tragic winter fire of 1922. The theater has been closed for decades and is now back on the real estate market.
The future of the past
Pueblo was home to 80 theaters in the early 1900s featuring everything from vaudeville to ‘talkies’. As the second largest city in Colorado after Denver, major studios and actors visited Pueblo as part of their marketing tours. Many of these structures still exist, but are now are hidden and abandoned.
Theaters evoke wonderful memories of experiencing art, enjoying architecture, and spending time with loved ones. In addition to aesthetic and historic value, renovated theaters can be a source of revenue. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, “historic theaters are proven community revitalizers and economic drivers. Not only do they generate an impact of at least $2-$3 per dollar spent on tickets, but they also catalyze other business development, create jobs, and improve the local quality of life.”
We understand restoring a historic theater is no small undertaking. Therefore, as a local ambassador for film, the Pueblo Regional Film Commission plans to launch a feasibility study for the renovation and operation of a historic Pueblo theater as part of our mission.
Downtown Pueblo was home to several large theaters and movie houses marked with long vertical marques. (4th & Main Streets)
Memorial Hall was originally designed in conjunction with City Hall between 1916 and 1919 by Pueblo architect, William W. Stickney and New York architect, Godley and Haskell.