Historic Park Theatre

Here is a photo of the Park Theater.

Is this really called the Historic Park Theatre, or is "Historic" being used only as a capitalized adjective? The AOL Yellow Pages list it simply as Park Theatre.

It is called the Historic Park Theatre. It earned that title when it was put on the national registry of historic places in 1984.

This is a more recent photo of the Historic Park Theater.

Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984

Park Theatre (added 1984 - Building - #84000862)
130 Moraine Ave., Estes Park
Historic Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Architect, builder, or engineer: Anderson,J.R.
Architectural Style: Classical Revival
Area of Significance: Entertainment/Recreation, Architecture
Period of Significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater

Here is a 2007 photo of the Historic Park Theater.

What is so special about this theater besides the fact it's still standing and working with very little changes is the projection room. I hope to get some pics posted somehow but it truly is a part of history itself. It has some projectors from the early 1900's. The room itself is lined with sheet metal complete with carbon tetrachloride fire retardant bulbs hanging from the ceiling complete with the small dab of lead meant to melt during a fire. Remember the old film stock was HIGHLY COMBUSTIBLE. There is also something I've never seen in any of the old theaters is this odd mirror that will show the movie reflected back into the lobby. My description does little justice. For more info contact www.estesparkfilm.com and/or www.myspace.com/sdientertainment

This is another recent photo of the Historic Park Theater.

Another recent photo of the Historic Park Theater can be seen here.

Here is a more recent photo of the Park Theater.

This is a June 2008 photo.

Historic Park Theater photo

LM. I tracked this theatre in 6 different links and on all of them it is caled the Historic Park Theatre. I see what you mean about things in the past.

The Park Theatre is owned by myself and my family's close friends. I have assisted in the theatre's management and been the projectionist for the past two summers. The theater was originally just known as the Park Theatre and the historic part is indeed there because of its historic register status. The "mirror" that The Great One refers to is simply an angled sheet of glass that is over the projection opening in the auditorium. The angle causes a reverse reflection of the movie to show on the lobby's west wall. The projection booth sits behind this wall, projects across the lobby, through this sheet of glass (in place to minimize noise and contain the theater's heat) and on the screen.
Here are some brief highlights of the theater:
*The projector is a Motiograph AAA, on a Motiograph Base and Motiograph Mirrophonic soundhead with a Strong xenon lamphouse and CFS platters. The theater converted away from carbon arc and changeover in the mid-1980s. The right projector was the same but with a Simplex XL projection head. This sat unused for many years and was finally removed summer of '07 so that we could build a rack for our Christie digital projector which is used for our slide show that runs before the movie and for the Estes Park Film Festival. In The summer of '08, we installed a brand new sound system and replaced/upgraded the center speaker.
*The seats are circa 1930 and came to the Park second hand from the now demolished Denver Theater in Denver,Co. There is also a beautiful balsa wood panther from The Denver Theater that hangs over the exterior entrance/exit doors.
*The theater ran "Gone With The Wind" on the same night it premiered in New York City. This was a very rare thing in those days when a film may not hit Colorado until 4 months after it came out.
*Ralph Gwynn, the man who built the tower in remembrance of his bride to be who stood him up at the alter, owned the theater until he passed away in 1968. He never married and lived behind the screen...this is where he died.
*The theater features a Vitaphone projector that is on display in the lobby.
*The theater is believed to be the first movie theater in the country to have stereophonic sound.
*There is an antique player piano in the lobby that was once in The Windsor Theater in Windsor,Co
*The theater was built strictly as a movie theater and never featured vaudeville or opera, unlike many theaters its age. There is no real stage or dressing rooms. The fact that the village of Estes Park got a movie theater in 1913, two years before Rocky Mountain National Park was even established is very remarkable.
*The original 1913 section of the theater is actually a prefab building...the walls were constructed down in Longmont and then hauled up the canyon on wagons.
*The theater is believed to be home to many friendly resident ghosts/spirits including Ralph Gwynn and Ola Stanger.
*The theater still has a beautiful curtain that opens and closes before and after the feature. Sadly, the motor to the curtain broke in 2007 and we are working on having it repaired.

The Park Theatre is one of a kind. I would encourage any theater buff/historian to come out of their way to see it. The pictures and description can never do it justice. The theater is also a clean and unique place for anyone to relax and enjoy a movie with excellent projection!

For some reason the Google link takes you to the wrong place. Should be at the corner of Moraine Ave and Weist. A bit further East and North.

I have never heard or Weist. The theater is just a half a block south of Elkhorn and Rockwell runs behind the theater...

Google must be lying to me, but in the street view you see Rockwell running East behind the theater, but just in front of the theater, running the opposite direction West, is Weist Lane. Elkhorn is just North of Weist. Weist connects between Moraine and Elkhorn. Very short street.

Check out my screen capture HERE The theater is located in the background of the pic.

Okay. When looking at that picture, you are looking East. The "street" you are looking down intersects at Moraine Ave. The street does not continue past this point. If you turned left, your next cross street would be Elkhorn. If you turned right, and then took an immediate left on Rockwell,the next street up, you would be driving along side of the theater.

I guess they must have created Weist last summer (08) when they did an extensive renovation of the area creating the Riverwalk. This was never a street but more of an alleyway in the past.

Here is a 1986 photo.

Historic Park Theatre hosts its 4th Annual Film Festival - www.estesparkfilm.com

A few views of the Park Theater from 2009.

A view of the Boulder from 1987 and the same view from 2009.

This was destroyed by fire today. It was apparently a complete loss

http://www.eptrail.com/ci_13590335?source=most_emailed

Based on the article text which says that the fire was essentially confined to the mall portion and after looking at some of the pictures, it looks asthough that the theater may have escaped serious damage.

Don, your photo links that you posted on 9/30/09 are for the Boulder Theatre in Boulder, Co.

The theater was saved. Story here:
http://www.reporterherald.com/news_story.asp?ID=25359

Interesting story....thank goodness it was saved!

As was that TALL tower!