Century 21
1370 S. Colorado Boulevard,
Denver,
CO
80222
1370 S. Colorado Boulevard,
Denver,
CO
80222
6 people
favorited this theater
Built in the late-1960’s, the Century 21 Theatre was a single screen, 1,065 seat movie theatre. It was a first run house through the 1970’s, 1980’s and early-1990’s.
In the late-1980’s it was renovated to be a genuine THX house an was often booked specifically for action and science fiction films because of it’s big screen and incredible sound system. It closed in 1993, and is now a Soundtrack electronics store.
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Recent comments (view all 20 comments)
Hi movie theater buffs – my grandfather built the Century 21 Theater in the 1960’s, and the property is still in our family. We are planning a new shopping center on the site, and will be demolishing the theater building. I would love to hear from all of you about movies that were shown at the Century 21 or other interesting facts for our archives. Thanks!
I just found out that the first movie shown at the Century 21 was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The last movie with an intermission was Reds in about 1981. I look forward to hearing from all of you. Thanks.
Any pictures you can take of the Century 21 even while it is being demolished, both inside and out help document the building for future generations. Please feel free to post them on this site. Likewise any pictures you may have in your families archives of the building under construction or in operation are welcomed as well. Thanks..
I got my very first job 2 weeks after turning 16 at the Century 21. It was the end of the run of The Shining in the fall of 1980. I loved working there. They would do something grand for certain movies. The regular uniforms were terrible…. thick polyester sailor minidresses for the girls in royal blue with mustard piping. But, when they could, they got us great costumes to wear instead. For Private Benjamin, we all got olive drab army fatigues to wear the entire run. I was heartbroken to learn this theater had gone the way of all the big screens outside of places like Hollywood and London, and that it was first closed, then slated for demolition. I don’t even go to the movies anymore. I cannot stand these tiny TV sized screens. I feel sorry for anyone who hasn’t ever experienced a good movie on a big screen. You cannot come close to the experience in the theaters of today. RIP Century 21.
I spent a large percentage of my career working at the Century 21, including helping set up the theatre before it opened and returning years later to manage it.
It was originally built as a roadshow theatre with 70 mm capability and was a remarkable theatre in many ways. Not the least of which was its design. There were no 90 degree right angles or parallel walls in the entire building. Not only did this contribute to a modernistic design, it had practical applications for the auditorium by controlling sound bounce between walls. It was also the first theatre in the region to offer Dolby Stereo, which was installed for Streisand’s “A Star Is Born”.
I do not recall Snow White as being the first film, although it did play there during its first year of operation along with “Quiller Memorandum”, “Gambit” and “Casino Royale”. The very, very first film to play there was “A Funny Thing Happened On My Way To The Forum”, which ran for one night as a special invitational preview for the theatre before it opened to the public. As I recall the first roadshow film to run in the theatre was Disney’s “Happiest Millionaire”.
The Cooper Theatre was located only 4 blocks north of the Century 21. This created problems when they both offered reserved seats on roadshows because customers would purchase tickets for one theatre in advance and then attend the other by mistake, probably confused by the “C” in the names. Periodically they would even get past the doorman (sorry, that’s what they were called in those days), and the usher would realize the error when they couldn’t locate the seat numbers!
It’s heyday came years later when the capability to run “black track soundtracks” was installed. This meant the theatre could run rough cuts of films before the soundtrack was added to the print, allowing it to run advance previews of films. A number of studios used it to show test screenings which would be attended by the stars, producers, directors and studio execs. Dino De Laurentiis tested both “Hurricane” and “King Kong” at the Century 21 and said it was his favorite theatre for previews.
Dantonoff: I think I met your grandfather once at the theatre. I may even have some photos that I can share for your archives if there is a way to contact you.
Ironically, this never survived as a cinema into the 21st century. Described in this 1967 trade article: Boxoffice
I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark in ‘81 in 70mm, one of the best movie experiences in my life, the sound was amazing and loud, I was 14 back then. Now I’m watching the re-release 31 years later in an IMAX theater in Spokane WA. We’ll see how it fares…
Funny, isn’t it so funny. I was one of the first kids to walk through that movie theater when it opened in 1967. My uncle, Royale Milo, who designed the lighting and drapery of that theater gave me a private tour. Richard Crowther the architect of the building worked with my uncle on this beautiful creation. The lobby featured large round rings of jeweled lights giving a prismatic effect. As a kid of about 9 I was REALLY impressed and as an adult years later, so saddened to learn of the theater’s destruction.
Saw many films there. The ones that come to mind are “Close Encounters”, “Marathon Man”, and “Silent Movie”.
Silent Movie and Close Encounters of The Third Kind played at the Cooper Theater four blocks north.