I visited this theater in April of 2007 and saw “Astronaut Farmer”. Much of Mrs. Steele’s information in her letter above is still correct. The lobby is modern and cheery while the auditorium is very nostalgic and beautiful. They still have a curtain that opens and closes before and after each feature. Mrs. Steele was very kind to me and spent a lot of time visiting with me and showing me around. The booth is accessed from a very strange staircase which is more like a ladder. The booth contains two Brenkert projectors…one runs the trailers reel-to-reel and the other runs the feature off a platter system. Before she goes upstairs and starts the lobby, Mrs. Steele goes up front, introduces the film and gives a run-down of the rules and conduct of the theater and the consequences any offender will face.
Very nice presentation quality. This is a fun and historic theater to visit.
On Google Maps, 504 shows the site of the old theater. However I have seen Google mess up their maps from time to time so it is hard to say. I’ll do some checking around and see if I cannot dig up an address. There are no buildings standing that were associated with the theater. The lot sits on the North end of the street, in between Pike’s Tires and a small building that I believe currenlty houses the offices for a handyman service. Ironically, the building that houses the latter-mentioned handyman service previously housed Star Contracting, the contractors who demolished the theater.
More notes on the Windsor Theater The booth, at least when the Stangers owned it, was fully equipped with Motiograph equipment. When the Stangers purchased the theater, there was an antique upright player piano in the lobby. Why I do not know since the Windsor was built for talkies. This piano is still alive and well and is now in the lobby of The Historic Park Theatre in Estes Park,Co
Chuck, do you live in Colorado? You are certainly quite knowledgeable about northern Colorado theaters yet some of your comments lead me to believe you live elsewhere…
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!
Sadly, Bill Horton, the most recent owner of the theater passed away March 4th, 2009 after a battle with lung cancer. Mr. Horton owned the theater along with his wife, Selma. As of this date, the Century projectors, carbon arc lamphouses and 2k changeover system in the above youtube video are still being used. I have been told that the theater will continue operating, but with new management.
The booth at the Unique contained 2 Super Simplex projectors with Xetron xenon lamphouses. The projectors ran 6 thousand foot changeover. There was also a separate room off the booth used for building up prints in the nitrate days.
The booth at The Pearl contains two Simplex E-7 projectors running 2 thousand foot changeover with Motiograph magazines and xenon lamphouses. It is also notable that the booth ceiling is extremely low, do to existing support beams. I stand 6'3" and had to stoop considerably when walking around the booth.
I visited this theater in late 2008 to see “The Women” and was very nicely surprised. It is very comfortable, attractive and contemporary. It also featured the best quality projection I have seen in a multiplex.
A plain but nice little theater in Greeley. I’ve been attending movies at this theater for years. They converted to Digital Cinema sometime before October of 2006 however 3 screens can still show 35mm as well. There is no stadium seating but the seats are VERY comfy and the sound is excellent. It sits just one block West of where the old Cooper Twin was located and across the highway from the Cinemark 16.
The Unique Theater is dead. The group hoping to save the theater fell apart back in ‘07. Status should be changed to closed. Although I have not visited the theater since its closure, I have had several reliable sources tell me that the theater is nothing more than 4 brick walls. All seats and equipment have allegedly been removed and I know for a fact that the marquee has been removed. The current owner who purchased the building from Mr. Groy almost lost the building this last summer as he failed to make his payments on the city issued loan, however he has caught up on payments and still owns the building. The plan is to turn the building into condos. If you “Google Earth” the address, you can see for yourself what an ugly mess this poor theater has become.
This theater is nothing short of a gem on the Colorado plains! It is owned and operated by Mr. Joe Machetta who bought the theater in 1958. He grew up around movie theaters and is also related to the Kelloff family who owned and operated several movie houses and drive-ins in South Western Colorado.
The theater is very original inside and also features Mr. Machetta’s quality decorating and updates. The seats are very comfortable and appear to have been installed new in the late 1970’s. The facade was completely restored a few years back. The theater was originally known as The Emerson and it had been closed for a few years when Mr. Machetta purchased it. He changed the name to The Sands in honor of The Sands Hotel as he is a major rat-pack fan. The booth features two immaculate Super Simplex projectors running 6 thousand foot changeover with xenon lamps.
The theater is amazingly clean and well run. The staff is small and very friendly. Mr. Machetta can usually be found in the box office selling tickets and he is aided by one of two friendly projectionists and the concession stand always has one or two very nice & polite people (usually local high school kids) running it. The theater features a curtain that opens before the feature and closes after and is also one of the only theaters I’ve seen that still uses its original glass slide projector. This projector makes its big scene afer the first reel, projecting “The concession stand closes in 5 minutes” in the lower right hand corner.
If you want to visit a beautiful, historic theater complete with old-fashioned small town charm, The Sands is for you!
I have not been in that theater since 2006. I was under that impression due to the fact that I know the head projectionist at the Century (Cinemark) Theater in Boulder and when he mentioned that his theater was being converted to Digital, he gave the impression (or maybe I read into his words) that his was the first Cinemark theater in the area to be going digital.
The building, inside and out is grand, but that’s it. With Cinemark, you get the standard poor customer service, poor motion picture presentation and less than clean theaters. It is good that they momentarily still use 35mm, as opposed to the Carmike which is right across the highway, but do yourself a favor and go to the Carmike.
The Holiday sure has a fond spot in my heart. It was the first drive-in I ever saw a movie at. At one point, they were hoping to add a 3rd screen but nothing ever became of it. The theater is in western Fort Collins…a very pretty part of town with the foothills right across the street. Housing has sprung up all around the theater and god bless the owner for resisting the temptation to sell. The owner is Wes Webb of St. George, Utah.
Last visited in September of ‘06 to see “Wicker Man” and “Beerfest” with my ex-boyfriend. At that time the old gal was still going strong and even had some of the original speakers. I believe it’s time for me to pay The Holiday a visit again soon…
The theater must be older than 2001, Chuck. The first time I went to this theater was when my mother took me to see “Harriet the Spy” the day it came out. “Harriet the Spy” came out in 1996.
Been to this theater many times over the years. Sadly, it is all Digital Cinema, as of at least October 2006, but the place is clean and comfortable. The auditoriums are very ornate and attractive…something very unusual for a theater of this era. The theater is tucked away and rather hard to find. Aside from the drive in, this place is Fort Collins' best choice to see a first run Hollywood movie.
The theater was constructed in 1995. It originally belonged to the now defunct Colorado Cinemas. At the time it was constructed, it basically sat in the middle of nowhere although now it is nestled in with many, many shops and offices in a very busy part of town. I spent many of my late childhood and pre-teen years around this theater since it was managed from 1995 until 2003 by a dear friend of my family, John Garcia. Mr. Garcia is in his early 70s now and spend all of his adult life as a union projectionist and theater manager. He still words a projectionist at a discount house in Colorado Springs. He ran a tight ship and loved the Cinema Saver 6.
I learned much of what I know today at this theater. I learned how to project here as well as many of the other ins and outs of the movie theater business, which I still proudly work in today.
All of the projection equipment came out of a closed multiplex somewhere in Texas and although I cannot remember what kind of projectors/lamphouses/platters are up there, I know that most every auditorium had a different brand and setup.
I went to a movie there last sometime in early ‘08 and it was still clean and very well run.
What a quaint and beautiful theater! I visited in February of 2009 and saw “Frost/Nixon” in 35mm. The seats are stadium seating with the back row being round booths with tables that are make out of 6k 35mm reels. The theater is very comfortable to watch a movie in. it features a very beautiful pressed ceiling. The theater is very tastefully built and gives one the impression that they are in an historic(or at least vintage) movie house. There is also an old-style and impressive marquee on the front of the building. There is a beautiful antique candy case in the concession stand where they also sell the tickets. I did not visit the booth but I know for 35mm, they employ a Century projector and a platter system. I spoke with a lady name Lindy (not sure if that is the proper spelling of her name) before and after the show. She is the co-owner and a very sweet, hospitable person.
A very beautiful and fun arthouse to visit! PS, they also show classics on Sunday evenings and other occasions!
Myself and my family have volunteered at the Rialto for many years. I basically grew up around this theater! I still volunteer downstairs during live events and digital movies and am a projectionist for them during films.
It has been beautifully restored and so has the beautiful terra cotta interior. It just had new, historic looking seats installed throughout last year as well has having the wood flooring refinished. The theater continues to grow in popularity and improve vastly each year. It features everything from concerts, plays, conventions/meetings and arthouse and classic films. Sadly, many of the films these days are shown via a Christie DLP projector (DVD or VHS) downstairs at the soundrack but it does still run film and has a very nice booth. The booth contains two Kodak Ektagraphic 16mm projectors with changeover box and 2 Simplex E-7 projectors that date from 1938. The projectors were originally installed in the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado and were donated to the Rialto in 1998. They were converted to Xenon lamps and reverse-scan LED readers in 2003 but are still quite original and still have the 2 thousand foot reel magazines that were necessary during the flammable nitrate film days.
A very classy historic theater in trendy downtown Loveland
I would also like to note that this is a very original drive-in. It still runs 2 thousand foot changeover, on two RCA projectors with a carbon arc light source.
The Comanche Drive-In in Buena Vista, Colorado is not closed but its future is up in the air (no pun intended). The theater was open intermittently throughout the ‘07 season due to sound equipment issues. On May 8th of 2008, the owner’s wife very suddenly and unexpectedly passed away right before the drive-in was to reopen, so needless to say, the drive-in never opened that year. John Groy,the owner (who also built the theater) is about 80 years old and his wife was some 15 years his junior so I personally suspect that she had quite a bit to do with the theater’s upkeep and management. It is still unknown if it will reopen this year. It may be a good idea to give Mr. Groy a call and encourage him to open up for '09.
The Boulder Theater is a wonderful venue. I am a projectionist there and have been involved with the theater for 3 years. The theater still has most of its historic features intact including two very large and beautiful murals, one on each wall. It also plays host to a very fun and creative staff. There are no traditional theater seats in the main auditorium. Instead, there is a large bar as well as versatile seating that sometimes includes tables. The balcony still has its vintage theater seats. The theater plays host to many events including concerts, plays, film festivals, and a weekly film series. The theater just got a brand new sound system for its films in January of 2009. The booth has two Ballantyne Pro-35 projectors equipped for 6 thousand foot reel changeover. Occasionally, a film will be shown digitally via a DLP projector downstairs on the soundrack.
The head Union projectionist, John Templeton is an expert technician who has been involved in every end of the entertainment business including tech work for concerts, plays, political events, camera crews, athletic events and has projected at many theaters and drive-ins in the area. He has around 35 years experience and has been projecting at the Boulder Theater for 30 years.
I visited this theater in April of 2007 and saw “Astronaut Farmer”. Much of Mrs. Steele’s information in her letter above is still correct. The lobby is modern and cheery while the auditorium is very nostalgic and beautiful. They still have a curtain that opens and closes before and after each feature. Mrs. Steele was very kind to me and spent a lot of time visiting with me and showing me around. The booth is accessed from a very strange staircase which is more like a ladder. The booth contains two Brenkert projectors…one runs the trailers reel-to-reel and the other runs the feature off a platter system. Before she goes upstairs and starts the lobby, Mrs. Steele goes up front, introduces the film and gives a run-down of the rules and conduct of the theater and the consequences any offender will face.
Very nice presentation quality. This is a fun and historic theater to visit.
I have never heard or Weist. The theater is just a half a block south of Elkhorn and Rockwell runs behind the theater…
On Google Maps, 504 shows the site of the old theater. However I have seen Google mess up their maps from time to time so it is hard to say. I’ll do some checking around and see if I cannot dig up an address. There are no buildings standing that were associated with the theater. The lot sits on the North end of the street, in between Pike’s Tires and a small building that I believe currenlty houses the offices for a handyman service. Ironically, the building that houses the latter-mentioned handyman service previously housed Star Contracting, the contractors who demolished the theater.
More notes on the Windsor Theater
The booth, at least when the Stangers owned it, was fully equipped with Motiograph equipment.
When the Stangers purchased the theater, there was an antique upright player piano in the lobby. Why I do not know since the Windsor was built for talkies. This piano is still alive and well and is now in the lobby of The Historic Park Theatre in Estes Park,Co
Chuck, do you live in Colorado? You are certainly quite knowledgeable about northern Colorado theaters yet some of your comments lead me to believe you live elsewhere…
Wonderful info, Michael! It was indeed always a twin…I forgot to check that when I listed it.
Could someone please get the number of screens changed to Twin?
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!
If I remember correctly, the projectors in the booth are Brenkert…
Sadly, Bill Horton, the most recent owner of the theater passed away March 4th, 2009 after a battle with lung cancer. Mr. Horton owned the theater along with his wife, Selma. As of this date, the Century projectors, carbon arc lamphouses and 2k changeover system in the above youtube video are still being used. I have been told that the theater will continue operating, but with new management.
The booth at the Unique contained 2 Super Simplex projectors with Xetron xenon lamphouses. The projectors ran 6 thousand foot changeover. There was also a separate room off the booth used for building up prints in the nitrate days.
The booth at The Pearl contains two Simplex E-7 projectors running 2 thousand foot changeover with Motiograph magazines and xenon lamphouses. It is also notable that the booth ceiling is extremely low, do to existing support beams. I stand 6'3" and had to stoop considerably when walking around the booth.
I visited this theater in late 2008 to see “The Women” and was very nicely surprised. It is very comfortable, attractive and contemporary. It also featured the best quality projection I have seen in a multiplex.
One screen had already been converted to digital. The rest (I have been told) will be converted within the next 12 months.
A plain but nice little theater in Greeley. I’ve been attending movies at this theater for years. They converted to Digital Cinema sometime before October of 2006 however 3 screens can still show 35mm as well. There is no stadium seating but the seats are VERY comfy and the sound is excellent. It sits just one block West of where the old Cooper Twin was located and across the highway from the Cinemark 16.
**Status should be changed to “Closed”
The Unique Theater is dead. The group hoping to save the theater fell apart back in ‘07. Status should be changed to closed. Although I have not visited the theater since its closure, I have had several reliable sources tell me that the theater is nothing more than 4 brick walls. All seats and equipment have allegedly been removed and I know for a fact that the marquee has been removed. The current owner who purchased the building from Mr. Groy almost lost the building this last summer as he failed to make his payments on the city issued loan, however he has caught up on payments and still owns the building. The plan is to turn the building into condos. If you “Google Earth” the address, you can see for yourself what an ugly mess this poor theater has become.
This theater is nothing short of a gem on the Colorado plains! It is owned and operated by Mr. Joe Machetta who bought the theater in 1958. He grew up around movie theaters and is also related to the Kelloff family who owned and operated several movie houses and drive-ins in South Western Colorado.
The theater is very original inside and also features Mr. Machetta’s quality decorating and updates. The seats are very comfortable and appear to have been installed new in the late 1970’s. The facade was completely restored a few years back. The theater was originally known as The Emerson and it had been closed for a few years when Mr. Machetta purchased it. He changed the name to The Sands in honor of The Sands Hotel as he is a major rat-pack fan. The booth features two immaculate Super Simplex projectors running 6 thousand foot changeover with xenon lamps.
The theater is amazingly clean and well run. The staff is small and very friendly. Mr. Machetta can usually be found in the box office selling tickets and he is aided by one of two friendly projectionists and the concession stand always has one or two very nice & polite people (usually local high school kids) running it. The theater features a curtain that opens before the feature and closes after and is also one of the only theaters I’ve seen that still uses its original glass slide projector. This projector makes its big scene afer the first reel, projecting “The concession stand closes in 5 minutes” in the lower right hand corner.
If you want to visit a beautiful, historic theater complete with old-fashioned small town charm, The Sands is for you!
I have not been in that theater since 2006. I was under that impression due to the fact that I know the head projectionist at the Century (Cinemark) Theater in Boulder and when he mentioned that his theater was being converted to Digital, he gave the impression (or maybe I read into his words) that his was the first Cinemark theater in the area to be going digital.
The building, inside and out is grand, but that’s it. With Cinemark, you get the standard poor customer service, poor motion picture presentation and less than clean theaters. It is good that they momentarily still use 35mm, as opposed to the Carmike which is right across the highway, but do yourself a favor and go to the Carmike.
The Holiday sure has a fond spot in my heart. It was the first drive-in I ever saw a movie at. At one point, they were hoping to add a 3rd screen but nothing ever became of it. The theater is in western Fort Collins…a very pretty part of town with the foothills right across the street. Housing has sprung up all around the theater and god bless the owner for resisting the temptation to sell. The owner is Wes Webb of St. George, Utah.
Last visited in September of ‘06 to see “Wicker Man” and “Beerfest” with my ex-boyfriend. At that time the old gal was still going strong and even had some of the original speakers. I believe it’s time for me to pay The Holiday a visit again soon…
The theater must be older than 2001, Chuck. The first time I went to this theater was when my mother took me to see “Harriet the Spy” the day it came out. “Harriet the Spy” came out in 1996.
Been to this theater many times over the years. Sadly, it is all Digital Cinema, as of at least October 2006, but the place is clean and comfortable. The auditoriums are very ornate and attractive…something very unusual for a theater of this era. The theater is tucked away and rather hard to find. Aside from the drive in, this place is Fort Collins' best choice to see a first run Hollywood movie.
The theater was constructed in 1995. It originally belonged to the now defunct Colorado Cinemas. At the time it was constructed, it basically sat in the middle of nowhere although now it is nestled in with many, many shops and offices in a very busy part of town. I spent many of my late childhood and pre-teen years around this theater since it was managed from 1995 until 2003 by a dear friend of my family, John Garcia. Mr. Garcia is in his early 70s now and spend all of his adult life as a union projectionist and theater manager. He still words a projectionist at a discount house in Colorado Springs. He ran a tight ship and loved the Cinema Saver 6.
I learned much of what I know today at this theater. I learned how to project here as well as many of the other ins and outs of the movie theater business, which I still proudly work in today.
All of the projection equipment came out of a closed multiplex somewhere in Texas and although I cannot remember what kind of projectors/lamphouses/platters are up there, I know that most every auditorium had a different brand and setup.
I went to a movie there last sometime in early ‘08 and it was still clean and very well run.
What a quaint and beautiful theater! I visited in February of 2009 and saw “Frost/Nixon” in 35mm. The seats are stadium seating with the back row being round booths with tables that are make out of 6k 35mm reels. The theater is very comfortable to watch a movie in. it features a very beautiful pressed ceiling. The theater is very tastefully built and gives one the impression that they are in an historic(or at least vintage) movie house. There is also an old-style and impressive marquee on the front of the building. There is a beautiful antique candy case in the concession stand where they also sell the tickets. I did not visit the booth but I know for 35mm, they employ a Century projector and a platter system. I spoke with a lady name Lindy (not sure if that is the proper spelling of her name) before and after the show. She is the co-owner and a very sweet, hospitable person.
A very beautiful and fun arthouse to visit! PS, they also show classics on Sunday evenings and other occasions!
Myself and my family have volunteered at the Rialto for many years. I basically grew up around this theater! I still volunteer downstairs during live events and digital movies and am a projectionist for them during films.
It has been beautifully restored and so has the beautiful terra cotta interior. It just had new, historic looking seats installed throughout last year as well has having the wood flooring refinished. The theater continues to grow in popularity and improve vastly each year. It features everything from concerts, plays, conventions/meetings and arthouse and classic films. Sadly, many of the films these days are shown via a Christie DLP projector (DVD or VHS) downstairs at the soundrack but it does still run film and has a very nice booth. The booth contains two Kodak Ektagraphic 16mm projectors with changeover box and 2 Simplex E-7 projectors that date from 1938. The projectors were originally installed in the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado and were donated to the Rialto in 1998. They were converted to Xenon lamps and reverse-scan LED readers in 2003 but are still quite original and still have the 2 thousand foot reel magazines that were necessary during the flammable nitrate film days.
A very classy historic theater in trendy downtown Loveland
I would also like to note that this is a very original drive-in. It still runs 2 thousand foot changeover, on two RCA projectors with a carbon arc light source.
The Comanche Drive-In in Buena Vista, Colorado is not closed but its future is up in the air (no pun intended). The theater was open intermittently throughout the ‘07 season due to sound equipment issues. On May 8th of 2008, the owner’s wife very suddenly and unexpectedly passed away right before the drive-in was to reopen, so needless to say, the drive-in never opened that year. John Groy,the owner (who also built the theater) is about 80 years old and his wife was some 15 years his junior so I personally suspect that she had quite a bit to do with the theater’s upkeep and management. It is still unknown if it will reopen this year. It may be a good idea to give Mr. Groy a call and encourage him to open up for '09.
The Boulder Theater is a wonderful venue. I am a projectionist there and have been involved with the theater for 3 years. The theater still has most of its historic features intact including two very large and beautiful murals, one on each wall. It also plays host to a very fun and creative staff. There are no traditional theater seats in the main auditorium. Instead, there is a large bar as well as versatile seating that sometimes includes tables. The balcony still has its vintage theater seats. The theater plays host to many events including concerts, plays, film festivals, and a weekly film series. The theater just got a brand new sound system for its films in January of 2009. The booth has two Ballantyne Pro-35 projectors equipped for 6 thousand foot reel changeover. Occasionally, a film will be shown digitally via a DLP projector downstairs on the soundrack.
The head Union projectionist, John Templeton is an expert technician who has been involved in every end of the entertainment business including tech work for concerts, plays, political events, camera crews, athletic events and has projected at many theaters and drive-ins in the area. He has around 35 years experience and has been projecting at the Boulder Theater for 30 years.