Unique Theater
129 W. First Street,
Salida,
CO
81201
129 W. First Street,
Salida,
CO
81201
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The Mountain Mail had an article on June 21, 2018 that provided the full history.
The building went up in 1888, replacing the Craig Opera that had burned down. The first event in the new Salida Opera House was a New Year’s Ever party featuring light from 75 electric bulbs.
The theater shut down from 1901 to 1914, when it reopened showing movies as the Empress Theatre.
A fire in January 1942 gutted the rear of what had become the Salida Theatre. It was renamed the Unique in 1966, “when it was owned by Louis (sic) and Mary Groy.”
In 2007, the city condemned the building. That year, Salcat Industries, owned by Bobby Hartslief of South Africa, bought the Unique and stabilized the building. In 2011 new owner Tim Pollak of Florence, Italy, razed the back of the building to save the front 40 feet and its façade. Later that decade, the inside was converted to three storefronts on the first floor and three condos on the second, and that’s what it looked like at the time of the article.
The Mountain Mail, June 2, 1966: “Thursday installation of the new marquee at the “new” theater in Salida was completed. At the same location as the Salida Theatre, Lewis Groy has completely remodeled the theatre inside and out and has given it a new name, the Unique. With close to 500 seats downstairs on the completely new concrete floor and with the inside and out showing a new coat of paint, the place really has the “new look.” ”
An Architectural Inventory Form prepared for the Colorado Cultural Resource Survey in 1981 (PDF here) says that the Salida Opera House was dedicated on January 1, 1889.
My parents, Lewis R. and Mary A. Groy, owned the property and renamed it as the Unique Theater from 1965 through 1991, at which time my mother sold it to my half-brother, John. It has, unfortunately, since slowly degraded to the point where it has been destroyed due to negligence. So sorry to see a historical landmark fall victim to lack of concern.
Thomas L. Groy, Ph.D.
The Opera House in Salida is listed in the 1897-98 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. G.W. McGovern was Mgr. It had 850 seats, was on the ground floor with tickets costing from 25 cents to $1. It had the “Edison system” of electric lighting. The proscenium opening was 25 feet wide X 15 feet high, and the stage was 36 feet deep. There were 2 newspapers and 3 hotels for show folk. The 1897 population of Salida was 3,500.
1930-1935 named EMPRESS THEATER.
Anyone have more info or more photos, especially of the interior.
Timeline:
January 16, 1889 Opened as the SALIDA OPERA HOUSE.
1909 Renovated to accommodate motion pictures and renamed OSOS GRAND THEATER.
1936 named SALIIDA THEATER.
Late 1960’s renamed UNIQUE THEATER.
At one time it was named EMPRESS THEATER.
Last owned by John Groy.
August 7, 2006 Closed.
November 10, 2010 AFTER 121 YEARS THE ENTIRE BUILDING IS STILL STANDING!
JET
It appears that what little remains of the Unique is yet again in peril. The current owner seems to be having trouble coming up with the funds to complete the renovation and would sooner just bulldoze the entire thing than mess with it anymore and the city is demanding that the owner clean up what he started or else they will demolish it and repossess the land. You can read about it all at the Salida Mountain Mail (newspaper) website…simply search “Unique Theater”.
A photo taken in April 2007 of the Unique…sorry to hear this local treasure is endangered!
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It was very large and so was the auditorium. According to the Film Daily Yearbook of 1942, it is listed as the Salida Theater (it’s name at the time) as having 600 seats. It still had around that many seats when it closed.
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.
**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.
there web site is still up ..but not much info
Is it still standing? What’s up?
what is going on with the UNIQUE????????
more info: http://uniquetheater.org/
The person who owns the theater is
John L Groy (BV) – 719.395.2297
Rumor is the deal was closed Friday. If that is the case the person to contact would be Bobby Hartslief  (I don’t have his number).
Hello, we are intersted in saveing it, email
>i almost bought the storyville twin…….but what i wanted was the UNIQUE BUT IT WAS NOT FOR SALE!
> posted by longislandmovies on Nov 27, 2006 at 8:28am
I hope you are in a position to reconsider it. The theater is being sold to a developer that “more than likely” will end up tearing down the theater portion for a restruant. The town council has given him the OK to tear it down also even though a far number of salida residents (myself included) want it turned into a historic landmark. It am supportive of business, but this is a sad blow to a 100 year old theater…
Links -
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i almost bought the storyville twin…….but what i wanted was the UNIQUE BUT IT WAS NOT FOR SALE!
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Another two Articles on the Unique.
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No, I don’t believe it has reopened. Here is an older artical but it is the most recent I have found:
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I am going to visit and photograph The Fox Theater, Trinidad CO Movie Picture SHow House, Trinidad CO and The El Raton Theater, Raton NM. I will also visit and photograph The 85 Drive In, Raton NM and The Peak Drive In Trinidad, CO tomorrow thru Sunday. I see you have quite an interest in these colorado theaters, Longislandmovies. You should feel free to contact me directly to request photos or ask specific questions; I’d love to share the fruit of my journeys.
Any news on this?
THIS REOPEN?