Oriental Theater
4335 W. 44th Avenue,
Denver,
CO
80212
4335 W. 44th Avenue,
Denver,
CO
80212
5 people
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Grand opening ad posted.
The Denver Post reported today that the Oriental’s owners were trying again to restore the marquee. General manager Scott Happel said, “We’ve had it done twice, apparently by people that weren’t quite sure how to do it correctly.“ This time the work is being done by Morry Weseloh’s company, Morry’s Neon Signs. Full story with pictures here
Article about the refurbished neon.
http://www.westword.com/arts/the-oriental-theaters-neon-lights-up-the-night-for-the-first-time-in-decades-7853034
The interior lighting is not the best at the Oriental, but I took some shots tonight following a superb Bill Frisell concert. See the Photos section.
If you are looking for taste of old fashioned entertainment meets Colorado lifestyle than look no further. This was my first experience with The Oriental Theater and it wont be my last. I had only read reviews of the venue before buying tickets to see The Rail Splitters and The Steeldrivers. I ended up giving them a 5 star rating because the overall experience was top notch.
We got there early and enjoyed some beers during sound check and met most of the staff and all of the bands. Crazy how friendly and laid back the place was. Let me start with the owners – Great guys. They don’t over manage their venue. They let you enjoy it. Yes the building is old, but the character of the theater is priceless. The 1920’s charm of the venue really reminds you of better days, when you dressed up to attend the theater and it was a privilege to be there.
Drinks were cheap, easy to get, and not far from hand. Two bars in this small of a theater really makes it nice to leave your seat and grab a drink and not stand in line for 20 minutes missing all your favorite songs. The men’s restroom had no lines, and the women’s was a short wait (Not far from the bar and a new drink to enjoy while in line).
The only drawbacks of the whole night – 1. The sound guy was new… So any of his mistakes can easily be corrected with some more training and experience (he was sick and missed a training last week I was told). He managed to solve most of the issues in a matter of two or three songs. 2. The venue is kinda run down but not in a dirty or dingy way – The bathrooms were clean, the seating areas were clean, the floors looked clean. But this is an old venue and its hard to turn a large enough profit these days to keep the vintage style and look up to its original standards. It really made me feel more at ease and I sat back and enjoyed the show. I’m a sucker for the old theaters of our past.
Lastly, I highly recommend you attend an event here. This will forever be a great memory of a great concert. I attend over 50 events a year and rarely am I this satisfied with a venue. The Oriental Theater is a must. Meet the staff, enjoy the show, leave with many memories.
The Oriental in 1995, when shows were sporadic and the venue was dark most of the time:
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Talk about finding new uses for old movie theatres. Apparently a very colorful venue:
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http://www.westword.com/slideshow/view/12606
Cool photos:
www.likeme.net/places/oriental-theater-denver
www.flickr.com/photos/finnriggins/360779226/
www.flickr.com/photos/tadsonbussey/303250527
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trying to locate Lane McCoy reply tp
Another early view of The Oriental Theatre
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Early photo of The Oriental Theatre
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Leo A. Desjardins was the architect of the Denver Oriental.
Lost Memory: I couldn’t see the above photo as a message read “Tammi G. is no longer active on Flickr.”
I proposed to my girlfriend in March 11, 2006 at this wonderful theater. Sweden’s “The Flower Kings” were playing a concert that evening, and they brought me on stage where I proposed to her. Needless to say, the Oriental will always hold a special place in my heart.
The Oriental Theater is now being managed by 44th Avenue Productions LLC. The Theater has been competely renovated. The renovations include: a new stage; tiered levels with cocktail table seating (the old theater chairs have all been removed); new hardwood floors in the lobby; a new bar in the lobby; new sconces and track lighting in the lobby.; a new sound and lighting system; new painting schemes that compliment the original decor and murals.
The Theater will be hosting live theater productions, live music, indie movies, and comedy shows. The new website is www.theorientaltheater.com and the new phone number is 303-455-2124
I managed the ORIENTAL Theatre starting in 1957 after i got dischared from the NAVY and managed it thru 1958 then went to Gunnison Colorado. Atlas Theatre corp had just made a deal with Civic Theatres to take over operation of the ORIEVTAL, FEDERAL< HOLLIDAY (which used to be the EGYPTIAN Thatre) and the CORONET Theatre which was just up the stree on 44th from the ORIENTAL. Charles Yeager was the Owner Atlas theatre and ATOZ Amusements. He remodeled the ORIENTAL in 58 and really made a nice theatre out of it. Nicest seats at that time, tile and carpet, sighn worl etc. After it was remodeled we took move over movies from the PARAMOUNT Theatre and the ALADIN Theatre, DENVER and othe first run theatres. The movies usually was a 2 week run downtown and then it was usually 3 to 4 weeks before it got to sub run. The move over policy worked very well for several years. Years later it became a Adult Theatre showing X rated then later was a 50 cent bargain Theater. I always liked the ORIENTAL and very happy to see that it still has life in it. posted by richard dueley on Nov1,2005 at 8:58pm.
The Oriental Theater will re-open on December 2nd 2005 at 6:30pm for a holiday comedy called “A Politically Correct Christmas Carol” Tickets are on sale at the Oriental Theater 1 hour before the show and are $12. This show will run the first 3 weekends in December.