Denver,
Colorado
The Historic Elitch Theatre is an important part of Denver’s cultural
and architectural heritage. Open for more than 100 years, The Elitch
Gardens Theatre was the oldest summer stock theater in America and made
local history with the showing of Denver’s first moving picture show.
In its prime, the Theatre featured such artists as Grace Kelly, Edward
G. Robeson, Cicel B. DeMill, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Redford and Bonnie
Raitt. In 1996, when Perry Rose LLC acquired the former Elitch Gardens’
Amusement Park for re-development, preserving the historic theatre was
one of Perry Rose’s primary goals.
Today the larger Elitch’s site has been redeveloped into Highlands’
Garden Village (HGV), a mixed use, award winning, smart growth
development. Perry Rose LLC, as the developer of HGV, incorporated the
Theatre in revitalizing the neighborhood, and creating a cultural
center for the community. To support the Elitch Theatre, the partners
and the Highlands’ community founded a not-for-profit foundation (The
Center for American Theatre at Historic Elitch Gardens) to finance and
oversee the Theatre’s renovation. The foundation also sponsors
concerts, lectures, movies and farmers’ markets that take place in the
Theatre Plaza. This community park is also shared by the project’s
elementary school as a playing field. The age and condition of the
structure have made the rehabilitation of Elitch Theatre a challenging
task. The Center and Perry Rose worked together to assemble a
specialized team of experts to meet these challenges and renovate the
facade to National Park Services Historic Preservation Standards.
Phase One, completed in 2007, includes the rehabilitation of the Elitch
Theatre façade, repairs to the structural system, and the addition of a
building foundation and insulation. Acting as Owner’s Representative
and Construction Manager, Perry Rose oversaw the execution of the
project, from establishing a project governance structure, securing
historic permits and approvals, assisting in preparing historic grant
applications, private fund raising, architect and consultant selection,
design and construction management, project accounting and
reporting.
The renovation was carried out by Palace Construction, who donated
hundreds of hours of time and their fee to the project.
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Firm Role
Owner’s Representative, Project and Construction Management
Project Type
Historic Preservation
Construction Types
Historic Renovation
Wood Frame
Preservation Team
Historic
Preservation Consultant
Diane Wray
Architects
OZ Architecture
James Bershof
Engineer
JVA Engineering
Wood Specialist
Anthony Associates
General Contractor
Palace Construction
Funding
DURA, Perry Rose, City and County of Denver (Tax Increment Financing),
Colorado State Historical Fund, Save America’s Treasures Grant,
Boettcher Foundation, Shotcrete Technologies, Palace Construction,
Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), and Private
Donations
Status
Phase I Completion: 2007
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