Lowe’s Hometowns: A historic theater readies to reopen

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Newsroom Contributor
Oct 06, 2022

An abandoned theater seeks a facelift for an eyesore – its fly building.  

What exactly is a fly building? It’s the part of a theater above and behind the stage, usually with a very high ceiling. A fly building is used to store scenery and set pieces – suspending them from the ceiling so they can be lowered for a scene and then raised back up – essentially “flying” in and out of a production. 

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Denver’s Historic Elitch Theatre’s fly building was both uninspiring and uninviting – a nearly 100-foot-tall tower of gray cinderblock blighting the surrounding skyline. Now, decades after closing its doors, the Theatre is looking forward to a new exterior paint job and outdoor patio as it prepares to raise the curtain on productions again. 

WHY IT MATTERS 

The Historic Elitch Theatre is Denver’s oldest cultural venue. Built in 1891, it was home to America’s oldest summer stock theatre. Hollywood royalty graced the stage before becoming screen legends – including Grace Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Redford, Cecil B. DeMille, and Douglas Fairbanks. The fly building was added in 1954 to allow for a larger stage and bigger productions. 

But in time, community attractions around the theatre moved to other locations, and Elitch Theatre was eventually abandoned and boarded up. And it stayed that way for years – with the unsightly cinderblock fly tower looming over a neighborhood that grew and changed and developed. A community that would need a theater again. A place for the community to come together and experience live productions, a setting for children to find their passion for performing arts, and a venue for theater groups to perform. Both the local community and the theater community needed the Historic Elitch Theatre to reopen its doors. 

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The stage was set, and the Theatre’s second act kicked off in 2002, with the formation The Historic Elitch Theatre Foundation. The group’s goal was to restore and preserve the Theatre. And 20 years later, a new opening night is finally in sight. The Theatre, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, underwent a long series of renovation and restoration projects during the past two decades. But none addressed the aesthetics of the fly building.  

This is where Lowe’s enters the scene, providing the money, materials and manpower to upgrade the fly building through its Lowe’s Hometowns program – a five-year, $100 million commitment to improvement projects across the country. This Lowe’s Hometowns project included power washing and painting the cinderblock tower, and building an outdoor patio with associate volunteers – creating a versatile space which can be used for rehearsals, guests, programming, events, and fundraisers.  

Carlos Draugelat, a Lowe’s store manager and Hometowns project captain, says associates appreciate the opportunity to impact their communities. 

“It's something that I've told my team for a very long time. When you're able to leave your heart stamp on something, it's something that you're very genuine and true about,” Draugelat said. “It's not something that you're asked to do, but it's something that you want to do, because you want to leave a legacy of when you worked at Lowe's. It's not just the customers that we serve as associates, but it's the folks that are around us in our communities. 

 “We're not just a retailer. We really are a community partner. That's what we do.” 

THE IMPACT 

Greg Rowley is President of the Board for Historic Elitch Theatre. He’s been with the organization for 10 years.  “This is a pretty big milestone for us, and for me personally it’s kind of the culmination of a decade of volunteer work and I’m really excited. I can’t wait to see it when it’s done and to get started with some programming and to get our theatre up and running.” 

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This truly is a labor of love for Rowley. He often says, “everyone who comes in falls in love with it instantly”. And he has a family tie to the Theatre - his aunt took to the stage there when she was in high school. He also lives in the surrounding community.  

“From the neighborhood, we have hundreds of people that stop,” he said.” I don’t think I can set foot out front of the Theatre without someone stopping me and asking ‘where’s the Theatre at? When’s it going to start productions? What’s happening with the restoration?’” 

Even when the fly building was no longer abandoned, it looked like it was. In fact, Rowley shared, the fly building would often show up first in a Google search for “abandoned buildings near me”. Now, he hopes the fly building will look like a working, functioning building again.  

“When we found out we got the Lowe’s grant, that was the best news we’ve gotten in a couple of years. It was such a huge thing, and such a huge help. And Lowe’s was great. Lowe’s was really excited about it.” 

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Draugelat says Rowley’s enthusiasm is infectious. 

“When you're in retail, you're able to read body language and you're able to read people's smiles, and you see the genuine love that he has for the village theater in his heart… you see it in the things that he talks about and how he talks about it.” 

Rowley says this Lowe’s Hometowns project is the last piece of the renovations puzzle. “After this the Theatre really feels like it’s ready to open the doors and welcome the community in.” 

2023 will be the year for the grand re-opening. Rowley says productions will officially return in the spring – for the first time in 32 years. He’s looking to partner with several local theater and arts groups to produce monthly programming - including small plays, dance, and orchestra shows. Making the Historic Elitch Theatre the place for community connections it was, and is meant to be.