Duo get to save theater finally
By Suzanne Dean
Deseret News, 9 January 2007
Summary:
When the Star Theater went up for sale in the late 1980s, Lori Nay and Diana Spencer helped organize a group called “Save Our Star” (SOS), but the theater was sold to another buyer.
In 2004, the Star Theater was again placed on the market. Nay and Spencer formed a nonprofit organization, paid earnest money, and then purchased the theater with an $8,000 down payment. They renamed the theater “Casino Star” in recognition of its entire history.
The theater was originally named “Casino” before the word was associated with gambling houses.
Because the intricate beaux-arts decorations on the Casino Star tend to deteriorate, the theater is only one west of the Mississippi still in operation.
Diana Spencer is a retired Snow College professor. Lori Nay is a doctor's wife and Gunnison city councilwoman.