Re-created Sculpture for Casino Star Theatre

People walk in front of the Casino Star Theatre about 1915.

Casino Star Theatre Foundation Director Diana Spencer stands next to an angel sculpture by Sculptor Brad Taggart in a studio at Snow College.

Look carefully at the 1915 photo on the left. Above the windows, perched on elaborate bases, two Winged Victories raise their flowing capes in a gesture of celebration and protection. The originals vanished during the 1956 renovation, last seen, it is reported, in a trash pile near the big "G" on a hillside west of Gunnison. Stories crop up occasionally about a popular pick-up line during the 60's and 70's: "Come with me (heh-heh) and I'll show you an angel."

As part of the restoration effort to recapture the original look of the 1912 Beaux Arts Casino Theatre (known as the Star Theatre from 1936-2004 and the Casino Star since 2004), re-creation of the long-missing sculptures is underway. Sculptor Brad Taggart, professor of art at Snow College, is donating his talent and labor to the restoration effort.

The photo on the right was taken April 30 in the sculpture studio at Snow College, with Casino Star Theatre Foundation Director Diana Spencer looking very pleased with Taggart's work. The model for the life-size goddess has taken shape over the past school year since Brad completed his prior commission, the featured sculpture of Lorenzo Snow and Erastus Snow, now standing in the plaza in front of the new Karen H. Huntsman Library on the Snow campus. Brad worked from early photos to replicate the originals.

The Casino Star received a grant through the Utah State Historic Preservation Office to pay for casting the sculptures in a sturdy, lightweight material and then mounting them above the theatre windows. Brad has yet to create the folds in the fabric "wings" and the pedestals under their feet, but progress continues.

Other activity at the Casino Star Theatre for spring and summer of 2011 includes painting and weather-protecting the new stucco and decorative trim on the façade. As always, contributions to support this ambitious project are welcome and can be made at the "Donate" button at www.casinostartheatre.com.