Eight years ago, when the non-profit Casino Star Theatre Foundation began its labors to restore the Casino Star Theatre and produce a series of live shows to supplement its movie fare, the idea of a Centennial Celebration was nowhere in sight or mind.
Suddenly, here it is! Gunnison entrepreneur Sims M. Duggins broke ground for his one-of-a-kind Beaux Arts-style movie palace in the summer of 1912 and opened for business on January 13, 1913. That's a century ago. And except for a span from March to May 1974, between the death of second owner C. E. Anderson and the purchase by Max Curtis of Aurora, the theatre remained continuously in use until November 2007. That's when Top Stop's gasoline leak produced toxic fumes in basements throughout Gunnison's southwest quadrant.
Using the opportunity to complete necessary interior work, the Casino Star Theatre Foundation used the grants and donations it had received to fund a beautifully refurbished auditorium and reopened within one year. That means the Theatre can claim to have served the citizens of Gunnison and the surrounding area for 100 consecutive years!
Join us to celebrate the past and salute the future with continued movies and live shows into the unforeseeable future! Your support is essential to our remaining open for another 100 years.
Go to our Facebook page and Like us—a lot. Also, you may support our continued restoration and programming at the "donate" page of www.casinostartheatre.com.
| Theater | City |
|---|---|
| Casino Star Theatre | Gunnison |