Bonfils Memorial Theatre
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Bonfils Memorial Theatre
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Theatre building in 2009
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| Location | 1475 Elizabeth Street, Denver, Colorado |
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| Area | Northeast Denver, Colorado |
| Built | 1953 |
| Architect | John K. Monroe |
| Architectural style | Art Moderne |
| NRHP reference # | 91001417 |
| Added to NRHP | December 27, 2006 |
Bonfils Memorial Theatre, also known as Lowenstein Theatre, was a community theatre in Northeast Denver, Colorado, which operated from 1953 to 1986. Built by Denver philanthropist Helen Bonfils in memory of her parents, Frederick Gilmer Bonfils and Belle Barton Bonfils, it staged plays, operas, concerts, films, lectures, and television shows, presenting more than 400 productions. In 1985 it was renamed the Lowenstein Theatre in honor of its longtime producer, Henry Lowenstein. The theatre closed in 1986 and sat vacant for two decades. It was purchased in 2005 by Charles Woolley of the St. Charles Town Company, which renovated and reopened the building in 2006 as a Tattered Cover bookstore. The theatre building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The theatre building is located at 1475 Elizabeth Street, on the southwest corner of East Colfax Avenue, in Northeast Denver.
The theatre was designed in Art Moderne style by Denver architect John K. Monroe. The one-story structure, covering 66,000 square feet (6,100 m2), was faced in cream-colored brick and trimmed in buff-colored terra cotta and red sandstone. Below the "wing-swept" marquee, a contoured aluminum canopy overhung the entrance.
Inside, the travertine lobby sported a "Prussian blue rug, wood-paneled walls, pumpkin-colored plaster, and tall windows". On one side of the lobby stood a shrine to the Abbey Theatre in England. The lower lobby and bar was accessed via a grand staircase.
The theatre had seating for 550. Its Prussian-blue stage curtain was complemented by gray side walls and red carpeting. Backstage were nine dressing rooms. Monroe designed an electronic lighting switchboard – a "smaller version of the system used in New York City's Metropolitan Opera House" – to accommodate a variety of productions, including plays, operas, concerts, films, and lectures. The venue was also appropriate for use as a television studio.
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