Fox Theatre (Boulder)

Located on "The Hill", The Fox Theatre is a live music club in Boulder, Colorado. Recently voted 4th best music venue in the country by Rolling Stone, the Fox offers top-notch talent, a sound system, and a 625 capacity atmosphere.

The Fox is located on "The Hill", a commercial, restaurant, and bar district in Boulder. The theater is located on 13th Street between Five Guys restaurant and the Tulagi's building. The Fox is located across the street from the University of Colorado campus. The Fox Theatre box office is located across the street from The Fox Theatre on the upper floor of Albums on The Hill.

Originally constructed in 1926 as the Rialto Theatre, the building at 1135 13th Street had a number of occupants in its early years. The ownership record is nearly as convoluted as the list of business occupants. The property was sold in April 1926 by William Beach to Adrian G. Diez, who constructed the building. He sold it in May 1927 to the Curran-Isis Theatres Company (Frank Ricketson and associates). They sold it in 1930 to the Fox Colorado Theatre Group, who in turn sold it in 1933 to the Fox Colorado Theatre Company. A quitclaim deed in 1935 resulted in the Boulder K & F Realty Company being the new owner. They sold it in 1946 to the Isis Theatre Company (also Fox Intermountain Theaters). County Assessor’s records were not available until a transaction in 1978, when the building was sold by the National General Theaters to the Mann Theaters Corporation. This company sold the property in 1988 to Cinamerica Theaters. In 1994, the present owner, Celtic Properties, purchased the building at 1135 13th Street.

Recent newspaper articles state that the Rialto was originally a vaudeville theater, but earlier newspaper reports seem to indicate that it was a movie theater. After Diez sold the Rialto to the Curran-Isis Theatres Company, they operated it for only a few months before it “closed for lack of business.” It is possible that the Rialto was purchased and closed down so as not to compete with the other entertainment theaters operated by the group, which included the Isis, or that vaudeville theaters had reached the end of their usefulness. By 1932, the building was still listed in the city directories as “vacant.”

In 1938, Buffalo Club Dancing occupied the building, and was there through at least 1940, but in 1943, the building was again vacant. That year, another business started up. The Anchorage opened on April 9, 1943 (although the Boulder Daily Camera article lists the address as 1155 13th Street). The manager, John Hart, had been rejected for military service and turned his attention to developing a recreation center on University Hill for students, sailors, and townspeople. Hart states, “I have been encouraged to open the building as a club by persons who recognize the shortage of entertainment places in Boulder. There has been an increasing demand since the destruction of Canon Park. I intend to run a first class place and although I have been handicapped in getting ready for the opening through an inability to get sufficient help, The Anchorage will be ready for the opening.”

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