Ellie Caulkins Opera House - History of The Theatre

History of The Theatre

The Municipal Auditorium, the largest in America except for Madison Square Garden in New York, was completed in time to host the Democratic National Convention in 1908. Mayor Speer and the Chamber of Commerce raised $100,000 to celebrate the July 7 grand opening of the Auditorium with Denver's first national political convention, when William Jennings Bryan was nominated the third time for President.

Originally, the building was a multi-purpose structure: it accommodated concerts, operas, theatrical shows, conventions, basketball, auto shows and even circuses, with flags flying from its domes and light bulbs outlining its pediments, cornice, and corners. The proscenium of the original building was designed to be portable so as to create different-sized spaces for different events. When the proscenium was in place, the building was a 3,326 seat theatre with an extraordinarily large back stage area. When the proscenium was raised, increasing the seating capacity to 12,000, the stage and backstage area became large enough to hold circuses and rodeos.

In the 1920s and 30s, Music Week was an annual event in Denver for several years. Various communities of the state presented musical programs and most of the performances were in the Auditorium. An opera or operetta was commonly included in the offerings.

In 1921, a company of Denver musicians performed Flotow's Martha in May; of special historical significance was the fact that the two performances were broadcast by radio station 9ZAF, the first time ever that a full-length opera was broadcast.

The Auditorium became the de facto opera house for Denver, and the most enduring. For more than 75 years, until the 1980s and 90s when other halls opened in an adjoining complex, the Auditorium hosted almost all visiting opera companies and opera concerts, as well as local opera productions.

In 1955 the Auditorium was closed and renovation was begun to make the grand old house a modern theatre. In September 1956, the project was completed and the seating capacity was decreased to 2,240.

In the 1980s other theaters were constructed next to the Auditorium, including Boettcher Concert Hall, Bonfils Theatre Complex and the Denver Center Theatre, to which the Seawell Ballroom was added in the 1990s (these now make up the Denver Performing Arts Complex). The Auditorium arena received another makeover in the early 1990s when the Temple Hoyne Buell Theater was built into it. This theater was a reincarnation of the Municipal Auditorium's old theater and basketball and wrestling arena.

In 1992, after the construction of the Buell Theatre, the facade of the Municipal Auditorium was renovated and the seating capacity became 2,065. The Auditorium was renamed Quigg Newton Denver Municipal Auditorium in 2002.