The Coolidge examiner., 1935-12-06

and established himself in a log building called
the Montana theater. The gold-seekers were
hungry for entertainment and Langrishes ven-
ture was Immediately successful. His season
there lasted for three months. Then he returned
to Denver. But year after year Langrishe came
back to Central City. According to contem-
porary chronicler "They give US a change of bill
daily and satisfying variety each evening
Everything in the entire range, from tragedy to
farce: tonight it will be Young Lochinvar' with
real horse on the stage) and trifle of English
comedy. such as She Stoops to Conquer; to-
morrow stirring melodrama, relieved by light
farce; on Saturday night Macbeth or Richard ."
Six months of the year the company played In
Denver or visited the mining camps of Montana
Three months were given to Central City and
the Little Kingdom of Gilpin" and the other
three months to other camps-George Gulch, Del
aware Flats, Buckskin Joe Gulch and French
mans Gulch. But for all that Central City was
crude boom town" in the heart of the noun
tans, difficult Of access and inhabited for the
most part by miners, there were perhaps so
families whose education and cultured tastes
kept alive the interest of the better type of the
atrical productions. They were the main sup
port of the little theater in fact they supported
it to the extent of 80 consecutive performances
every year.
A disastrous fire swept Central City In 1874
and the Montana theater, along with most of
the other buildings in the
a rre ana place, went up i'm smoke. But
Its Aftermath fire could not kill the interest
of its citizens In the fine arts
They conceived the idea of erecting a really fine
opera house Financed by popular subscription,
it was finished in the spring of 1878. 1t was a
substantial structure with walls of stone four
feet thick
A nopVQr Of hot tip1od docor hast tbo
interior thus: THE large and comfortable gal
ery is swung across the rear of the auditorium
but not carried down the sides. The floor of the
parquette and dress circle slopes gently to the
stage giving every spectator clear view of the
performers 1t is we'll lighted and heated the
central chandelier being a counterpart of the
one in Central Presbyterian church in Denver.
There is not much gingerbread about the wood
work of the interior, which is neat, not gaudy'
but the frescoing is fine, very fine, elegant in
it's line as anything in the country The artist
appears to have been more at home in the
theater than in the church. The centerpiece is
an open dome and one can almost imagine he
is looking through the roof at the sky overhead
with angry clouds hurryng by route to
Georgetown direct, without change, as the rail
road guides say. The drop curtain is also very
fine, representing Rhine scene, shown through
parted drapery. The great stage is fully equipped
with handsome new Scenery-eVerytnlng is new
about the building, from roof to basement-and
there are four elegant dressing rooms, besides
all the necessary space for the multitudinous
properties of the profession"
Besides the opera house they also built a
square stone school house and churches of many
denominations, for Central City was fourishing
both as business and cultural center. Among
the people of all grades and conditions of society
who were tlockng into the Little Kingdom of
Gilpin" were several destined for later fame
When narrow gauge railway .,as built from
Denver to Central City, it doomed still more
But for all this, the opera house expert
ment that was not always success. Even with
the railroad Central City was still remote and
it was sometimes difficult to persuade the best
theatrical companies to make The trip into the
mountains. Then, too, other mining towns were
sprngng up. Leadville had struck the richest
pay dirt ever found in the state. Slowly but
surely an exodus from Central City began. When
II. A. w. Tabor built his Tabor Grand opera
house in Denver, the lavishness of that Hheater
quite Overshadowed Central City's opera house
But it helped the mountain theater in one way :
the Tabor Grand brought to the West every tour
ing company of any consequence and when they
played in Denver they also played in Central
! City.