Saving the Stanton
An aging theater has stood shuttered for years on the historic Loretto Heights campus in southwest Denver. In a few weeks, though, nearly 1,000 people could watch the May Bonfils Stanton Performing Arts Center return to life — at least for one show.
The Colorado Symphony Orchestra will play a free concert in the auditorium on Thursday, Oct. 11, with tickets now available. It’s part of a larger push by Councilman Kevin Flynn to preserve the building as the former college campus around it is redeveloped.
“This could be the start of a rebirth of the arts in this part of the community, or it could be the final curtain call for this beautiful building,” Flynn said at a Denver City Council meeting on Monday night.
The hilltop campus got its start in the 19th century as a boarding school named Loretto Heights Academy. The theater was added in 1961, years after the school became a college, according to Historic Denver. In the 1980s, the Japanese university Teikyo bought and took over operations of the campus.
All throughout, the property remained a private school. The theater was rented for high school graduations and dance recitals, Flynn said, but it has rarely if ever seen the kind of show that the Colorado Symphony Orchestra will throw next month.
“A lot of folks in southwest Denver have never even been on the campus,” Flynn said.
The hilltop campus became the center of attention for the area once more in 2016, when Teikyo announced its school would close. The campus was subsequently sold this year to the development group Westside Investment Partners.
Westside said it will preserve some of the older historic buildings on the hilltop property — but it hasn’t made any promises yet about the theater.
“It’s got amazing history, right, from all the way back to the 1890s,” said Mark Witkiewicz, a principal for the company. “And the theater is definitely a gem, on one hand, within the community — but on the other hand, it’s kind of a lost soul out there. It’s an amazing amenity, but the building ... it’s in need of help.”
Westside has already spent “significant” money to patch the roof and clean up the theater, but it still needs costly repairs and updates. Westside wants to find an institution or government to help it rehab and operate the theater. If that doesn’t happen, West side could demolish the building, which is not the “preferred” option, Witkiewicz said.
“The question is, who’s going to operate it? Who’s going to have the fiduciary responsibility of running it?” he asked.
Flynn hopes that the upcoming concert will show the potential and the demand for the theater. “I just want everybody possible to see this, and think about, ‘Can it be saved?’ ” he said.
The concert will be one of the symphony’s regular community benefit concerts. The councilman suggested the venue and the new property owners opened their doors. Conductor Brett Mitchell will lead the orchestral performance, which will feature cello soloist Judith McIntyre Galecki. Music includes Beethoven’s Egmont overture and pieces by Elgar, Falla and Kodaly.
Admission is free, but tickets are required and are available through the symphony box office, Flynn said.
“The stage is huge. You can fit the whole orches tra,” said Tony Pierce, chief artistic officer for the symphony. The place has a “nostalgic feel of the ’60s,” he said, adding: “It’s kind of a vibrant little room — and until we really put out the chairs and stands and play, who know’s what it’s going to sound like.”
Flynn hopes that the concert will attract attention from potential backers and show the place’s potential.
They’ve already seen a little interest: Mayor Michael Hancock recently took a tour, commenting that it’s the kind of building that communities take out debt to build.
Denver’s city government is working on a plan for the area around Loretto Heights, which will set expectations for the broader development plans. But it’s too early to say whether the city will get involved in financing or managing the theater, according to a spokesperson for Hancock.