Copyright © 2021 by Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD
The Fox West Theatre came onto my radar in February 2020. While cataloguing the scenery at the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, I was contacted by Gregory Friesen, owner of CSNA Architects. He is involved with the Fox West Renovation in Trinidad, Colorado. Friesen drove up to Leadville and took me out to dinner at one night after work. He shared the scope of this massive renovation project.
The Fox West Theatre opened in 1908 with a full stock of scenery delivered by the Kansas City Scenic Co. This certainly piqued my interest. Although much of the historic scenery at the Fox West remains rolled up and tucked away on a paint bridge, there is a beautifully olio drop still hanging. It is a lovely example of early twentieth century scenic art.
The Kansas City Scenic Co. was the same firm that delivered scenery to the Tabor Opera House in 1902, subcontracting a portion of their work to Sosman & Landis. Over the past year, I have traced the history of the Kansas City Scenic Co. and assembled a database with various installations delivered by the firm between 1887 and 1912.
While planning my trip to Leadville this month, I decided to stop in Trinidad instead of Denver. Spending a night at 6,000+ feet really helps adjusting to the much higher altitude in Leadville. In Trinidad, I was accompanied by my rigging consultant Michael Powers and Greg Marsters of https://www.customplaster.net/ . We toured the Fox West Theater yesterday, exploring all of the nooks and crannies in this stunning building. It is an absolute delight to participate in ongoing discussions about the stage, scenery and decor. This is such a special place, and the team guiding the renovation has certainly done their research. The history page is extremely well written and the team’s passion for the venue is extremely contagious.
Here are a few photographs from our adventure yesterday. For more information about the history of the venue and the upcoming 2021 telethon on September 26, visit https://www.foxwesttheatre.com/
Fascinating! I am affiliated with the Shuler Theater in Raton, and our Fire Curtain is a scene of the Cimarron Canyon painted by Kansas City Scenic Co. The theater opened in 1915 and I was wondering if there was any info about the curtain.
I will email you.