The Cooper, Theatre of Tomorrow

Shannon Stanbro

A Colorado native with an affinity for modernist architecture and desire to share and preserve Metro Denver's history.

23 Responses

  1. Thom Sandman says:

    I read that it was torn down in ‘94 there, but didn’t see mention of what its last showing was. Anybody know?

    • Steve Nelson says:

      It was “2001”! I happened to be in Denver on business in November 1993 and saw an ad that “2001” was being show in Cinerama at the Cooper before it was torn down. Having seen “2001” at the Boston Cinerama theatre when it premiered there (April 10, 1968), I couldn’t miss the chance to see it again on the large curved screen.

  2. Don Hart says:

    It’s February 2023 and I just came across this article while I was doing research for a History of Film class I’m teaching in the Denver area. My father, Cecil Hart (shown in the groundbreaking picture), was the construction superintendent on all 3 Cooper theaters. Myself, my brother Tom, and my dad were the first people to see a movie in this theater, and it was a private showing of “The Seven Wonders of the World” while they were testing out the projection equipment. Even though I was only 5, I still remember sitting in the front row of the balcony with my brother and dad. Thanks for the memory!

  3. Kathy Corbett says:

    Kudos, Shannon, on a really great and deep look at the Cooper. Well-chosen photos, too! It really took me back. I remember how sad my pals and I were when it was torn down. It’s unfortunate that saving Modern is such a challenge in this city. I think the Cooper and IM Pei’s parabaloid at Zeckendorf Plaza are probably our two greatest losses in that regard. Here’s to you for raising awareness!

  4. Edward Chadez says:

    It was summer of ’77. I was 13, my brother was 11. After waiting in line we were seated in the balcony. In front of us was a mom and her son. The lights go down. 20th Century Fox logo plays its fanfare. Blue letters on black screen, “A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away”. The mom leans over to her son and whispers, “A long time ago?” Then black screen again. Then stars.

    Then boom.

    In 1969 I saw Paint Your Wagon at the Cooper. In 1978 I saw Grease. In 79 I saw Alien and it scared the crap out of me. There was Pink Floyd The Wall with its all-too-quiet intro and then all-too-loud music. Then there was Robin Williams three stories tall in The World According to Garp, because any movie worth seeing was worth seeing at the Cooper. When my family saw Close Encounters my dad commented that the mothership was a beautiful “chandelier”. (I miss my dad.). Near the end, my friend Jeff and I saw 2001 A Space Odyssey in an almost empty theater. That was the last movie I saw there.

    When I shop at Barnes and Nobel on Colorado Blvd, I tell the teenage kid behind the counter that I saw Star Wars “right here” (pointing at the floor). But he doesn’t get it. They never get it.

    The Cooper Cameo was, by far, the best theater in Denver. Surpassing Century 21 and the Continental (of which only the latter still stands, now sadly a multiplex).

    After the pandemic it’s all about streaming services, watching movies on a 40″ flatscreen in your living room, eating microwave popcorn, and getting up to let the dog out. It’s not the same.

  5. Steve Stalzle says:

    A GREAT ARTICLE ABOUT A LONG LOST PIECE OF MOVIE HISTORY.
    We native Denverites, or long time Denverites, born at a certain time, had marvelous movie palaces, like this.
    I saw Star Wars, there, in 1977. I saw an 80s revival of 2001: A Space Odyssey there, it was filmed for the Cinerama ultra-widescreen format that this theater was built for. I sat a 70s revival of the first Cinerama formatted film, THIS IS CINERAMA! from 1952, I saw it 1972, as an 8 year old.
    I saw a few other ‘regular’ movies, at the long gone ‘Cooper’, too. It was a bit of a ride, across town, to go there, for us Northsiders.
    It was cool! A 21st century company has remastered all of the many famous super widescreen, Cinerama formatted, branded travelogues, and they are on DVD and maybe BluRay, too. On digital video, they have recreated the Cinerama theater experience, it is cool, I own the DVD of theirs, of THIS IS CINERAMA!
    The DVD screen still looks curved, and it works, for home viewing. A cool idea. It would look even more amazing on a HUGE SCREEN TV, like a 60″ or 70″, or larger screen.

  6. Joe Felice says:

    Can anyone please tell me why it was destroyed? Really, for a PARKING LOT. Well, I guess they truly did pave paradise and put up a parking lot. This, like the White Spot at 8th and Broadway, should have been granted historical designation.

    • Kevin Syrnyk says:

      I believe the Barns and Noble bookstore was built in that location, although the exact location of the theater is the B&H parking lot

  7. Tom Cooper says:

    It was like entering into another world to see a film at the Cooper (My same last name). It was special, an event, one of reverence really. I saw How the West was Won, Its a Mad Mad Mad World, Grand Prix, 2001 A Space Odyssey, Ice Station Zebra, Star Wars, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind there. Every one of them was a special event and memory. There was never another theater like it. I was very sad to see it torn down.

    Walt Disney built the Celebrity Sports Center next door and the two venues made it feel like Denver was destined for great things. Between the two I spent a lot of time on South Colorado. Blvd. Not only did Celebrity have the best bowling and pro shop anywhere, they had an amazing Slot Car center with three huge tacks that were scale models of the Sebring, Daytona, and LeMans. It was a fantastic hobby, Dads and Sons mostly, and kids like me who kept trying to build a faster and better car.

    They had an Olympic pool , Billiards, Skee Ball, Arcade Center, Shooting Range and restaurants, who needed a computer or cell phone. Life was better then. I swear.

    What a walk down memory lane. And they tore it all down for a Barnes and Nobel. I love to read, but really, there were plenty of places for a book store.

  8. Wil W says:

    Great article I worked as an usher back in 1978-1980 at the Cooper theatre it was a great job for a young man still have a poster board from the Cooper the one with the boats at the top showing how Cinerama worked still have great memories of the people I worked with and I still remember when Alien first opened there we would rush to see the folks in the theatre move and scream when the alien creature popped out of John Hurts chest wish there was a place to put that poster board for the memories
    Thank you for your article – wil

  9. Matt Wilson says:

    Wonderful story, I really miss The Cooper and Celebrity Sports Center, both part of my younger years.
    My two favorite movies at The Cooper- Grand Prix and McKenna’s Gold.

  10. Wes J says:

    This is a really fantastic article. Thanks for putting context behind the theater I went to as a kid.

  11. John Clarke says:

    My wife worked at the Cooper in 1964 and 1965 while in high school. She was one of the attractive young female usherettes who wore black dresses and nylon stockings while showing theater-goers to their seats. At intermission they would sell orange drinks and Tobler chocolates. It was a great job for a student because once the patrons were seated, she could do homework until they set up for intermission. Once that was over, she could go home.

  12. John Fuentes says:

    Just a point of clarification: One of the architects Richard Crowther had join his firm in 1961 was Gary Landin, not Landis. Gary went on to be a founding partner of the firm named Intergroup Architects, where I worked with Gary from 1988 to 2000.

  13. richard burton says:

    It was an amazing, awesome place!!!! Saw lots of great movies there!!!

  14. Florence says:

    I saw “Grand Prix” when I was young (74 now) and have over the years told people that the experience was unbelievable. Have not seen any thing since that compares.

  15. Joel Genung says:

    Thank You! Thank You! Thank you for this wonderful story. In 1999, I traveled to Denver to visit with two of three last three surviving Cinerama projectionists who ran the features at the Cooper Denver. Their fascinating story can be viewed at http://iatse354.org/denver.htm

  16. Kent Cherne says:

    My father, Howard Cherne, was the owner of Berglund-Cherne company, the general contractor. What memories this story brings back, I remember dad taking me to the jobsite as a 5 year old kid, fascinated with the strips that made up the screen, going up the stairs to the balcony before the railing was installed, hugging the wall so I wouldn’t fall. We saw so many of the movies shown there, a very sad day when it came down. B-C also built an ne in Minneapolis.

  17. Graham says:

    Thank you so much for this in-depth article! The Cooper was one of my favorite theaters, and I’ve always been on the lookout for photos of it. Your collection is amazing.

  18. Paula Busey says:

    This is GORGEOUS! Great work Shannon and Tom!!!

  19. DENNIS JOSEPH MAHANEY says:

    Hello again the theater looking for CINEMA CHEERY CREEK open in late sixties it was a 1800 single GENERAL CINEMA OFF FIRST ST. MY OFFICE WAS THERE CAN NOT FIND ANY PHOTOS YET AT THE TIME CINEMA CHEERY CREEK, CENTURY 21, and the CONTINENTAL were all second to the COPPER

  20. DENNIS JOSEPH MAHANEY says:

    WOW that this is wonderful I was in theaters for forty years till health ended that started as an usher at .90 an hour at CINEMA SHOPPERS WORLD FRAMINGHAM, MA. end of nine teen years was division manager of all G.C.C. theaters in CO. N.M. AZ. and north TX. later COO at MANN THEATERS DO YOU WOULD LIKE HAVE A PHOTO OF THE ORIGINAL CINEMA CRERRY CREEK DENVER CO. do you have any ideas

  21. William Kucharski says:

    So very grateful I had the opportunity to see Ben Hur here not too long before they closed.

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