| Show alf lu 1 l iii when a mining camp was a ik cultural cu I 1 lulu I 1 cen center Is er 4 r r IT 7 1 M 04 4 soi quo it 4 x elf ir aa t I 1 r 4 4 it 10 ik J by ELMO SCOTT WATSON MUM the entries to be written down rj to in americas book of time for the year 1013 undoubtedly will be this V one i A siew new got boll I 1 rush in the et 1 for tile lie higher price of gold old and ill all er established establIsh eJ by governmental decree during the post pint year has ha revived aa almost prostrate proy industry has haa call attl a bustle of activity to in ninny many a ramp camp and has braul brought to life wore nore than on enog I 1 ghost cheat town whose deserted cabins and gross grasa krown grown street were ere pitiful reminders of tile the lories glories that hal once her bets theirs their in the bonanza days specialty ha tins this thin bun bf t n true of tile the tate state of colorado through the tapestry of whose history lil atory runs runn many a golden and silver thread lead ville idaho breckenridge t tair airplay fairplay play alms cripple rel victor ouray Sl Iverton cricco it if a day all tiny day in the daytime and there Is no night in creede and aspli ome lucre those are glamorous danits last marth tile the name of leadville alp appeared eared in virtually evry la in the states state lor or out of that town ton came the lie nes nena that a poverty ken old woman lind had frozen to death in i a tumble down shack on tile lie side ride of a hill bill in leadville iller her maine waa as I 1 Il zabeth doe labor and tile the busy world paused for a moment to remember that she ohe had ben tit en tile the famous and alaby iloe tabor that a resident of it the united states and been a wedding guest gudt when she ahe wa on married to 11 II A W tabor a colorado bonanza klux and it remembered too that when hen the great julior fortune had slipped through their fingers fl nar she h had gone one buck back to I 1 cadville ead ville there to slit p nd her last poverty stricken years yean guardI the matchless win mine which lad bad won bern the burce of of their wealth and from which she he never ceased bellev ing that wealth would rome come again lo 10 the pat hat of those mining rani canilo whose fame liu lifts keiu becu revived recently IH he adili il another it Is central C ity little kingdom capital of the 11 1 I title ittle king his of gilpin dro 1 of olian OlI ln and in in ili my iny is the greatest of all 11 the tol oleado ol rado goll coil campe campa at one ona time laie central city was wa not only the wll wit lost lest roughest an and happiest hap pleat mining camp in vol col arado but it was also one of the ilia viry richest As aa moth auh it helped save the federal union by its ita koll gold into tile the united hentes tres sury when tte tile or of tile the civil war or was at stake hut but despite those nets forts anil and the fact that central city la in shilling with tile the other gold camps I 1 in a rc neil a reil revival val of interest in ili lla its nanis and finif la Is not due to any such nia urcal hal rt amon I 1 lie dessou la Is cultural I 1 k lor or cui acu ta rat city hits has an house and thereby hangs one of tile the mist romantic tales la in the history of the ain theater th kirst of all consider some ma of the back ground history of central city in 18 afi pros proa tiet tors lit what was as then jefferson JelTer Jeffer aou sou territory asbed abed fiam aiom tile sands of cherry creek some shining particles of metal others other found some acme of the paul KIU scurf la in the peak anglon 73 75 nillia mouth tile the word was carried buck back to te a lille still suffering from the panic of the treat great elkei ilak fild rush was on nethla a year more itan toom fortune seekers had stampeded across the plains to this new LI 11 dorado fil hut t ni ant t of thein were dooni to point nit nubit lit fur for tue the amount of arto ra gold eold could be penned out of the A stampede to ot reanis tr of the woun gregory gregoras Gre gorys p s Digg diggans ns tata tt in country vi waa as rel aulvey lively aulala most of it was still up tip in a maffit of quartz on stay 11 0 IS am 19 a settler named jolla joha 11 II inic in ic ory evidences of ct told gold in a kukli some Q M nillia north ant wot west of denver ilia 11 cocky mountain of binm its ita brot extra to herall the of tile the strike and nil a I 1 to for a IHK klu I 1 belan soon kwon tile the hills aal an I 1 valleys valles of that region reelon mere covered alth tile the tnt anti and crude shacks of the cold lie ile flown towns of llata and neva I 1 avile anine and mace dance Ong orya wua an hulday betmon thain alerton jhn audioun ant llon 0 atiq who platted tho ilia town site alte to tn include the original gold gave it tile the name of central city I tailing ailing thin mushroom camp a city was as paling it a rare coull unit at indeed for it was pitch pitched vit on a rocky hilll hillside de altti ith sonie some of its run zing nank almost from the glitch where here I made his in fat fad there use unel I 1 to be a it byln I 1 n i i lity city that it KH a man fell ott off his bl front nten I 1 e d roll for da dna a ilowe lw eer er the caknip grew both la in and in ID lor tanie slid and when tie county of gilpin ana as organized sill an I 1 far first governor lo vernor of 0 colorado cantral lity became the county beitt NN hits tile the rush to Ore gorys was on a certain J 8 lan grimbe on an theatrical producer tie lie success of lotts lotta adah aal lola lnla montes during the california told gold rush mh boytan IU stars earlier lie dt aided that there wa as a golden for hanl to la tile new dew diggings and beartel I 1 west bilut be aldu t reach anver until the tha fall of isu 1140 when it waa as late into to the ills abw locked lacked valley B of little kingdom of 0 so be h opined denver as 0 in in lite hl I 1 sat at I 1 acsa eiza fol lowed fly by a force farce nature and bli bis wife was starred after a of oc six aft moritas deuer denver he b went wat tu to city the neit central atty colorado c ora 0 40 0 ae IRR street A once paved with silver an I 1 established Illma himself elf in a log building called the montana theater ilia gold seekers were ere hungry for entertainment and I 1 angrl alies yen ture tore ans immediately successful ills season leabon thre there lasted for three then lie he returned to denver hut but year after year Langil she canie came back to central city according to a contemporary chronicler they give us ua a change of bill 1111 dally daily and ant a satisfying variety each evening in the entire ranze range from braiedy tra iedy to farce tonight it will be young lochinvar alth lt h a rial mil hurt huro on an the tage stage and a trifle or of english ellal comedy suh as ai she stoops to Con conquer quee tomorrow a stirring melodrama relieved by a light farce on saturday night orl lichard MX buntlin of tile the ear nr tho the company played in denver deaver or the mining camps camp of Alon montana tana neontha wire given to central city and nj the I 1 I 1 little title kingdom of gilpin and tile the other three mouth months to other camps george gulch 1 pel del mihare a hare mats buckskin joe glitch anil and ch eulth elih but for all that central city was a trude rude boom elboom town in tile the heart of tile the moun bains dilli cult of access anil and inhabited for the most part by miners there were perhaps bo 50 families whose education and cul culture turell 1 tastes kelt keit ailse the interest of the better ape of the productions prod in clorn abey mere ere the main aai blip port of the ilia little theater in fart fact they supported it to te the extent of CO 00 consecutive performances mances every year A disastrous fire swept sept central city in 1374 slid and the montana theater along with most moat of the othir buildings la in the A fire and place went ment up in smoke moke put hut itt its aftermath fire could not kill the interest of its citizens la in the line arts they conceived the idea of electing a itally one opera house by popular il ik was as finished in tile the spring or of it was a substantial structure ut ith walls of stone four feet thick A denver neho newspaper paper of that time describes tile the interior thus ahe large laree anc comfortable gal lery Is the rear of the auditorium but not ear carriell down the sides ides the floor of the anil and dress circle slopes gently to the stage giving every spectator a clear view of the performers perform eri it Is well ell lighted anil and in ate 1 the tha central chandelier being a counterpart of the file one in central presbyterian church in denver lente Is in nut not indich gingerbread about tie he wood ark of the interior which Is neat lot gauly but the frescoing is t line very alne ai 1 l elegant in its line as anything in the tha country tie artist appears to hay have lieen been nore aura at home in the than in the church the center ilce ce la Is an dpn i a il 41 mie line and one ran can almot almost la ingin he lit 1 looking through the roof at the sky iky overhead over hend alth angry thouds burr yinT by ell n route to georgetown direct without change as the rail mil rond road gul ito iny any the drop curt curtion ila la Is also alo very fine a scene ichon through parted dia pry the gnat stagers babke Is fully equipped with ith hand soine new scenery ever thing Is new about tile the building from roof to ant there are four dressing lne roon room 4 besides all the rip bopae for the multitudinous rt it le ot of the protes tilon the house they also built a gj square klare stone lg tionne an I 1 ot of toony denominations for central city was as hoth both as ai a business and cultural center among the he lit ople of all gra ito it a and con of society who were hocking flocking int P it tie e I 1 little title king antl of willa were ere averal for ir later enroe to t hen a gaego baua rullus us as 1 alit froni domer to central city it boomed still more hut but for all this the opera house an expert auit that was as not alaways a kacens i avei with alo rall railroad rouil i central city T a still emote and it was sonia times difficult to persuade the ilia biet theatrical Lom to make the trip into the mountains loco too other mining dumns tuns were springing up leadville ville lia liua 1 struik struck the richt pay dart ver ever found in the state slowly but surely an eto exolus from central city began IN aten lien 11 II A W V labor built his tabor crant brind octra house houie in douver tile it of that bilte aed cebral altys t oera house bilut it 11 hyped ti tre tie e m cuntala mun buntain tala theater in one vay may tile the labor hand giand to tile the aest pst every tour ing company of any consequence anti and hn tiny played d la in they also aliw in ili central 0 city ty t i 02 am I 1 10 I 1 1 71 I 1 v d it v 1 r f ill 4 ha 4 A it 11 4 alft 7 anit 1 rim rN it ia 1 amat condal cites famous opera aliouse bo such guru stage stace notables as booth lawrence barrett Hur rett joseph jefferson I 1 innia A abbott lotta cotla christine nila roll coll call 0 iou n marjanie Jammi neli and of notables notable tile the ket great lii in fact virtually every treat great actor and actress of that period at one time or another trod the boards in central city a house Alore moreover over it continued to have hare other as visitors for the bellr hoil honie te built by senator henry glenry it II teller was one of th the e most moat famous hostelries lo in the whole hole country president grant stayed there 1 aln I in he romp to colorado ra do and at the time of hla his allt I it flip citizens ItI zens of ef central city did a filing they based an en entire tire street to the very d IM im s of the hotel with t h aliver belki in honor bonor of the residents presidents coming this of course wax was in the das of cen central aral cites greatest glory kut but that glory pion on began to fade As other raining mining camps pr pred 0 cn n aral city began to decline at ont one tivie time a him dred fa families milles moved from central city to ajen denier s pr in one group eventually the town away to a town of only a few hun hundred ired people I 1 ahe lie ol 01 oil I 1 opera house home was dark now for mont months hs and ears on end mountain ruts rats took it over its as their playground ownership of the bull bullying dIng finally cassid to piter atter one of the 0 original ortel nal contractors for tte building who kaid it in memory of tile the splendor that had one once aten hi en central city a several earn ear ago the heirs of the hl md arlane estate decided to prest nt the historic of oil I 1 bill I 1 ing to the university of denver A grou croup 0 I puh oh lie ile denver citizens decide I 1 to r store the opera house and make a ihunt ot of it by re reviving lying tho the romance of the goi roll I 1 da ang so and alid by I 1 for posterity the bist I of the Auit rican staga anfims thern them win as atha alln irue a nationally known moral artist who lie vo tred to re tore the interior of the th thi ater Later burled under years of 0 grime As an a result of the work of this group the he old ohl opera house bouse has reau resumed nied its fornier former coplen lors and eiery summer a play festival Is there tor the last just four years central ity hns has aboin bien been a tenter of culture as IQ in tile art of the theater in it ID 12 it calit captured tired tile the imagination of tile the world by presenting I 1 nil fill in gish alna in I 1 camille Caral lle in it the lin ulda id was vlas produced there with gladis Sar thoi lt natalia fa tallo hall and 11 ILhard li Ho nelll oneill stars of the ilia metropolitan opera the le aling rolt krohg it in it 11 14 alter huston closed the tha sut tj dodsworth Iod to play tile the if deuil lid in othello Ot hillo lo 10 sup u ported by nan an bu therland helen arid kenntth mckanna last year there uns tta i s revue city nighta written by It ichard I 1 I 1 mond jones and the music arranged under the of I 1 rank krank st SL bejer conductor of tile the houston i symphony ym phouy orchestra and formerly dl rector of the chicago grand opra so while hile there lite lias liten a revival in ID tile the rma nia aerial prosperity of must most of colorados colorado B mining camps campa there lids lias also alro lien a revival of another sort in one of them it Is a cultural riL vival la in the one that w as once oice famia d is HS a place pille 0 W where r the art of the theater Roud shed ln la leat city its old opera rouge boutte 0 dippl Nip pl union uin 4 |
