Mayan Theater (Denver)

Mayan Theatre
The Mayan Theatre in Denver, Colorado
The Mayan Theatre in Denver, Colorado, dates from the 1930s.
Interactive map of Mayan Theatre
Former names
Fox Mayan Theatre
Address110 Broadway
Denver, CO
United States
Coordinates39°43′07″N 104°59′14″W / 39.71866°N 104.98721°W / 39.71866; -104.98721
OwnerPeter Tyssen (from 1988)[1]
OperatorLandmark Theatres (1986–present)
Capacity1,200 (original, 1930)
TypeCinema
Screen3 (converted from single screen in 1986)
DesignationDenver historic landmark (1984)[2]
Construction
OpenedNovember 20, 1930 (1930-11-20)[3]
Renovated1986 ($2 million conversion to three-screen)
Closed1984
ReopenedNovember 6, 1986
ArchitectM. S. Fallis Architect Co.[3][4]
Website
www.landmarktheatres.com/denver/mayan-theatre

The Mayan Theater is a movie house that opened in Denver, Colorado in 1930 and was part of the Fox Theater Corporation and Fox Intermountain Theaters. Its life as a Fox Theater is denoted on top of its neon marquee. As with many theaters across the U.S., it ran a slate of A and B movies throughout the day. During the Great Depression, the theater held grocery nights when customers had the opportunity to win food.

The Mayan Theater was designed by Montana Fallis and opened in 1930 during a period when the construction of ornate movie palaces continued despite the Depression.[4] The theater's interior features pre-Columbian forms and motifs throughout, though in a more restrained manner than its namesake, the Mayan Theater in Los Angeles. Both theaters incorporate the same "Mayan warrior" figure, but the Denver theater's ornament is more stylized and also incorporates Native American elements alongside the pre-Columbian designs. The corbel vault underneath the large figure on the front facade is decorative rather than structural, a characteristic transformation of indigenous architectural forms common in pre-Columbian Revival buildings.[4]

The main architecture firm was M. S. Fallis Architect Co., with a neon sign on the facade designed by QRS Neon Corp.[3] The theater was designed to accommodate 1200 patrons and the Bavarian artist Oswald Fell was hired to ensure that the theater's Mayan artwork was as authentic as possible.[5]

To promote the theater's upcoming opening, the theater flew a skywriting plane over Denver, which wrote a secret message in the sky for the people of the city. Individuals who wrote down the sentence and mailed it to the Rocky Mountain News contest editor then had a chance to win free tickets to the theater's opening night gala.[6]

The Mayan's opening night gala took place on November 20, 1930, with a dedication at 7 p.m. and a second show at 9:15 p.m. The feature picture was Monte Carlo, starring Jeanette MacDonald, with a Wurlitzer organ performance by Stanley Del Marr Wheeler and a musical performance by the Mayan Five.[3][7]

In 1951, the theater installed a Glascreen screen, which was the first of its kind in the Rocky Mountain area.[8]

The theater, located at 110 Broadway, closed in 1984. The theater's owner (Union Bank & Trust) obtained a permit from the city of Denver to demolish the theater, but faced opposition from Friends of the Mayan, a neighborhood group.[9][10][11][2][12] An appeal was made to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which declined to intervene in the demolition.[13] The theater was not demolished and instead underwent a $2 million renovation and conversion to a three-plex by dividing the balcony into two additional small theaters.[14] The interior walls, decor and lobby all were restored. Landmark Theaters has operated the theater as an art house since it reopened.

Under Landmark, the Mayan operated as part of a three-venue art-house circuit with the Esquire Theatre on East Sixth Avenue and the Chez Artiste, together giving the chain eight screens in Denver and making the city one of Landmark's top markets nationally.[15] In May 2005, the Mayan and the Esquire held a joint celebration of the Mayan's 75th anniversary, with Landmark city manager David Kimball calling it "a way for us to say thanks" to the community.[16] The Esquire closed in July 2024; the Mayan remains in operation.

On November 6, 1986, the theater reopened, with a gala featuring Denver Mayor Federico Peña and The Friends of the Mayan, the neighborhood organization that advocated for its preservation and restoration. The four films showed at the opening included Down by Law, Three Men and a Cradle, Precious Images and "It Happened in Monte Carlo".[17][18]

In 1988, the theater building was purchased by German investor Peter Tyssen.[1]

The Mayan is one of the country's three remaining theaters designed in the Art Deco Mayan Revival style.[19] The city of Denver has declared it to be a historic landmark.[20][2]

Further reading

  • Phillips, Ruth Anne (2007). "Pre-Columbian Revival": Defining and Exploring a U.S. Architectural Style, 1910–1940 (PhD dissertation). City University of New York. OCLC 759242. — Discusses the Denver Mayan's pre-Columbian ornament in comparison to the Los Angeles Mayan Theatre and other pre-Columbian Revival theaters.
  • Whiffen, Marcus; Breeze, Carla (1984). Pueblo Deco: The Art Deco Architecture of the Southwest. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
  • Breeze, Carla (1990). Pueblo Deco. New York: Rizzoli.
  • Ingle, Marjorie (1984). Mayan Revival Style: Art Deco Mayan Fantasy. Peregrine Smith Books.
  • Gebhard, David; Winter, Robert (1985). Architecture in Los Angeles: A Compleat Guide. Salt Lake City: Peregrine Smith. — Comparative discussion of the LA and Denver Mayan theaters.

References

  1. 1 2 "West German investor buys Mayan, Union Bank buildings". The Rocky Mountain News. 1988-03-19. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  2. 1 2 3 "Council names Mayan Theater a city landmark". The Rocky Mountain News. 1984-02-28. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Gala Opening Tonight 7:00 P. M. - FOX MAYAN THEATRE". The Rocky Mountain News. 1930-11-20. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  4. 1 2 3 Phillips, Ruth Anne (2007). "Pre-Columbian Revival": Defining and Exploring a U.S. Architectural Style, 1910–1940 (PhD dissertation). City University of New York. OCLC 759242.
  5. ↑ "Will Decorate Mayan Theater". The Rocky Mountain News. 1930-10-26. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  6. ↑ "New Fox Mayan Theater Will Give Away Tickets". The Rocky Mountain News. 1930-11-16. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  7. ↑ "Mayan Theater Opens Thursday". The Rocky Mountain News. 1930-11-15. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  8. ↑ "Mayan Gives Its Glascreen Trial Today". The Rocky Mountain News. 1951-06-10. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  9. ↑ "Owners get permit to raze Mayan Theater". The Rocky Mountain News. 1984-03-28. Retrieved 2026-01-09.
  10. ↑ "Roots like the Mayan fall for development". The Rocky Mountain News. 1984-06-14. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  11. ↑ "Mayan Theater gets reprieve as firms negotiate". The Rocky Mountain News. 1984-06-26. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  12. ↑ "Mayan Theater supporters ask U.S. help". The Rocky Mountain News. 1984-06-12. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  13. ↑ "Agency says it can't halt razing of Mayan". The Rocky Mountain News. 1984-06-14. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  14. ↑ "Firm to restore Mayan Theater interior". The Rocky Mountain News. 1986-05-14. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  15. ↑ Rosen, Steven (2002-02-21). "Six screens bolster Denver art-cinema Tivoli to open in early April". Denver Post.
  16. ↑ Kennedy, Lisa (2005-05-20). "'Certain' demolition long past, the Mayan turns 75". Denver Post.
  17. ↑ "Vintage Night, vintage theatre". La Voz Hispana de Colorado. 1986-11-12. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  18. ↑ "Gala Benefit Marks Re-Opening of Historic Mayan Theatre". OUT FRONT. 1986-10-24. Retrieved 2026-01-10.
  19. ↑ About Mayan Theatre | Landmark Theatres
  20. ↑ “Certain” demolition long past, the Mayan turns 75
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