(upbeat music) - [Narrator] Major funding for the grand old lady, reimagining the Colorado Springs City Auditorium, provided by Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media, John Street, Vortici LLC.

(gentle music) - Everyone who grew up in Colorado or has lived here for any length of time seems to have a connection to this building.

- Obviously, we don't want to tear it down.

It's a historic building.

- [John] The city has come to an understanding that the building can't be sustained with its current usage - When there's movement, when there's new life, it brings an excitement.

It's the excitement of what it's going to be, and it's the excitement of what it means for our city.

- We have a design, we have a plan.

There's been a tremendous amount of time, energy and personal involvement from a number of people.

It's not an idea anymore, it's a project.

- This grand old lady can play a part in the vision and the future of Colorado Springs and our region.

- As a Cub Scout, I had the opportunity to follow the elephants in the Barnum and Bailey Circus with a shovel and a pail.

That was my first backstage experience here.

- In this very theater on this very stage I came to my very first undercover musical experience when they did "Rocky Horror".

- I love scary movies.

This building has in the past hosted film festivals, and we're sitting here in the Lon Chaney Theater, and what better place to show scary movies.

- As a young person, I came here to watch the Harlem Globe Trotters.

It was here you came for boy scout jamborees.

- When you have a building that contains so many memories, civic community memories, from garden shows to Jimi Hendrix, I don't even know how to wrap my arms around the variety of different acts from boxing matches to weird Olympics in the 1970s.

It's almost impossible to describe the plethora of activities that have taken place.

(upbeat music) - Having a space that brings dancers, orchestra, singer-songwriters like myself together in one collective building, it's just -- it's amazing.

I'm gonna sing a song I wrote for my sister.

It's called "Sister".

(gentle guitar music) ♪ Past the fences ♪ ♪ Over the hedge ♪ ♪ Down by the creek ♪ - What is art?

It's important to start there because humans are unique in that they come together around collective stories, stories about the things that they value, the things that are important to them, and art, in its totality, is the archived version of humanity's value systems across cultures, across time periods.

I think art is a safe passage for so many people and a place to grow, and art saves lives especially in communities like this one.

I see a lot of saving that can be done in this community.

- I go back to the original mission of why this building was built.

Why have people for over 100 years moved to this part of the country?

It is not just one thing, and it's a beautiful collection of these pillars: arts and culture, wellness, education, the military, faith, creative entrepreneurialism, Western heritage.

It's just a huge, diverse community and there's no central pillar to pull it in together to a single spot where we can meet on common ground to share any experience.

This city auditorium project will go a long way to pulling the culture together.

- When I think about our military community, what does culture mean to them, we effectively have five institutions in a very small region.

You know, some of these guys have three, four deployments, and there's fracture.

If music and creativity is something that they can experience together, that's the kind of programs that we wanna develop with our partners here.

- So my dad before he passed away was sure to be at every single performance and sometimes sit in on my piano lesson just to be able to support me and help me grow very much in music.

I was seven years old when my dad passed away and I stopped playing after that for about nine months, and then the Conservatory reached out to me and asked if I would like to play there and I was super happy to be able to sit down at the piano and play again.

So now when I'm playing piano, I do think of my dad.

I mean, talking about creativity people from different walks of life, different churches, different zip codes, but we were here worshiping, and to be able to come here in this place and to model that and live that in this beautiful auditorium is huge.

- When we talk about the express that's really one of the foundational pieces of--of human flourishing, for a human being to feel comfortable in their own skin, to feel like they belong to this world.

The difference between a city and a community is connection, and those arts and the arena to express yourself and how you feel, both on your good days and your bad days, is what creates community, and that's really what this place could be to so many people of so many backgrounds of--of so many perspectives.

- Colorado Springs has always been an arts and culture hub.

I think that this grand old lady can play a part in the vision and the future of what we're calling Arts Vision 2030 for Colorado Springs and our region.

- In 1901, Colorado Springs became a first class city, which meant it had a growing and substantial population, that it was important to the state's economy, and interestingly, a group of about 75 women, known as the Colorado Springs Civic League, led by Mrs. Bertha Fowler, Lillian Kerr and a host of others became very interested and involved in civic government.

They brought this renowned architect to Colorado Springs, and he created a city beautiful plan.

Part of that plan and part of what the civic league was advocating for was a city auditorium, a public space a beautiful public building that could serve multiple purposes.

The initial figure was up to $600,000.

People thought that was outlandish.

Finally, they decided that bonds could be issued to the tune of about $390,000.

So the citizens of Colorado Springs went to the polls in April of 1921, approved the ballot initiative, and then work really began in earnest on what this building should look like, and then how to bring this dream to life.

When you think about city hall and the courthouse, you have to go up a set of stairs to enter the main space, the main floor of both of those buildings.

This is a people's building.

Built for the people, for the public, and so the public enters on the ground floor and is immediately welcomed into this space.

What resonates with the public is this is accessible and this is a place for me.

- It represents what true inclusion is.

A lot of times we talk about diversity and how do we make things more diverse well, I just believe that if we kinda switched that and people feel welcome and included then you will have diversity, right?

By far the most important and interesting development related to the city auditorium in the 1930s are the two beautiful murals that adorn the entryway.

They were part of the WPA program that was created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt, President Roosevelt and his administration to support unemployed artists and citizens.

Two phenomenal Broadmoor Art Academy Artists, Tabor Utley and Archie Music, were chosen to create two murals that reflect really an authentic piece of our local history.

- Those are part of that National Register nomination.

They are absolutely critical and important to the legacy of the building because they are one of a kind.

It's part of that ability to walk into a building if you're 19 years old and look at something and have it identified to you as wow, that was done in the '30s, that's cool.

- One of the big pieces of this journey for me personally is to make sure that all and any of the children that are around this process really come to know the context, to understand where we came from where we are now and where we're going and those WPA murals represent that.

(gentle music) - The organ came from the Old Chief Theater.

The organ was one of those interesting, fun ways of allowing incredible musicians to showcase their talent and accompaniment to the old silent movies.

- The organ will have a permanent home in the lower level.

The pipes go along behind the lattice there.

We will make sure it has its own space and that we will be able to bring the organ out, bring her up to the stage level, we can have those performances in front of the silent movies, and we can continue that tradition.

How many children have been exposed to a theater organ?

Not very many.

I would hope that they're inspired to compose music and maybe even have a whole new revival of theater music by organs.

- In the early '80s, I was doing theater and Star Bar Players didn't have a space.

They were tired of doing it in the Unitarian church, because it's not a very good place for doing theater, and I was here doing theater with Star Bar for about 10 years.

We had the run of the place, because there were no other tenants that wanted it.

- Star Bar was, as you can imagine, just a community-based theater group that had like this much money.

At the time, we were all so much younger.

We didn't have the financial backing of anything other than just enthusiastic thespians who wanted to put on a show, and then we would get our best friends to come watch.

(upbeat music) (gentle music) - Not a lot going on in this building in the last 30 years.

I mean, I only remember coming here for maybe about three or four events in that 30-year time period.

- I walk through this building, and it is just crying for a new life.

It's just so sad.

There's so little that happens here now.

♪ One last walk down Pine ♪ - Frankly, it's seen better days but as the years have gone by, the city's had a harder and harder time attracting uses that actually pay for the maintenance and upkeep.

The proposal that we're now considering this Community Collective, it's the best proposal we've seen in terms of possible utilization of the auditorium into the future in a way that really does return it to a community asset.

- It has a history and a spirit, but that spirit isn't-- isn't vibrant right now.

It is--it is dead in many ways.

And this effort by the community really could bring what has the potential to be a spectacular jewel in the city back to life.

- This is an important piece for our children, historical piece for our community.

And yeah, when you look at the dollars it may look daunting, but aren't our children worth it?

♪ Like I did back then ♪ - This building is a grand old lady whose bones are really strong, and I've always felt like her heart just wants to continue to beat.

I just always remember driving by her every day, thinking, "Just be patient," and she's just iconically sitting on this corner, and I can't wait 'til she's so alive.

I've felt that since 2004, and I don't know what the emotional connection is, but I'm supposed to get this done.

♪ You're in my head ♪ ♪ And I'm coming down, coming down ♪ ♪ You're in my head ♪ ♪ And I'm coming down, coming down ♪ - We created a brand new 501(c)(3) called the Colorado Springs Community Cultural Collective at the City Auditorium.

The abbreviated version is the Community Cultural Collective and its sole mission is the repurposing and reimagining of the historic City Auditorium.

It's about community, it's about culture and it's a collection of us, it's not just one.

I just hope that we do this community justice in bringing as many as we can along.

Our primary partner is the City of Colorado Springs, and I can't say enough about the leadership to be able to see what's possible.

You know, some of the primary folks that have come up right away are the Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, the Dance Alliance, El Paso County, the Colorado Springs Conservatory.

We're working alongside the community college for some of our workforce development programs.

So the partners are pretty darn diverse.

And that's only the beginning.

- I love this idea of a rising tide lifts all boats, and that's what I think the Community Cultural Collective is here to do.

- In the future at the City Auditorium I'm hoping that I can perform here and I believe that I can if I stick with the Colorado Springs Conservatory and continue on with my music.

- And we're really looking at how we can provide opportunities for young people to grow up in the city aud and see all of the various opportunities that may be available in the whole theater realm.

Because when you began to look at all of the backstage that happens people don't really understand that.

- I think about the pandemic and COVID and that a lot of the people who are aren't feeling quite as well emotionally and mentally they're not in community.

They're isolated, and they need a place, a hub, to come to.

- The way that we succeed as human beings isn't alone, it's always in a group surrounded by people who care about us, who support us, who can be creative with us.

- Working with the Collective is great because it gives me a glimpse into the cultural ecosystem of Colorado Springs and the Pikes Peak region.

Because when I talk to people, I begin to connect relationships Oh, you used to work with you, and you've designed lights for her productions and built scenery for this and taught dance to these and created music for these.

And so you begin to appreciate the network of relationships, generations bringing other generations along.

- I love the idea of people from all walks of life, all backgrounds, all ethnicities being able to come to one place and feel at home and have community.

- We're so lucky to have Linda Weise leading this effort.

She's a dynamo, she's a fireball all by herself.

And so when I knew that that she to be spearheading this project, I knew that there was a very high chance of success.

- She sees no barriers, she she's not afraid of any challenge.

and I knew immediately she was the perfect person to actually do this because of her vision.

- When I think about this vision it--it is 100% personifies access, opportunity, creativity, collaboration, and community.

From there, the sky's the limit.

(upbeat guitar music) - I'm constantly told by people at the end of a project, "I have no idea how you saw this", and that's our job, that's--that's why I love being in this creative business.

One of the hardest things to imagine when you're looking at an existing building is its future life.

But something new is possible.

- The vision with the three floors is basically taking what is effectively a 40,000 square foot building to 90,000 plus, which gives that many more opportunities.

And what's very important as we develop the theater is the back of house, and so we'll be putting in an entire addition, a new structure behind the building.

It'll be attached to the building but it will afford us additional dressing rooms, a place to load in and out that's not right off the street, we'll have some scene and set design and shop, we'll have some costume design and shop, we'll have additional classrooms and recording capacity, we will have the ability to host organizations and entities and productions that have many people in them.

The business model is very much in the vein of a co-working model, so no one owns a studio.

We'll have residents and we will have administration, the Chamber Orchestra, Dance Alliance and several others will be officing here.

- They have a really cool master plan for the future of this place.

Gonna be a lot of venues for local artists, which I'm really excited about.

(upbeat music) - What has remained the same over the course of this building's history is that it's multipurpose.

And so sometimes, while you have to consider historic preservation you also have to think about how can we breathe new life into this building by making some subtle changes that do not compromise the integrity of the purpose of the building, the people of Colorado Springs, or its role in shaping culture and identity in Colorado Springs - We're planning for about 650 seats facing that stage, both because that's a good scale to create a great connection with that stage.

Colorado Springs doesn't need another 2000-seat hall, what it needs is accessible, useful, well-equipped, medium size theaters, the ability to seat the audience on a flat floor or on tiered seating so that we have a different kind of experience depending on what the programming is.

That works for theater, for dance, for music, for film.

- The vision is great.

One of the things that's most exciting about the facility really is the performance space, because as a community arts organization there are shortages of reasonable size spaces at a reasonable rental fee for organizations to use.

- The goal would be that the construction starts sometime in the middle of 2023.

We're looking at about 18 to 20 months of construction.

Our plan is that we are cutting the ribbon at the end of 2024.

As we work toward that, we're incubating programs along the way so that when we cut the ribbon, things are happening, she's already humming.

(upbeat music) When you think about the fact that the building really needs to become all new, plumbing, heating, cooling, which it really doesn't have right now at all, data and technology, all of those things that art-forms demand these days and that audience members expect think about elevators that the building simply doesn't have any of, think about fire sprinklers that the building has only in the basement, and then think about trying to restore some of those lovely historic elements, you realize that there's a huge portion of this budget that is all new from the ground up.

- The value of this project stretches so far from redeveloping this historic building.

The fact that this building is gonna be 100 years old next year just kind of makes it that much more precious.

- Mixing the past with the present and the future is really filled with potential.

As a historian, I look at this building as an intrinsic part of our history.

My greatest wish is that it continues to have life, that people continue to breathe life into it, that it continues to have a purpose that it continues to have people fill the space, and that it continues to be a building that serves for the purpose of the citizens and to the glory of the city of Colorado Springs.

- You have to have community input.

We need community buy-in.

We need to have the community saying, "We can do this, this is something we want, this is something we will use."

- What needs to happen is a continued and very intentional dialogue about impact.

Above and beyond the nuts and bolts, what's really at stake here is an opportunity to create something that society really needs, period.

- This building is beautiful, so why not take this building and let it become a transformative model of what our city is also becoming, a transformative model of people from all walks of life and all backgrounds who are here in Colorado Springs, because they've felt a sense of belonging to come here.

- When you talk about the soul of--of a city, that's what this thing was built for It was the place where it was the heartbeat.

So we're just giving her a little CPR, a lot of CPR.

(gentle guitar music) - The time is right from a momentum standpoint, a civic pride standpoint, for us to get behind projects that can take us into the next 50 years.

This building is one that many people have memories of, but they're distant memories, and I do think that this is the right time to reignite this building with a vision and a future that generations to come can make memories like their parents and their grandparents had.

- The motto, the emblem of this building is "For the use of the people and the glory of the city."

- I love the fact that it's a reminder of history, that it's a landmark of who we were, but with adaptive reuse, it's got a future.

It's not just about saving a building it's about looking how that building that brings the past forward can still be used and better applied into the future.

- It's really cool that this is a 100-year-old building and that young people can come in and create music or dance or whatever your art form is, I think it's really gonna show people outside of Colorado Springs that, you know, this is a really cool town and we have something to show for it.

- This is a huge opportunity to actually create a legacy.

This is gonna outlive all of us.

It's sort of like the Egyptians when you had all the writings on the walls and the gate, this is our opportunity to make our writings on the walls for the future.

- I can't take the smile off my face because I'm proud of what's already been accomplished, the thriving, the living that this is creating.

- She's about to turn 100 years Why not now?

What better moment in time than somebody turning 100 years old?

And thinking about the relevance of the fact that we're all here together, and just like in 1923, they came together to build this why not come together now to give her another 100 years?

- Wouldn't it be great if our children and grandchildren had that same kind of attachment to this building because of the great events and entertainment they were able to see at the Colorado Springs City Auditorium.

- This is a profound moment.

It's not about me, it's not about you it's about the future.

imagine the impact that a space like this, a safe, inclusive, diverse, creative space does for the human spirit way beyond our lifetimes, why would you not wanna come and be part of this?

It's way bigger than any of us.

This needs to happen for our community for our children, for the future.

♪ Butterflies, they slip right through the net ♪ ♪ Flying high, then I start to forget ♪ ♪ How time seems ♪ ♪ To take its toll on us ♪ ♪ I wrapped up your cuts ♪ ♪ And sang for you ♪ (applauding) Thank you.

(upbeat music)