A move to build a film production facility within one of the most famous hotels in Colorado is slowly moving forward as part of a big $475 million package.
Located in the northern part of the state in the town of Estes Park, the Stanley Hotel was built more than 110 years ago and is undoubtedly most known as the inspiration for the Stephen King novel The Shining and subsequent film of the same name starring Jack Nicholson.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the 140-room hotel has been the subject of ongoing discussions centered on the State of Colorado purchasing it, with the hope of seeing the construction of a $59 million film center on the hotel’s premises.
The deal has involved multiple partners, including the Colorado Economic Development Commission, the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and the Colorado Education and Cultural Affairs Authority.
In order to finalize a project that has been ongoing for nearly a decade, the Colorado Economic Development Commission has now approved up to $2.5 million in additional funding from two different sources.
Besides outright owning the hotel, the new financing is being seen as the final element needed to build the 60,000-square-foot film center that will also include an amphitheater and horror museum.
It is also thought that the new funding will help pay for the building of more hotel rooms at the Stanley and an upgrading of the establishment’s ornate main guest lobby.
Designed in the Georgian Colonial Revival style, the Stanley Hotel was built by Freelan Stanley, the owner of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, who was suffering from tuberculosis and regarded extended stays in the Rocky Mountains property as crucial to his recovery.
February 14, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Vintage Postcard of Stanley Hotel
