Upgrade work could be underway sometime next year on one of the most popular theaters in Denver.
Built in 1978 and located at 1000 14th Street, the 120,000-square-foot Boettcher Concert Hall is the home to the Colorado Symphony and has a nearly 2,700 seating capacity.
Constructed so as to provide audiences with a close-up view and listening spot from any point in the theater, Boettcher is a designer’s paradise with multiple levels of balconies, eight mezzanines, pit seats, exposed heating ducts and industrial style railings.
The presence of those ducts and railings, notes an essay published by the Denver Architecture Foundation, is an attempt on the part of designer Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates to create a “democratic atmosphere in contrast to the opulent feel of many traditional halls.”
Now the City of Denver has issued a Request for Proposals for work centering on an upgrade of the celebrated facility.
That work will include a modernization of the facility’s heating and cooling systems, as well as safety and fire upgrades. Additional work will see roof improvements and data and technology upgrades.
“Generally,” notes the official RFP announcement, “the renovation will address major systems and finishes that are beyond their useful life.”
The project, which has been in the talking stage for the better part of a decade, is being funded via the Better Denver Bond program, which won voter approval in 2007.
The RFP has a submission deadline of November 6.
October 25, 2024
By Garry Boulard
Photo Courtesy of City of Denver
