New life for the Vogue Theater

Some of the best memories that live on from Denver's past are miles away from downtown and LoDo: dining out on the sidewalk on South Gaylord Street, the nightlife at Rick's Cafe in Cherry Creek, the bars and clubs along East Colfax...

...And of course, South Pearl Street, with its tavern-style restaurants, funky little stores, and the Vogue — an historic neighborhood theater that moved from an art film repertoire in the '70s and '80s to a rock and "rave" venue in recent years.

The Vogue was built in 1910 as the Mission Theater — and it would have been nice if it could have lived forever showing the kinds of films you can't get from the six-pack mall theaters now.

But time marches on...and when it became obvious that the Vogue could no longer make it as a theater, neighboring residents and merchants made it very clear that they wouldn't accept a remake into a restaurant or anything else that would attract lots of late-night traffic onto South Pearl.

That dilemma attracted John Craft of Icon Developments, raised in a real estate family in Fort Collins, who has done some residential infill projects in Bonnie Brae and other south Denver settings. Could the Vogue become a loft project?

Craft answers that question today as he shows off his recreation of the Vogue into six residential homes, priced from the $320s, on view 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This was a theater — one big space with a cavernous ceiling and a projection booth over the anteroom. Craft and San Francisco architect William Duff began exploring the building, finding three arched windows over the marquee that had been squared off during some modernization project decades ago.

"We took off the plaster and could see how great the brick was," recalled Craft. "Then we climbed into the attic and saw the arched trusses beneath the roof."

It took two months to do the demolition, clearing the way for six units along a front-to-back hallway that roughly follows the path of the theater's center aisle. The units in front would have to incorporate the upstairs projection room (its brick walls are like a bomb shelter's, built to withstand the possibility of an explosive fire from the nitrate film stock that Hollywood used in days before safety film was invented).

And every unit would have those big ceilings to work with — iron trusses that could be preserved as the kind of historic architectural detail that loft buyers love.

The bedrooms are downstairs, each with a nice master suite with tub and separate walk-in shower. The lower level areas are daylighted (Craft cut 42 new windows through the brick to open the units up to the setbacks between the theater and other Pearl Street businesses.

The living/family/dining areas are all situated upstairs beneath the big ceilings. Craft picked knotty alder for cabinets, custom doors and iron-spindle staircases, cherrywood for floors, and a rustic quarry tile for entries and bath appointments. The look — a kind of contemporary Craftsman style set against the Vogue's structural framework, is something you'll have to see to appreciate.

The Vogue Lofts have three units sold, and three still on the market from $320,000. One of the front lofts priced at $365,000 has views of the Pearl Street "scene" via the arched windows in the stepup projection room, and from its own deck. The back loft is the most spacious, just under 1,600 square feet, and has a private entrance to the unit's parking space in a garage in the alley.

They're at 1465 S. Pearl Street; exit I-25 at Washington/Emerson streets, then cut west over to Pearl Street on Louisiana Avenue (The Vogue is between Arkansas and Florida avenues).

For purchase information, call Jeanne Morgan-Tapp of JKM Associates, 303-232-6655. To reach Craft about his other urban residential projects, call 303-594-0431.

Mark Samuelson is executive vice president of S. Robert August and Co., a residential marketing firm. You can e-mail him at mark@srobertaugust.com.

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