Heavy investment in Golden’s arts scene helps ensure that the city’s appeal extends beyond recreation alone.
CBS
“Golden, you know, is known for beer, the outdoors, restaurants and Coors, right? And obviously, that’s what we’re all about, so it’s great, but we also have a great arts scene, a great theater scene,” said Len Maceo with Miners Alley Performing Arts Center.
The scene unfolds between Miners Alley and the Foothills Arts Center, ushering in a new future for the city of Golden’s history.
“It may be turned into office space. It may eventually be sold. It may be demolished. Who knows,” Hassan Najjar said.
Najjar, executive director of the Foothills Arts Centre, will talk about Astor House and their new home.
“It was suddenly closed in 2014 due to structural issues and sat vacant for a while, but in 2020 an opportunity arose to do something with the Foothills Arts Center and we worked with the city of Golden to build this addition,” Najjar said.
The new space means the original space across the street, a 100-year-old church, could undergo a transformation of its own.
Currently, the facility operates as the city’s “creative campus,” focusing on nurturing emerging artists.
“The space once housed two exhibition galleries and now houses studio space for 10 artists, three classrooms and a new ceramics studio,” Najjar said.
A similar story can be found inside the Miners Alley Performing Arts Center across from the newly renovated Astor House.
“The changing rooms here are larger than the ones in other spaces,” Maceo says.
Among the building’s multi-million dollar renovations is its history as a family-owned Meyer Hardware company.
“We’re going to do everything in our power to protect that wall,” Maceo said of the handprints left by the Meyer family.
In the first phase of renovation, the Golden Theatre will feature a 157-seat theater, state-of-the-art sound equipment, space for acting and film studies, and a new box office.
Najjar and Maceo are now looking ahead to what the second phase will entail, and have already launched a fundraising campaign to raise the money to make it happen.
“We’ve got 300 sets. We have an education center. We have a black box theater. We have accommodation for artists,” Maceo said.
With all these changes, Najjar and Maceo agree that Golden will soon be taking center stage.
“This takes it to a whole new level,” Maceo said.
The first phase of renovations at the Foothills Arts Centre and Miners Alley were all completed in time for Artsweek Golden. All information about this free event can be found at Artsweek Golden.
