DENVER — Another historic Denver movie theater — Chez Artiste — will close its doors after its final show Thursday night.
"They just closed the Esquire two weeks ago, another one, over 100 years that it's been in that location. What is Denver becoming? This is very, very sad for a lot of us. We care about this place," Chez Artiste patron Sheila McNally said.
Chez Artiste has been in the University Hills neighborhood for 52 years.
"This is a neighborhood theater, a theater that belongs here and should not leave this location. It is our theater. It is Denver's theater," McNally said.
It's known for its old-school charm and for screening small Indie films.
"You know, the bigger chains are nice, and you can see a lot of your 'Deadpool' and 'Wolverine' stuff there, but it feels to me like you're having kind of more of a classic Hollywood experience [than] when you go to a small Indie theater like this, where they really are about the movies and quality storytelling and adult storytelling," a Chez Artiste patron, Lilian Fuglei, said.
To that end, McNally pointed to how someone designated by Chez Artiste comes out and talks to patrons before a movie airs and Chez Artiste even hosted a DU professor to discuss classic movies before and after they aired.
The last Chez Artiste showing Thursday is "Widow Clicquot" at 7:00 p.m., according to the theater's website. Then Chez Artiste said on Facebook, its Classic Film Series will move to The Landmark in Greenwood Village.
After closing the Esquire Theatre and Chez Artiste Theatre, Landmark — the parent company — will still have two other historic movie theaters in the Denver metro area: The Landmark in Greenwood Village and The Mayan on South Broadway.
"I feel like it's really cool just to sit in a theater and know that 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago, there were people just sitting around watching movies like the same way that you are in a building that was pretty much the same," Fuglei said.
Movie buffs fought hard to keep the Esquire alive, even starting a grassroots effort called #SavetheEsquire on social media.
Denver
Movie lovers say goodbye to Esquire Theatre after 97 years in Denver
However, the owners said they tried to lease to another theater tenant but were unable to find a partner for that opportunity.
"It's a matter of getting people to come out to the movies, and it's a habit I've had all my life, and I love and hopefully we'll have the rest of my life... I know a lot of people have fallen out of that, since covid and with other things happening, and they're just not going to the movies as much as I wish they would," Tim Fuglei, Lilian's father, said.
The Esquire Theatre will be converted into luxury office, restaurant and retail spaces. The Esquire signs will be refurbished and displayed in the new building design, according to the design plans.
