Casino Star Receives Grant

1915 newspaper photo of the historic theatre.	The clay model for the Winged Victories, re-created from a 1915 photograph by master sculptor Brad Taggart.
Mark Cox of Rocky Mountain Power delivers a $3500 grant to Casino Star Theatre Foundation founders Lori Nay (left) and Diana Spencer (right).  The grant will be used to mount statues and urns on the front of the theatre.

The Rocky Mountain Power Foundation awarded a grant to the Casino Star Theatre Foundation in the amount of $3500 to assist with mounting the missing statues above the windows of the 99-year-old theatre on Gunnison’s Main Street. Mark Cox, Customer and Community Manager for Southern Utah, presented the check to founders Lori Nay and Diana Spencer on January 17.

Early photos of the Casino Theatre (its name from 1912 to 1936) show urns along the top edge of the building and “angel” statues above both windows. Sculptor Brad Taggart of the Snow College Art Department worked from a 1915 photograph to model a replica of the statues in clay, which will be cast twice to produce identical figures for the spaces between the windows and the “eyebrow” arches on the front of the theatre.

An earlier CLG grant from the State Historic Preservation Office is designated for casting the models this spring. Rocky Mountain Power’s contribution will help mount them securely where the originals once hung.

Taggart, who is also currently creating a nine-figure veteran’s memorial for the City of Taylorsville, is donating his efforts as a gift to the Casino Star Theatre. He will also supervise one of his students in sculpting replacement urns and pedestals as a Community Service/Service Learning project.

Without grants and donations, the beautiful work on the theatre could never have happened. The Theatre Foundation expresses deep gratitude, not only for grants and donations, but also for the encouragement and delight from neighbors, friends and passersby. Special thanks to Rocky Mountain Power for contributing to the final step in completing the restoration of the façade.

Visit the website at www.casinostartheatre.com to donate.