Casino Star Receives Award

At its annual conference on Thursday, May 9, the Utah Heritage Foundation presented the Casino Star Theatre Foundation with a Heritage Award for the restoration of the historic Casino Star Theatre.   Founding Directors Lori Nay and Diana Major Spencer accepted the award on behalf of the craftsmen and artisans who did the work, the donors and grantors who helped finance the effort, the board with its great support, and the patrons who support the programs and activities that keep the one hundred-year-old theatre alive.

In October 2004, Lori Nay and Diana Spencer established the Casino Star Theatre Foundation, a nonprofit organization to help restore the 1912 Beaux Arts-style landmark in Gunnison.  The Casino Star has been the arts and entertainment center of South Sanpete County since it was constructed.  Opening on January13, 1913, the theatre maintained a six-day schedule of movies and occasional live shows, and functioned as the high school auditorium until a new high school was completed in 1925.  During the 1960s when television arrived in Central Utah, attendance dwindled and a three-day schedule began.

Over the years different owners had invested money into a variety of stabilization projects and the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.   The Casino Star Theater Foundation purchased the structure in November 2004 with the goal of bringing the building back to its role as the entertainment center of South Sanpete.  The first task was to convert the shabby lobby into a bright, welcoming space.  The cosmetics of new paint, wallpaper and carpet turned to drama when a four by ten foot section of the concrete floor collapsed into a trench caused by decades of leaking pipes and radiators.

In the intervening eight years, the audience space has been completely restored and the exterior has been sealed from the weather with a new roof, new flashing, new stucco, and new paint.   The decorative trim is a mix of original and replicated pieces, and the beautiful new Winged Victories were re-created from photos and careful measurements, as the originals went to the trash heap years ago.   LED lights shine from every rewired rosette, creating a festive glow on Gunnison's Main Street every single night.

The Heritage Foundation's citation, accompanied by a series of slides, preceded the award.   For a link to their website, please see below:

http://www.utahheritagefoundation.com/saving-places/heritage-awards/item/783-casinostar#.UZELCYKKQzo