Intermountain Histories

Zitkala-Ša’s (Gertrude Simmons Bonnin) Sojourn in Utah

2025-04-21T15:25:26+00:00

Zitkala-Ša, or Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, is a celebrated Yankton Dakota writer and activist. She lived in Utah from 1902-1917.

Born on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in South Dakota in 1876, Gertrude Simmons or Zitkala-Ša left the reservation at age eight to attend White’s Manual Labor Institute in Indiana. This assimilation-focused boarding school instilled Euro-American and Christian values in its students. She attended Earlham College and became an increasingly skilled writer and musician. She taught at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. After a while, she became critical of the emphasis on assimilation and acculturation and resigned. She began writing under the name Zitkala-Ša (Red Bird) around 1889, publishing essays in national magazines such as Harper’s Monthly. Her writings often criticized the practice of many reformers and stressed the importance of Native identities. Zitkala-Ša married Raymond Bonnin in 1902 and they moved to Whiterocks, Utah, where Raymond worked for the Indian Bureau on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. In 1903, they had a son, Raymond “Ohiya” Bonnin. A young, orphaned Ute boy named Oran Curry and Old Sioux, a survivor of the Battle of the Little Bighorn, also lived with them. The Bonnins lived in Utah from 1902 to 1917, except for several months spent on the Standing Rock Reservation in the Dakotas. It was while away at Standing Rock that she converted to Catholicism. After returning to Utah, she kept up a correspondence with Father William Ketcham, director of the Bureau of Catholic Indian Missions, expressing her wish to introduce Catholicism to the Utes. In 1908, she met music teacher William Hanson. They eventually collaborated in writing and composing the Sun Dance Opera, which debuted in Vernal, Utah, in 1913. The Sun Dance is a religious ceremony practiced by some Natives, especially Plains Peoples. The opera combined Native rituals with European-styled performances. It is unclear what motivated her to collaborate on this opera, which could be viewed as a violation of religious respect. Interestingly, the Sun Dance was outlawed on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation at this time, and the opera allowed Ute performers to participate in it to some degree. At the time of its debut, a Vernal newspaper praised it as greatly pleasing the audience. During her first few years in Utah, Zitkala-Ša taught at the Whiterocks Boarding School. She also spent time working for the Indian Service. In 1913, she joined the Society of American Indians, a national organization advocating for Native rights. She was elected secretary of the SAI in 1916. After moving to Duchesne, Utah, in 1915, she created a Ute community center. While in Utah, she began an anti-peyote campaign. Zitkala-Ša and her husband Ray moved to Washington, D.C., where she continued her activism. Zitkala-Ša’s time in Utah was one of “relative obscurity." Yet, during her fourteen years there, she continued to evolve and to advance the causes she believed in.

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The History of Sundance

2024-03-03T03:43:20+00:00

Sundance, Utah is a small resort in the North Fork of Provo Canyon that has a rich history, particularly within its ownership. The area was originally populated by members of the Ute nation. It then passed into the hands of the Stewart family who arrived with the Latter-day Saints. Most recently it has been the site of a ski resort owned and operated by Hollywood actor Robert Redford.

Nestled in Provo Canyon, what is known today as Sundance has a rich history that reflects the different eras of Utah settlement. The land was occupied by the Ute nation beginning in 1,400 AD. Sundance was in an area where the Utes would visit in the summer to enjoy the cool mountain temperatures and lush forests filled with game. The arrival of Latter-day Saint pioneers pushed the Utes out of the area, leaving Sundance to be settled by the Stewart family. The Stewarts were Scottish immigrants that came to Utah in the mid-1800s. Andrew Jackson Stewart Jr. and his sons surveyed land in Provo Canyon and felt particularly drawn to the area. Through the Homestead Act of 1862, the Stewarts were each able to secure 160 acres of land within the canyon. Other families joined them, and by 1911, there were 2,200 acres of settled land in the North Fork of Provo Canyon that were then known as Stewart Flats. Stewart Flats began to be recognized for its recreational draw in the 1930s and 40s. In 1944, S. Paul Stewart and his brother and sister-in-law Ray and Ava Stewart opened up Timp Haven, a small ski area that operated for 20 years. Timp Haven was greeted by a noteworthy guest in the 1950s when Hollywood actor Robert Redford accidentally stumbled on the area due to a miscalculated turn on a road trip through the West. Redford purchased a sizable portion of the Stewart family land in 1969 and renamed the area Sundance, after his character in the western film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. According to Redford, one of his major goals for Sundance was “to develop a little and preserve a great deal.” Instead of succumbing to overdevelopment with hotels and condominiums, Redford’s focus at Sundance was environmental conservation and the promotion of the arts. In 1978 Redford increased his Utah presence by founding the Sundance Film Festival, held annually in Park City, building on his Sundance legacy. In 2020, Redford sold 2,600 acres, including the Sundance Mountain Resort, to Broadreach Capital Partners and Cedar Capital Partners with an agreement that they would continue Sundance’s pursuit of environmental preservation and conscientious development.

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The Salt Lake Theatre: Brigham Young's Love Letter to Theater Out West

2024-02-23T15:13:08+00:00

The creation of the Salt Lake Theatre was led by Brigham Young and supported by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1862. The Theatre was the most decorated building in Utah territory before the Salt Lake City Temple and Tabernacle were constructed. Its 66-year run brought entertainment and enjoyment to early Utah settlers.

Early LDS church leaders were fond of artistic expression to bring culture, entertainment, and refinement to the Salt Lake Valley. In 1852, just a few years after settling in Utah, Brigham Young decided it was time to bring theater back into the lives of the saints, forming The Deseret Dramatic Association. These Saint-actors performed at the Social Hall for five years, marking a vital advancement to society in the West. Unfortunately, the Utah War made the stage go dark for a few years. It returned when Phill Margaretts created The Mechanics Dramatic Association in 1859, which sponsored plays that were not affiliated with the church. In response, Brigham Young decided it was time to create a permanent stage where he could control the actors, scripts, and overall impression of the theater.

It was the perfect timing in Utah History for the construction of a gathering place to enjoy the arts. Initially, Brigham Young intended to build a dance hall. Instead, he determined to create “a model playhouse for producing professional theatre.” Construction of the Salt Lake Theatre began in July 1861 and was completed by March the following year at a cost of around $100,000. The architect was William H Folsom, with E. L. T. Harrison designing the interior. The theatre had room to hold an audience of 1500. Throughout Utah’s territorial history, the LDS church and the growth of Utah’s economy went hand and hand. The theater was just one of many buildings and ventures that were sponsored by the church. Because Young used church funds to finance the Salt Lake Theatre he guided its operation.

A dedication was held to honor this “temple of drama,” built to bring wholesome amusement and moral guidance to its patrons. The theater became a huge success. Thomas Lyne, a professional actor who had joined the church and promoted theater in Nauvoo, was instrumental in the popularity of plays presented there. The success of The ‘Mormon theater’ sparked the interest of many famous actors and drew them to Utah throughout its 66-year run. Several famous actresses, including Maude Adams, who later pioneered the role of Peter Pan on Broadway, played their first roles in Salt Lake City. The building was used not only for local arts but it hosted political events and eventually touring performing groups coming through Salt Lake City. Despite Young’s original vision, over time the theater welcomed people of all religious backgrounds and secular attitudes. Throughout its history, the theater played a significant role in the culture of Salt Lake City. Unfortunately, the creation of many new vaudeville theaters and Utah’s economic downturn of 1920s drove the theater into deep debt. People desperate for basic needs could not afford to attend shows. In addition, the building needed renovations. The president of the Church, Heber J. Grant, closed the theater and sold the building. In 1928 it was demolished–a great loss of a cultural icon to Utah and the United States.

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Lagoon's Patio Gardens

2024-02-22T22:07:05+00:00

Utah’s Lagoon used to be more than just an amusement park; it once housed a large concert venue within its gates, hosting many performances by music legends from the 1950s to the early 1970s.

In 1953 a fire tore throughout Lagoon, Utah’s only amusement park, and destroyed many buildings there. Then owner, Robert Freed, saw this as an opportunity to update the architecture of the park to something much more modern–to create the “New Lagoon.” One of the buildings constructed during the renovations was the Patio Gardens, a concert venue to replace an old, ruined Dancing Pavilion. While Lagoon had live performances before the 1950s, Patio Gardens, with its stage and dance floor, became the new house for concerts. The performances in Patio Gardens over the next two decades included some of the most popular national artists and would make Lagoon nationally known, especially within the 1960s counterculture music scene. One such popular group was the Beach Boys who, on September 7, 1963, thrilled their youthful Utah audience with their song “Salt Lake City,” claiming that Salt Lake City had “the grooviest kids.” The Beach Boys returned to Lagoon again and again with their final performance of fourteen appearances taking place on September 12, 1970. The Beach Boys were just one of many popular groups that performed at Patio Gardens. Other notable counterculture bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Monkees, The Who, Janis Joplin, and Jefferson Airplane also performed there. Even The Beatles were in discussions to perform at Lagoon, but their high asking price led to their exclusion. Patio Gardens also housed more classic acts, such as Benny Goodman, the Utah Symphony, and Ella Fitzgerald. Most bands had a good experience, with some even returning to perform again or immortalizing the venue in songs, as the Beach Boys did. However, there were also bands who hated the venue and, more importantly, the crowds. On May 25, 1968, The Doors performed to a crowd of about 3,500, nearing the venue’s 4,000-person capacity limit. Jim Morrison, the band’s lead singer, declared that the crowd was dead for his first performance of the day, hurled vulgar insults to the audience, and after three songs walked off of the stage, never to return. Regardless of the failure of The Doors concert, Patio Gardens is remembered fondly by many Utahns. Patio Gardens closed in 1973 after operating for twenty years. Where music legends used to perform is now the home of the dark ride Dracula’s Castle and Lagoon’s arcade. The original light fixtures and the top of the stage (the rest of which is hidden by a wall) are the only reminders of what helped make Lagoon so famous.

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The White City Ballroom

2022-11-01T16:54:51+00:00

The White City Ballroom in Ogden, Utah was considered Utah’s largest and most beautiful ballroom. Dances, performances, and special events made the space come alive for over half a century.

Built in 1922, the White City Ballroom was a popular dance hall in Ogden and attracted crowds “from as far south as Salt Lake City, as far east as Evanston, Wyoming, as far north as Idaho Falls, and as far west as the lake in Weber County,” with crowds of over one thousand people. The ballroom was located between Washington Avenue and Adams Avenue. Before the White City Ballroom was built, in the same location, a dancing hall served the community. However, the building burnt down in 1921. Eventually, the White City Ballroom was built in its place, measuring “150 feet wide by 250 feet long in an oval position.” An open air dance floor was eventually created where dances could be held outside during the warmer months. To help grow business, White City Ballroom held big drawings where items such as a two-door Chevrolet car would be given away to one lucky person. On these nights, attendance could reach up to 5,000 people. Tickets cost “fifty cents for the dance ticket on the night of the drawing, 35 cents each on the nights that attendance was accumulating toward the giving away of the car.”
The “King of O-Town,” Joe McQueen, played at the White City Ballroom and recalled a night when famous jazz band leader Duke Ellington performed at the dance hall. Other big band musicians such as Gene Krupa and Jan Garber also performed at the White City Ballroom. Saturday nights were eagerly anticipated by the town, especially youth, for White City's dances.
In the 1970s, the Square Dance Club of Ogden sponsored weekly dances. Part of the space became a bowling alley. However, the White City Ballroom closed in 1979 and was torn down a few years later. It’s still remembered fondly by older generations of the town who attended dances and events “the largest and most beautiful ballroom” around.
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The Berthana in Ogden

2022-10-26T18:38:27+00:00

Hailed as the “most beautiful ballroom in the West,” the Berthana has been revitalized to serve as a focal point for downtown Ogden.

The Berthana social and dance hall celebrated its public opening on May 26, 1915. The idea to create a gathering center for the young residents of Ogden is credited to Bertha Eccles and Anna T. Dee whose names became the name of the building. An article published in the Ogden Standard Examiner on the day following the opening night dubbed the social center as the “most beautiful ballroom in the West.” The 600 guests invited to opening night were greeted with handsome decor, a professional and welcoming staff, and a large, lively orchestra. Part of the opening night festivities included a grand march led by William Spry, Utah’s governor at the time. The main floor of the Berthana was designed for retail space; the second-floor ballroom was 120 feet long by 80 feet wide, built by the David Eccles Estate and the Thomas D. Dee Co. The Berthana maintained its status as a major gathering place for state conventions of the Utah Federation of Women’s Clubs, concerts, dances, company promotions, beauty pageants, and even boxing matches. The ballroom was used for such activities until about 1940, when it was converted into a roller-skating rink. With the exception of a brief but unsuccessful attempt to reopen in the 1980s the ballroom has remained largely unused since the 1970s. In 2012, life was breathed back into the former social hall in the form of a $750,000 renovation that transformed the Berthana into an entertainment venue that hosted businesses such as the Copper Club. Lynda Huddleston, the manager of the Copper Club, said, “if you come in here and stay still and just listen, you can almost hear the music that used to play here. We want to bring that feeling of excitement back to Ogden.” In 2016, The Union Grill left its location in Union Station and opened its doors in the Berthana.
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The Lehi Roller Mills

2022-09-19T21:40:28+00:00

A landmark in Lehi, Utah, the Lehi Roller Mills has come to be a symbol of the town and of Utah.

Founded in 1906, the Lehi Roller Mills started as a coalition of farmers milling their wheat together. George G. Robinson purchased the new mills in 1910, having learned milling from his father back in Delaware. The Robinson family used wheat from farmers in the surrounding area, converting that wheat into flour. Because of the agriculture focus of the region, the roller mills became a crucial part of the flour production industry. As the farming expanded, so too did the mills. The city of Lehi has grown around the roller mills. Most notably, the mills brought fame to Lehi when they were featured in the 1984 movie “Footloose,” starring Kevin Bacon. The round silos painted with images from flour sacks became an icon of Lehi, though the movie did not substantially increase business. Locals were excited to see a part of small town Lehi, Utah represented in a major motion picture. Because of the significance they have had in Lehi’s history, the roller mills were officially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. The mills expanded their product line from solely flour to include flour-based products, such as brownie or muffin mix. The mixes were sold in local stores, and significantly boosted business. While doing quite well at the turn of the 21st century, the roller mills were hit hard by the economic recession of 2006. The mills continued to lose money until, in 2013, the owners filed for bankruptcy. They were purchased by Ken Brailsford on the condition that the Robinson family continue to run the mills under his ownership. Since then, the mills have been rebranded as Lehi Mills, acquiring a new logo and new packaging. As of 2022, the mills continued to operate under Brailsford’s ownership, with profits increasing. Along with the new rebrand, Lehi Mills has begun to distribute their products nation-wide, spreading their business.
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Redwood Drive-in

2021-12-18T00:34:31+00:00

The 1950s were known for their fast and fashionable cars. Salt Lake City’s Redwood Drive-in provided these automobile enthusiasts with an impressive alternative to their movie-going experience, complete with magic moonglow and pony rides.

The United Intermountain Theaters Association opened the Redwood Drive-in on July 22, 1949, and the first movie to be featured on the forty-six by sixty screen was The Big Cat in technicolor. The drive-in theater cost a total of $140,000 and was designed to provide families with a wide variety of entertainment opportunities. Advertisements described the complex as being both a theater and playground, and it featured picnic tables, barbecue pits, wading pools, swing sets, and train and pony rides. Architects designed the lot to accommodate up to 600 cars at once, but they also constructed a seating area for guests who preferred to enjoy the film outside of their vehicles. The drive-in provided comforts such as individual speakers for each car, a button to request refreshments, and bottle warmers for its youngest visitors. One of the most impressive features of the setting was its “magic moonglow” light fixture, which provided the illusion of a full moon each night to help guests navigate through the site in the dark. The day before the Redwood’s grand opening, the Deseret News reported that there were 2,784 electric light bulbs on the backside of the screen tower alone. The drive-in served more than just Salt Lake City’s entertainment needs; the complex also hosted political advocacy and entrepreneurial events. For example, in October 1949, the Redwood hosted a special show for adults only. Titled The Burning Question, the show was an informational film warning against marijuana use and advising parents about how to protect their children from this illegal drug. And in 1960, the Redwood began regularly hosting a swap meet where vendors could buy and sell their belongings or other goods. Artists also utilized this to their benefit. In 1995, a Navajo artist, Ronnie Yazzie, began selling his art at the Redwood, where he met his most important sponsors and clients. The Redwood continues to host the Swap Meet, and it has become a popular community event. Over the course of its history, the Redwood has undergone many changes technologically and on its grounds. In 1961, over $200,000 were invested into renovations which included new speakers, bigger bathrooms, an upgraded playground, a new snack bar, a larger screen, and general landscaping. On September 18, 1994, a fire in the middle of the night destroyed the central screen, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage. To the relief of the community, the fire did not close the Redwood forever. It continues to be a community favorite for both local families and visitors alike.
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Park Theatre

2021-12-17T22:51:30+00:00

Built in 1913, the historic Park Theatre is one of the oldest buildings in Estes Park, Colorado. It has provided generations of Coloradoans with entertainment and continues to be a community favorite.

The Park Theatre opened in 1913 and was one of the earliest features of the Estes Park land development in Colorado. The Estes Park Town Company, an organization of wealthy landowners and businessmen in the area, commissioned architect J.R. Anderson to design and begin the project. Parts of the building were constructed in Longmont, Colorado, and transported to Estes Park for the final installation. C.H. Bond completed the project in 1913, and in September of that year, he and his wife Alma purchased the property from the Estes Park Town Company. Fred Jackson operated the theater under the Bonds’ supervision until 1922, when they sold the building to Ralph Gwynn. Gwynn operated projectors and sound equipment at various movie houses throughout Denver before investing in the Park Theatre. Shortly after purchasing the property, he began renovations that increased the interior space, and he introduced a new projection technique to the theater. Gwynn added the front lobby and an additional twelve feet to the projection booth, which now constitute the west portion of the building. The additional area added to the projection space would allowed Gwynn to pass the light beam of the projector through a window that looked into the auditorium. It was an innovative method that had not been practiced at any other theaters in the area but soon became standard practice in film projection. In 1926, Gwynn added an eighty-foot tower with neon lighting to the building to catch the attention of potential customers and improve advertising. This addition soon became a landmark and added to the tourist appeal of Estes Park. Locals referred to this new addition as the “Tower of Love,” as they believed Gwynn designed and dedicated it to his wife, Mary. The couple operated the theater until Ralph’s passing in 1963. Vic Walker purchased the building from Ralph Gwynn’s estate sale and continued operating the theater with one of Gwynn’s close friends, John Ramey. The two ran the Park Theatre for five more years before selling the property to Ola and Mickey Stanger, owners of several movie theaters and drive-ins throughout Colorado, including the Lake Estes Drive-in, also in Estes Park. Vic Walker continued operating the theater alongside the Stangers until 1982, when the couple took full control of the movie house with their children. When Ola and Mickey passed in the early 2000s, their descendants took over the Park Theatre along with their other entertainment properties. The theater remains open and is operated as a Stanger family business. While there have been many additions and renovations to the original building, it remains a treasured landmark for generations of Estes Park residents.
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Spud Drive-in

2021-12-17T21:29:42+00:00

Designed in the 1950s at the height of America’s drive-in theater trend, the Spud provided residents of Teton County, Idaho, with an exciting cinematic experience. It has gained national attention for its service and its mascot “Old Murphy,” an oversized fake potato.

A.C. “Ace” Wood started drafting plans for the construction of a drive-in theater in 1950. Wood was the owner of an indoor theater in Driggs known as “The Orpheum,” but the automobile culture of the 1950s inspired him to re-envision the cinema experience. He began the Spud Drive-in in 1953 and newspapers dutifully covered the development for their readers. In the 1950s, Teton County during was a very small, rural community home to only about 3,000 citizens and limited entertainment options, but a drive-in promised excitement, especially for families. Residents were also car enthusiasts and became thrilled about the novelty of enjoying films from their favorite automobiles. The drive-in could hold up to 170 cars at one time and included features such as individual speakers for each car. The Spud sold a variety of refreshments, including sandwiches and soda-pop, at a concession stand located in the center of the site. Finally, Ace Wood added a local touch to the drive-in that drew visitors from all over the county: a large, fake potato parked in the bed of a 1946 Chevy truck. Wood and early visitors nicknamed the potato “Old Murphy,” and it quickly became a popular tourist site. Upon his retirement in 1968, Ace Wood sold the drive-in to Leo and Gladys Davis. They added the “Gladys Burger” to the concession stand menu, but later changed the name to the “Spud Burger.” The burger became a local favorite, drawing more tourism to the drive-in. The Davises owned and operated the Spud for eighteen years before selling the property back to the Wood family. In 1986, Ace Wood’s great nephew Richard and his wife Dawnell purchased the drive-in. They quickly made technological improvements that were both necessary cost-effective. The couple switched the old carbon arc light system in their projectors to the Xenon bulb in 1986, making it possible to show movies without dedicated projectionists or segmented film. The Spud drew steady crowds throughout its history and appealed to families and teens at the height of the American automobile fascination. While the Spud remains a local treasure, it has also received national attention. Joe Bob Briggs, a popular drive-in movie critic, published a positive review in the July, 1992 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle which listed The Spud in his list of the top three drive-in movie theaters in the country. The Spud Drive-in remains open and is a popular spot for local Teton County residents and visitors alike.
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Blue Fox Theatre

2021-12-17T05:52:29+00:00

The first theater in Grangeville to play talking pictures, the Blue Fox introduced a modern form of entertainment to this small Idaho town. It also hosted school plays and live music, and it continues to serve the community’s entertainment needs.

The Blue Fox Theatre opened on May 2, 1930, in the small town of Grangeville, Idaho, three hours north of Boise. Its opening film was The Gold Diggers of Broadway, starring Nancy Welford and Conway Tearle. The theater’s owner, Al Wagner, developed a passion for the industry after his experiences in a local theater circuit. Wagner and his family had migrated to Cottonwood, Idaho from North Dakota in 1910. He attended the Moscow campus of the University of Idaho in the early 1920s before getting at Cottonwood’s local bank as a bookkeeper. It was during this time that Wagner first became interested in motion pictures. With his personal portable projector, Wagner traveled to neighboring towns and rented halls to show movies for the locals. In 1929, he purchased a plot of land to build his own theater and hired Contractor J.R. Adkison and designer W.T. Cregan, both from Washington state, to take on the project. While Cregan began drafting plans for the interior, Adkison broke ground on the project in November 1929. The community eagerly awaited the completion of the project, especially since it would be the only theater in town that would play talking films, or “talkies”. The Idaho Falls Free County Press covered the project extensively at the end of 1929 and the beginning of 1930 leading up to the Grand Opening. Wagner hosted a contest in the newspaper to select the name, and the winner received three free tickets and a cash prize of ten dollars. Hundreds of local residents submitted suggestions for the name; among the most notable were the “Granada,” “Wagner,” “Majestic,” and “Lone Star." Runner-ups for the contest were also awarded free movie tickets for their submissions of the “Balboa,” “Alhambra,” “Wagnerian,” and “Tolo.” Resident of Lucille, Idaho J.H. Dickinson won the contest for his suggestion of “The Blue Fox Theatre,” which Wagner felt was both unique and good for promotional opportunities. After its opening, Wagner remained dedicated to serving the public and keeping the theater involved in community events. The Blue Fox hosted vaudeville shows, school plays, and live music performances in addition to its regular showing of films. The theater has undergone significant changes over the years, both architecturally and technologically. Its current marquee with neon lighting was added in 1940 and remains operational. In 1944, a fire originating in the basement destroyed much of the interior. While Wagner had promised the community that repairs would be made as soon as possible, he worried that limited resources due to the war effort would prevent this from happening. The War Productions Board, realizing that the Blue Fox was an important source of entertainment and community outreach, prioritized the remodeling efforts. In March of 1945, Wagner installed a new sound system, air conditioning, and heating systems, and reupholstered the original chairs. The theater remains open and provides the community with entertainment for all ages. The Wagner family continues to own and operate the Blue Fox.
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Fremont Theatre

2021-12-17T05:05:04+00:00

From hosting the premiere of the 1960 American classic Ocean’s Eleven, to standing against racial discrimination, the history of the Fremont Theatre is a lost treasure in the Las Vegas desert.

The Fremont Theatre was located inside a hotel of the same name in Las Vegas, Nevada in the 1930s. It was one of the only theaters in town, but visitor attendance was not high enough to keep the Fremont active during the Great Depression period, so it soon fell into disrepair. Irene Dunne, an old film actress, purchased the Fremont, Huntridge, and Guild Theatres and leased them to Gertrude Sperling in 1951. Sperling acquired the theaters as a business endeavor following her divorce, but she quickly found herself out of her depth. For help, she reached out to her daughter and son-in-law, Edythe and Lloyd Katz. Lloyd had a background in the film industry, having worked for several motion picture companies throughout California and Arizona as a film distributor and was well respected in the business. When his mother-in-law signed a twenty-seven-year lease on the Vegas theaters, Lloyd was head of the Eagle-Lion motion picture company in San Francisco. The Katzes agreed to take over the running the theaters, and they relocated from San Fransisco to Las Vegas in 1951. Upon taking over the theaters, he consulted designers from the Bay Area to renovate the Fremont and began hosting artist releases and premieres to increase visitor attendance. Some of the films that had their first screenings at the Fremont later became classics in American cinema, such as Las Vegas Story and Ocean’s Eleven. Lloyd quickly became known as the “P.T. Barnum of Las Vegas”, bringing a vibrant and often star-studded presence to Fremont Street. Beyond hosting high-profile events, the Fremont Theatre was also the first Las Vegas theater to desegregate. Growing up in Vegas during the 1960s, Arne Rosencrantz has fond memories of going out with friends to the Saturday matinee showings at the Fremont. It was one of the only theaters where he, as a Black teenager, did not have to worry about segregation. Lloyd and Edythe Katz were dedicated to the Civil Rights movement and set an example by integrating all three movie theaters under their ownership. Lloyd frequently defended his African American patrons and instructed his workers to let guests sit wherever they pleased, regardless of race. When confronted by disgruntled white patrons, Lloyd refused to change his integration policy. Instead, he continued to provide his African American guests with the same service as their white counterparts. Because of this, the Fremont became a favorite entertainment spot for generations of African Americans in Las Vegas. The Katzes operated the Fremont until 1978 when their twenty-seven-year lease expired. The Fremont closed and was demolished in 1981, but its legacy as one of Las Vegas’ first integrated theater lives on in the hearts of many residents.
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Planet of the Apes and Glen Canyon, Arizona

2018-06-19T18:42:25+00:00

The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is in the states of Arizona and Utah. Large sections of the region feature in Planet of the Apes, including areas such as Lake Powell.

Glen Canyon is located in northern Arizona’s Vermilion Cliffs National Park. The Glen Canyon National Recreation Area encompasses 1.25 million acres of land spread across both Arizona and Utah. After the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam in 1966, areas of the Glen Canyon region were flooded, creating the Lake Powell Reservoir. The canyon itself was created by the Colorado River as its flow eroded the land over millions of years.
Glen Canyon, Lake Powell, and the surrounding desert region were all used by Franklin J. Schaffner in the filming of his 1968 film Planet of the Apes. Starring Charlton Heston as the lead astronaut, Taylor, the film tells the story of a trio of astronauts crash landing on what they believe is an alien world, only to find it inhabited by intelligent apes. The film opens when the three astronauts awake from hibernation on their ship and crash land onto an alien planet. The crew abandons ship and begins rafting down the river. After discovering that the surrounding soil is unable to support life, the astronauts encounter both primitive humans and intelligent ape creatures. A series of interactions with ape creatures, included the antagonist Maurice Evans' Dr Zaius, leads to the death of the crew and Taylor’s temporary loss of his voice. Taylor discovers that the planet is in fact earth after being destroyed by his civilization’s nuclear war.
The mixture of arid and verdant landscapes present in the Glen Canyon region are used in the film to show how much of the land on the future Earth is uninhabitable. The landscape of the region is used not only to convey the feeling of an alien planet, complete with the Ape City sets and enclaves, but also that of a post-apocalyptic landscape—two of the most popular uses for desert environments in science fiction cinema. The newly flooded Lake Powell and the Colorado river also allowed for the rafting scenes early in the film. Lake Powell was used for the initial crash landing scene, while other regions along the river featured rafting. Recognizable canyon formations feature as backdrops throughout the film. Horseshoe Bend is cast as the entrance to the forbidden zone wherein the ruins of human civilization lie. Filming the scenes within the canyon itself proved difficult due to the terrain, and much of the equipment required for the shoots had to arrive by helicopter.
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Independence Day and Wendover Air Force Base, Utah

2018-06-19T18:07:15+00:00

Wendover Air Force Base is situated on the Nevada-Utah border. It currently functions as an airport and featured in the film Independence Day.

Wendover Air Force Base, currently Wendover Airport, is in Tooele County, Utah, on the Nevada-Utah border. Constructed in 1940 by the Army Air Corps, the airbase was used by both the Air Corps and its successor, the U.S. Air Force, until 1965. While it was in operation, bomber crews trained at the base, including the teams that carried the 1945 atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The base features heavily in Roland Emmerich’s 1996 science fiction blockbuster Independence Day. It is used in the film to depict both Area 51 and El Toro airbase. The film begins with massive flying saucers appearing above major cities. David Levinson, played by Jeff Goldblum, realizes that the ships are broadcasting a countdown, at the end of which each ship destroys the city beneath it. As the counter attacks against the aliens fail, survivors begin to regroup at Area 51, where the U.S. government has been studying alien life for years. After an alien escapes and is killed, Levinson discovers a way to disable the shields that prevent the alien motherships from being harmed. Levinson and Captain Hiller, played by Will Smith, are successful in sabotaging the ship, allowing the survivors to mount a successful counter attack and alert other resistance groups of how to defeat the aliens.
The airbase is used throughout the film as two separate locations: El Toro and Area 51. The airbase features extensively as both a staging ground for the military’s offensive operations and as a haven for refugees fleeing the alien invasion. During both the alien attack scenes on the refugees at Area 51 and the military at El Toro, the airbase was used as the location for action set pieces involving multiple explosions. As El Toro air base, Wendover is used to represent the military’s presence throughout the film and the Air Force’s attempts to combat the alien threat. As Area 51, Wendover air base is used to highlight both the infamous military installation but also the alien conspiracies and urban myths that are famous in the region. It is the site of the film’s most iconic scene: Bill Pullman’s President Thomas Whitmore’s Independence Day speech to the pilots and volunteers prior to the attack on the nearby spaceship. Since becoming an airport, the site has been used for multiple other films, including 2003’s Hulk.
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2001: A Space Odyssey and Monument Valley, Arizona

2018-06-19T04:14:17+00:00

Monument Valley is an area of the Colorado Plateau and part of the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. It was used in the filming of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Monument Valley is a series of sandstone structures located on the Arizona-Utah border region of the Colorado Plateau. The area is defined by multiple sandstone monoliths, the tallest of which reaches one thousand feet in height.
The formation is featured in scenes from Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The science fiction film opens with humanity’s ancestors discovering a black monolith that gifts them with the knowledge to establish their dominance in the region. The film then immediately cuts to the far future when an identical black monolith is discovered by humanity on the moon, which in turn leads to Dr. David Bowman and his fellow scientists being sent to Jupiter. During the voyage, the ship’s Artificial Intelligence (A.I.), named HAL, goes rogue and kills the scientists and crew. After making his way to the ship’s A.I core, Bowman manages to disconnect and kill the rogue A.I. Bowman then learns of the mission’s purpose through a recorded message of a scientist involved with the moon monolith. After arriving at the planet, Bowman discovers a monolith in orbit, investigates, and is drawn into a portal where he sees visions of alien worlds. After this interpretive sequence, Bowman is transported into a series of bedrooms where he sees his future selves and becomes them. In the film’s final scenes, a bedridden Bowman reaches for a monolith at the foot of his bed and becomes a fetus like creature orbiting beside the Earth.
Although not directly referenced as being Monument Valley in the film, the image used portrays a vast alien landscape. The stargate sequence that the formation is featured in is already abstract in its presentation, and the oddly colored vistas aid in creating the atmosphere of the scene. The panning aerial shots involved flying low over Monument Valley’s desert landscape to avoid dangerous winds. The Director of Photography for this area of the shoot was almost involved in a helicopter crash during the process.
The use of Monument Valley and other western landscapes in film as alien worlds has been directly compared to how the West has been viewed itself. Kubrick specifically requested the use of the Valley, but later regretted using such a recognizable landmark. In Kubrick’s film, and other films hoping to depict space exploration, the Western frontier landscape has featured heavily as both an effective visual and metaphorical tool to reflect exploration in a wide-open alien landscape. Monument Valley has also featured in several other science fiction productions: TV’s Doctor Who and Back to the Future Part III.
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Starship Troopers and Hell’s Half Acre, Wyoming

2018-06-19T03:52:19+00:00

Hell’s Half Acre is an escarpment located in Wyoming. It was used to represent the planet Klendathu in the film Starship Troopers.

Hell’s Half Acre is located in Natrona County, Wyoming, and is a 320-acre park characterized by its jagged formations and caves. Native peoples of the past used the region for the herding and slaughtering of buffalo by utilizing its many narrow canyons. At the time of its visitation by the U.S in 1833, the ground could be seen giving off sulfur fumes due to underground fires. After appearing on postcards labeled as Hell’s Half Acre, the site gained its current name.
The park served as the primary filming location for Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 science fiction action film Starship Troopers. This film is interpreted as a satire of the propaganda and fascism depicted in the original novel, and Hell’s Half Acre is used to depict the bug’s home planet of Klendathu. The film follows high school graduate Johnny Rico and his friends as they join various branches of Earth’s military in a future society. Political propaganda adverts also feature heavily in the film, often praising the actions of the military or embellishing humanities war effort in a satire of the original text.
The geography of Hell’s Half Acre adds to both the look and feel of the film. Not only does the jagged landscape of the region create the feeling of an alien world, its geography is used effectively in the film to isolate and surround the cast. Alien threats regularly exploit the many caves and formations in the area to ambush the protagonists, with the bugs using these cave systems to move and coordinate. This is best seen when the bugs ambush the Roughnecks as they investigate a seemingly abandoned outpost only to be beset by Arachnids on all sides. The various caves in the region make the bugs seem ever present, with attacks coming from directly below at several points in the film. The area also served as the location of Whiskey base, the location at which the cast is lured into an ambush at a destroyed human outpost.
The varied geography of Hell’s Half Acre made it difficult for the cast and crew to transport equipment to and from the site. After the filming of Starship Troopers, the site was steadily closed off to the public, and local tourist businesses have left the area.
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Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Devils Tower, Wyoming

2018-06-15T02:08:21+00:00

Devils Tower is a National Monument situated in Wyoming and featured in the climax of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Devils Tower, located in Crook County, Wyoming, was the first natural formation in the United States to be declared a national monument in 1906. Part of the Black Hills mountain range, the monolith was formed from cooled magma exposed through erosion and stands at 1,267 feet tall.
The Tower features heavily in Steven Spielberg’s 1977 Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The film tells the story of several individuals’ experiences with extra-terrestrial phenomenon. Focusing on the experiences of Roy Neary, the story follows him from his initial encounter with a UFO to his growing obsession with visions of a mountain and desire to go there. After Neary’s actions grew more intense, his family leaves him. He decides to travel to Devils Tower with fellow UFO witness Jillian Guiler, whose son had been taken by the alien visitors. The Tower had been selected as the contact point, and the area was evacuated by the military under the guise of a chemical leak. Upon reaching the Tower and evading military capture, the two, along with a group from the United Nations and others who had encountered the aliens, witness the arrival of the extra-terrestrial mothership. After the aliens return previous abductees, Neary and others are chosen to go with the aliens to outer space.
Film production designer Joe Alves scouted the location, and filming began on May 17, 1976. The scenes at the Tower took place in the evening, which meant the crew could only film for a few hours every day to make use of the brief hours of dusk. Devils Tower features heavily throughout the film, even before it is identified as such. Neary’s visions and subsequent obsession with the shape, a silhouette at first then a full structure, are a key part of the film’s narrative. It begins with Neary forming small structures without concentrating, for example, absentmindedly shaping his mashed potatoes into the Tower’s shape. Later, this compulsion to understand the visions leads him to construct more extravagant structures out of clay and dirt. In the latter, Neary destroys large portions of his family’s house, and the neighbor’s garden, and causes his family to leave him out of fear. It is not until Neary sees Devils Tower on the news that he is able to make the connection to the apparent goal of these visions. It is these scenes of Neary’s obsession that solidify the image of Devils Tower as an integral part of the films visual and thematic atmosphere.
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The Utah Shakespeare Festival: A Player’s Oasis in Cedar City

2018-06-08T17:22:38+00:00

The Utah Shakespeare Film Festival is a hallmark of Cedar City, a university town in southern Utah. Over the years, the festival has transformed the town into an oasis of artistic creativity that attracts hundreds of thousands of people and steals the show every summer.

Cedar City, settled by Mormon pioneers in 1851, is located in the southeast Great Basin, a place that one traveler called “a spot of mange,” and affirmed that “no portion of the earth is more lacquered with paltry, unimportant ugliness.” Despite its proximity to the arid landscape, the town of 30,000 residents has blossomed artistically as the home of the Utah Shakespeare Festival. In Cedar City, Shakespeare’s words come to life in the summers, and the impressive festival now attracts over 120,000 people.
The festival was established in 1961, but its founding was not met without opposition. Fred Adams, the festival’s organizer, saw resistance from the Cedar City Council and the Chamber of Commerce, who “thought it was a really dumb idea.” He eventually received $1,000 as an investment. Despite the budget constraints, the first season’s two-week run in 1962—which included The Merchant of Venice, The Taming of the Shrew, and Hamlet—attracted 3,000 spectators and yielded a $2,000 profit. Adams produced Macbeth in 1964, and Romeo and Juliet first appeared in 1968, a few months before Franco Zeffirelli’s Academy Award-winning film adaptation was released on the big screen. That same year, after the actress playing Juliet refused to climb the balcony on the festival’s makeshift stage because it wobbled, Adams recognized the importance of a permanent theater. Throughout the 1970s, the festival spent $250,000 to construct the Adams Memorial Shakespearean Theatre, an Elizabethan-style, open-air theater that was designed after The Globe Theatre in London.
The festival’s budget has increased from that initial $1,000 to $7 million, 75 percent of which is raised from ticket sales. A 2012 study determined the economic impact of the festival to be at more than $35 million annually. Many actors have taken part in the festival, and some have achieved fame in recognizable Hollywood roles. Benjamin Bratt, the star of Law and Order, began his career at the festival, and comedian Ty Burrell of Modern Family participated in 1999. As the festival has grown, it has branched out from Shakespeare. For example, since 2010, it has also produced adaptations of Pride and Prejudice, The Diary of Anne Frank, Les Misérables, To Kill a Mockingbird, Into the Woods, Mary Poppins, and The Three Musketeers.
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The Sundance Film Festival: Where Skis Meets Cinema

2018-06-08T16:52:43+00:00

The largest independent film festival in America is not hosted in New York City or Los Angeles. Rather, the Sundance Film Festival, which began in 1978 and attracted more than 70,000 attendees in 2017, is based out of Park City, Utah. Unknown filmmakers hoping to become the next Academy Award winners flock to Salt Lake City every winter to show Hollywood producers the film that could be the next box office hit.

America’s largest independent film festival, originally known as the U.S. Film Festival, brought more than $150 million in economic impact to Utah in 2017. In the same year, the Sundance Film Festival supported almost 3,000 jobs and attracted visitors from 46 states and 18 foreign countries. Incumbent Governor Gary R. Herbert, a longtime supporter of Sundance, proudly said that his state’s “collaboration with [the festival] highlights the exceptional cultural, recreational, tourism, and business opportunities available here in Utah.”
The founders of Sundance—Sterling Van Wagenen, John Earle, and Cirina Hampton Catania—envisioned an event that would attract independent filmmakers to Utah. They even convinced Robert Redford, an acclaimed actor who received an Academy Award nomination for his role in The Sting (1973), to serve as the festival’s first board chairman. But organizers struggled to turn a profit from the festival until 1981, when it was moved to Park City. There, the U.S. Film Festival became successful and changed its name to Sundance, after Redford’s character in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs, which appeared at the festival in 1992 and has been named the “greatest independent film of all time,” was one of Sundance’s earliest success stories. Damien Chazelle, who won an Academy Award for Best Director for his film La-La Land (2016), made a breakthrough at Sundance in 2013, and Ryan Gosling had his adult acting career launched at the festival with Half Nelson’s 2006 premiere. Some box office hits and critically acclaimed films that Sundance has propelled to fame are The Blair Witch Project (1999), Napoleon Dynamite (2004), Saw (2004), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), and Whiplash (2014). As a result, over 4,000 feature-length films were submitted for consideration in 2017, but “only 113 feature films were selected to play at the festival.”
Despite the festival’s success, it disdains commercialism and does not want to become a playground for A-list actors or a venue that is overflowing with paparazzi. Although it is connected with Hollywood, Sundance enjoys its place in the intermountain community. Over the past two decades, nearly “20 million feet of 35mm film has been screened at the festival, [which] would stretch from New York City to Paris.” But the Sundance Institute does not have its vision set on New York City, Paris, Hollywood, or Cannes. It found its niche in Utah and longs to remain in the Beehive State.
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The Egyptian Theatre: A Centerpiece of Culture

2018-06-08T04:10:44+00:00

Located in Park City, the home of the Sundance Film Festival, the Egyptian Theatre is a testament of creativity and culture along the Wasatch Front. Inspired by the Egyptomania of the 1920s, the theatre has survived fires and snowstorms to become the artistic center of Utah’s famous ski town.

Founded in 1869 as Parley’s Park City—after LDS apostle Parley P. Pratt—the historic mining town has always valued the arts. Today, Park City is ranked one of the top ten ski resorts in North America and is best known for its slopes and independent films. As the host of the Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the United States, the town attracts famous Hollywood faces and up-and-coming filmmakers. Sundance moved to Park City in 1981, but the town’s association with the theatre—the predecessor of film—predates the festival by nearly a century.
In the late nineteenth century, the Park City Opera House attracted crowds to its live theatrical performances. On June 19, 1898, the “greatest fire in the history of Utah” consumed the town’s commercial district, destroying more than 200 homes and businesses and causing a million dollars’ worth of property damage. The disaster turned Park City into a “fiery furnace” and “practically wiped [it] out of existence.” Residents could not prevent the blaze from reaching the Opera House, but a new artistic venue rose from the ashes. The following year, on the same site, the Dewey Theatre opened its doors. However, in 1916, its roof collapsed under record-breaking snowfall. In 1922, Park City residents constructed a new theatre. Captivated by the Egyptomania that reignited after the discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb, property managers hired Egyptologist C.R. Berg to supervise the decorations based on scarabs, lotus leaf motifs, and hieroglyphics. It was christened the Egyptian Theatre when it opened on Christmas Day in 1926.
In 1981, two decades after Park City had reinvented itself as a ski resort town, the theatre became home to the Sundance Film Festival. According to public tax returns, the Egyptian Theatre’s gross revenue exceeded $2.35 million in 2013. Park City’s Egyptian Theatre has withstood snowstorms, the Great Depression, and the exodus of the town’s original mining residents to become a centerpiece of culture in the Intermountain West. Utahns are proud of the artistic contributions the theatre has made throughout the years. For that reason, it is a cultural icon in its own light, a place where films are premiered and stars are born.
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The Production and Legacy of The Conqueror (1956)

2018-03-14T18:09:43+00:00

Considered to be one of the worst films ever made, the film, The Conqueror, was filmed in St. George, Utah. Many years later, after many of the stars of the film died of cancer, the connection between the film and fallout from atomic bomb testing in nearby Nevada was made.

The 1956 film The Conqueror has an interesting connection to the state of Utah. Produced by Howard Hughes and distributed by RKO Radio pictures, the residents of St. George knew their town was in for something big when the idea of filming a “religious extravaganza” in the area was proposed in a City Council meeting in spring 1954. The southern Utah not foreign to Hollywood productions as many films had been made in Kanab and elsewhere. However, this would be the first time a major movie would be filmed in St. George. Filming began in the summer of 1954, and cost a total of six million dollars - making it one of the most expensive films ever made up to that point.
The picture was directed by Dick Powell and star legendary Western actor John Wayne as Mongolian leader Genghis Khan. Susan Hayward starred as a beautiful Tartar princess who is captured by Khan. Location scouts believed Snow Canyon State Park, Escalante Desert, and a few smaller towns near St. George would be perfect landscapes for recreating the Gobi Desert. Seven-hundred locals were employed to work on the film, and an estimated $750,000 dollars was brought into the town’s economy. Hotels were booked, buses were rented, catering was provided from local restaurants and the Boy Scouts of America provided the crew with hundreds of chairs and tables. Many locals were even hired to be extras. Notably, a group of 300 Native Americans were used in a scene depicting a Mongol village. Summer tourists remember seeing large staged battles between costumed actors riding on horses.
Though the film performed quite well at the box office, it was largely forgotten by the American public until 1979 when it was purchased from the Howard Hughes estate by television stations. In 1980 more attention was brought to the film through an article published by People magazine. The article explained that 91 out of the 220 cast and crew members involved with The Conqueror, had contracted cancer. Up to that point, 46 of those individuals including Dick Powell, John Wayne, Susan Hayward, and Agnes Moorehead had died from the disease. Some believe the cast and crew got cancer either due to happenstance or living a lifestyle consisting of smoking and drinking. However, many have theorized that radioactive fallout produced by atomic bomb testing on nearby Nevada test sites had caused St. George residents and people who were on the set of The Conqueror to have cancer. In 1980, Dr. Robert Pendleton a radiologist at the University of Utah, stated, “With 91 cancer cases, I think the tie-in to their exposure on the set of The Conqueror would hold up in a court of law." Because of the film’s poor Shakespearean-style dialogue, strange romantic plot and miscasting of actors, The Conqueror is regarded as one of the worst films of all time. Throw in the theory on cancer and the film is viewed as one of the most famous “cursed films” ever made.
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