Wonderland Theater of “freaks” and “bizarre exhibits” was once in Denver, Colorado

Back in the mid-1800’s Denver’s Curtis Street between Fifteenth and Nineteenth street was home to “Theater Row.” It started with the Apollo Hall in 1859. Then the Tabor Grand opened in 1881. Many more theaters followed.

The Wonderland Theater went under various names over time and featured many different venues. The theater was the final Curtis Street theater to be destroyed by a wrecking ball during Denver’s urban renewal in 1974.

1927 Denver's Theater Row on Curtis StreetPhoto byDenver Public Library, Western History Collection

According to the Library of Congress, the address for the theater was 1746 Curtis Street. About where The Quincy Apartments and 801 Fish are today.

In the 1920s and 1930s it was said to have 960 seats. It operated under the name the Wonderland Museum and Variety Theatre (Wonderland) from 1890-1893. The front section of the Wonderland would later be the lobby of the Isis Theatre.

In 1894, the name was changed to the Curtis Street Theatre. Then from 1895 to 1899 it was the Orpheum Theatre. After an 1899 renovation it reopened as the Denver Theatre.

In 1902, it was renamed the Curtis Theatre. In May 1904, it closed after suffering a fire, but soon reopened. After another remodel in 1910 it reopened as the motion picture house the Iris Theatre.

The theater declined in popularity in the early 1920s and it became the Mars Theatre from 1925 to 1928. In 1933 it became the Gem Theatre and retained that name. It eventually became an adult theater in the late 1960’s.

I was able to locate many pictures of the performers of the day. See more about them below.

Gem Hotel & Theater 1933, 1746 Curtis Street, Denver, Denver County, ColoradoPhoto byPublic Domain, Library of Congress

Millie and Christine McKoy

I first discovered “Theater Row” and Wonderland Theater when I was researching the sad story of the enslaved conjoined twins Millie and Christine McKoy. At the time, I was planning a trip to North Carolina. My plans included paying my respects to the sisters’ graves outside of Wilmington, North Carolina. During my research, I found that the sisters were one of the performers at the Wonderland Theater.

Handwritten on the back of the photo below reads:

Wonderland Theater, Denver, freaks, and exhibits.

Millie and Christine McKoy. Unknown datePhoto byPublic Domain, Denver Public Library Digital Collection

“Sideshow fat lady”

The woman in the photo below I believe is Miss June Campbell. The photo has no name on the back. Just that it was from the Wonderland Theater in Denver. She looks a lot like the statue of Miss June Campbell in the following photo of the “Fat-lady figure” on a display in the circus sideshow curiosities at Circus World Museum in Baraboo, Wisconsin. A place devoted to circus-related history.

Portrait of a woman performer wearing a tiara, black pearls, and a silk dress.Photo byDenver Library Digital Collection

Compare the pictures. Do you think the picture is of June Campbell? Let us know in the comments.

Miss June CampbellPhoto byLibrary of Congress

Tom Thumb and Livinia Warren

The portrait picture below is of performers Charles Stratton (General Tom Thumb) and Livinia Warren. The two were married and traveled the world performing.

Charles Stratton (General Tom Thumb) and Livinia WarrenPhoto byDenver Public Library Digital Collection

There were many more performers of the Wonderland I could list. But I feel they deserve their own article.

If you know anything more about the Wonderland or this is your first-time hearing about Theater Row. Let us know in the comments.

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References

• Millie and Cristine McKoy Denver Public Library Special Collections
• Governor Polis’ Facebook post
• Gem Hotel & Theater, 1746 Curtis Street, Denver, Denver County, CO
• • Historic American Buildings Survey, Creator, Barrett, William Edmund, photographer. Gem Hotel & Theater,Curtis Street, Denver, Denver County, CO. Denver County Colorado Denver, 1933. Documentation Compiled After. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/co0279/.
• Cinema Treasures