Windsor Theatre

L.C. Schmidt constructed this building in 1910 for $8,000 for use as a Colorado National Guard armory. Governor John F. Shafroth, assisted by former Governor Judd Brush dedicated the new Colorado National Guard Company E armory on September 4th, 1910. Company E was never as active as the plethora of other National Guard companies in the close surrounding communities so it disbanded around 1912.

That same year, George I. Richards, the town’s resident mortician, one time mayor and the town’s long-time motion picture theatre proprietor (and pioneer) got his start in the movie theatre business by opening his very first of 3 (SEPARATE) “Windsor Theatre” locations in the old armory. This particular theatre made history as being one of the first successful, large venues dedicated to exhibiting motion pictures in Windsor and surrounding area.

In 1914, the theatre closed and the building was converted into a sales and service garage for Nash Automobiles and for the next 82 years, the building continued to serve (under several different owners and businesses) an automotive related function of one kind or another. In 1996, Tomas G. Ladd purchased the theatre and moved his business, Ladd Plumbing & Heating into it. As of this December 2015 writing, this business remains as the theatre’s occupant.

The single-story auditorium portion of the building (which later served as the garage portion) that ran clear out to the alley began to crumble in the 1970’s and was demolished then. The remaining 2-story front part of the theatre was extensively renovated within the past 15 years.

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