Restoration of the Holiday Drive In Marquee, Boulder
SHF Project # 04-M2-001
Grant Recipient Contact: Boulder Housing Partners, Cindy Brown
Contractor: SuperSign, Boulder
The Holiday Drive-In marquee, originally constructed in 1956, was located at a drive-in theater in south Boulder. When the owners moved the theater to North Boulder in 1969, they created one of the first twin-screen drive-in theaters in Colorado, and a second reader board was added to the original sign. After the theater closed in 1988, the sign - while an iconic reminder of pleasant summer evenings - deteriorated and suffered from vandalism.
When Boulder Housing Partners planned the development of the Holiday Neighborhood on the twin-screen drive-in site, the idea of restoring the marquee as a neighborhood marker was born. BHP applied to the State Historical Fund for assistance in completing a full restoration. Gaining the approval to re-electrify the sign took two years. Then, when SuperSign was ready to take the marquee to their shop to begin work, Great Horned Owls were discovered nesting within, so the City required all work immediately stop until the chicks left the nest.
In four weeks, SuperSign had the marquee restored and all electrical working in time for the re-lighting celebration on 5 July 2006.
The Holiday Drive-In marquee, originally constructed in 1956, was located at a drive-in theater in south Boulder. When the owners moved the theater to North Boulder in 1969, they created one of the first twin-screen drive-in theaters in Colorado, and a second reader board was added to the original sign. After the theater closed in 1988, the sign - while an iconic reminder of pleasant summer evenings - deteriorated and suffered from vandalism.
When Boulder Housing Partners planned the development of the Holiday Neighborhood on the twin-screen drive-in site, the idea of restoring the marquee as a neighborhood marker was born. BHP applied to the State Historical Fund for assistance in completing a full restoration. Gaining the approval to re-electrify the sign took two years. Then, when SuperSign was ready to take the marquee to their shop to begin work, Great Horned Owls were discovered nesting within, so the City required all work immediately stop until the chicks left the nest.