Fillmore Auditorium (Denver) facts for kids
Entrance of venue seen from Colfax Avenue (c.2014)
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| Former names | Mammoth Roller Skating Rink (1907–11) Mammoth Garden Roller Club (1935–62) Mammoth Gardens (1969–70; 1981–82) The Market (1976) Mammoth Events Center (1986–99) |
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| Address | 1510 N Clarkson St Denver, CO 80218-1419 |
| Location | Capitol Hill |
| Owner | Live Nation |
| Capacity | 3,900 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1907 |
| Renovated | 1968, 1986, 1999 |
| Closed | 1917–35; 1970–1976 1976–81; 1982–86 |
| Tenants | |
| Rocky Mountain Rollergirls (WFTDA) (2009-Present) | |
The Fillmore Auditorium, also known as The Fillmore Denver, is a popular concert hall in the Capitol Hill area of Denver, Colorado. It first opened its doors in 1907 and has been used for many different events, both public and private.
This venue is special because it's the biggest indoor space in Colorado where everyone stands together for concerts. It also has a unique license that lets people under 21 and those over 21 stand in the same area, instead of being separated. In 2006, a local newspaper called Westword named it the "Best Place to Run into a Hippie turned Yuppie". The Fillmore also has an office for the Bill Graham Foundation, which helps support music through grants.
Contents
A Look Back: The Fillmore's History
The Fillmore Auditorium has a long and interesting past, changing its name and purpose many times over the years.
Early Days: Roller Skating and Cars (1907-1917)
The building first opened in 1907 as the Mammoth Roller Skating Rink. It quickly became a popular spot for students from nearby East High School to hang out after classes.
After the roller rink closed in 1910, the building became a car factory. It was home to the Fritchle Automobile & Battery Company. This factory made nearly 500 cars. One of the first cars was bought by Molly Brown, a famous survivor of the Titanic. The car factory closed in October 1917.
A Community Hub: Mammoth Garden Roller Club (1935-1962)
The building was empty for several years. Then, Irving Jacob bought it and turned it into Denver's first community recreation center. It was called the Mammoth Garden Roller Club.
This new center offered many activities, including ice skating, hockey, basketball, ice polo, boxing, and wrestling. It became the home for the Mammoth Garden Dodgers, a roller hockey team. A professional basketball team also played here before the Denver Coliseum was built.
The venue was also used as a temporary wedding hall, especially during World War II. It hosted the famous "Skating Vanities" show in 1945–46. The first hockey game ever broadcast on Armed Forces Radio Services also happened here. Games from the venue were broadcast every Thursday. The center also hosted the US National Indoor Figure and Speed Championships in 1950, 1952, and 1954. In 1960, the famous soul singer James Brown performed the venue's first concert.
Becoming a Music Venue: Mammoth Gardens (1969-1970)
As other venues like the Denver Coliseum became more popular, the Mammoth Garden Roller Club closed. The building was then used as a warehouse for five years.
In 1968, a concert promoter named Stuart Green bought the building. He changed its name to Mammoth Gardens and turned it into a nightclub. He wanted it to be a big music spot, like the famous Fillmore venues run by Bill Graham.
Mammoth Gardens worked with another promoter, Barry Fey, to bring popular national bands to Denver. Even though it was only open for eight months, it hosted huge artists like Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, The Grateful Dead, and Joe Cocker. The club closed in October 1970 because city officials wanted to improve the neighborhood. The building briefly reopened in 1976 as a farmers' market called The Market, but it only lasted four months.
New Beginnings: Mammoth Events Center (1986-1999)
In 1981, the venue reopened again as "Mammoth Gardens" for sports and music events. It also served as a private meeting and banquet hall. However, it closed again after 14 months due to disagreements among its owners.
Four years later, in 1985, Manuel and Magaly Fernandez bought the venue. After some updates, it became the Mammoth Events Center. During this time, it became a main spot for Latin music in Denver and hosted many touring acts.
For 12 years, the Mammoth Events Center hosted concerts by bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Beastie Boys, Ozzy Osbourne, Cyndi Lauper, Pantera, Slayer, Cypress Hill, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Jane's Addiction, the Offspring, Sublime, Blink-182, Oasis, Coldplay, and Green Day. It also hosted many sporting events, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pro Wrestling America, and World Championship Wrestling.
The Fillmore Auditorium Today (1999-Present)
In February 1999, the Fernandez family sold the venue to Bill Graham Presents. This company later joined with Live Nation. The venue then reopened as the Fillmore Auditorium.
Some people in Colorado were not happy about this change. They felt Denver already had enough music venues, like the Magness Arena, Ogden Theatre, Paramount Theatre, and the Gothic Theatre. Because the building had changed so much over the years, some promoters thought it was a difficult place to host concerts. Promoter Barry Fey even joked that "hell" sounded better than "Mammoth."
Despite these challenges, the building was greatly updated between November 1998 and May 1999. The stage was moved, the sound system was improved, and many new features were added. The first concert at the new Fillmore was by the Trey Anastasio Band on May 19, 1999.
Since then, the Fillmore has become a very important part of Denver's music scene. It has hosted over 1,900 acts, including famous artists like Bob Dylan, Widespread Panic, NOFX, Morrissey, Foo Fighters, Bad Religion, Marilyn Manson, Joss Stone, Nelly Furtado, James Blunt, Owl City, Armin van Buuren, Erykah Badu, Paramore, Ghost, and Panic! At The Disco. Even President Barack Obama visited the venue. More than 2.7 million people have attended events there.
The Fillmore is often ranked as one of America's top 10 clubs for how much money it makes and how many people attend, according to Billboard and Pollstar magazines.
In 2017, the Fillmore started a big renovation, its first major update in over ten years. They made the backstage area for artists bigger, added new green rooms, showers, furniture, and TVs. They also added a full kitchen that serves artists and crew every night. Another big improvement was adding over 50 new men's and women's bathrooms. These changes have received great reviews from publications like the Denver Post, Billboard, and Pollstar.
