Jones Theater

The brick structure, which houses the Jones Theater today, originally was a saloon and pool hall in the 1880’s. In the 1920’s a Westcliffe businessman by the name of June Canda purchased the saloon and began showing movies there. In 1938 a Peerless carbon-arc movie projector was purchased. This antique is still in use in the theater today. In January of 1941 the grand re-opening debuted “The Return of Frank James” starring Henry Fonda. The theater was closed for remodeling Canda continued to run the movie house until his death in 1963 at which time his wife Catherine Suzanne took over the business. One year later, in 1964, a heavy snowfall collapsed the roof on a portion of the structure, forcing her to close and sell the theater to the Jones family.

It operated as a movie theater until 1980, when a dentist used it as an office for 12 years.

The Westcliffe Center for the Performing Arts was formed in 1992 as a not-for-profit corporation to maintain the theater both as a movie house and for live productions. Thanks to generous foundation grants the theater has been restored and refurbished to its original 1930’s glamour.

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