Margaret Montano was flooded with memories as she approached the Federal Theatre on Friday night, stepping inside to see a show there for the first time in at least 45 years.
This was an important hangout for her in her teenage years, back when it was a dollar movie theater. She and her friends came from across the city to see "Mad Max" and "Car Wash."
“We would usually sit towards the back, because we were probably up to no good, like smoking pot or whatever,” the 66-year-old chuckled.
The movie theater closed sometime after Max Max premiered in 1979, and sat mostly empty through the ensuing decades. Montano visited it a few times when it was used more recently as a church. But Friday night was special: the Federal Theatre had finally reopened as a venue on Denver’s Northside.
“It was exciting,” Montano beamed. “I love the neon lights and just the whole vibe. It was just really beautiful, felt good.”
The Federal Theatre was packed for its grand reopening.
Earlier this year, Scott Happel, Andy Bercaw and Peter Ore announced they would be taking over the space. The group did a similar revamp of the Oriental Theater, off Tennyson Street, in 2012. Ore and Happel also turned Broadway’s shuttered 3 Kings Tavern into a new music venue, HQ, in 2020.
Happel told Denverite this project was about revitalizing Federal Boulevard and supporting local entertainers. It was a mission, as much as a business venture.
“Independent music operation, it's never easy and it's never a 'get rich quick' scheme. It's not a Powerball ticket,” he said earlier. “We feel good about fighting the good fight for independent venues.”
Happel and his colleagues selected Los Mocochetes and iZCALLi to kick off its grand reopening for a free show last Friday. It was important, Happel told us, to start with two acts with strong connections to the neighborhood.
“We wanted to speak to the traditional Northside vibe,” he said.
People lined up around the block to get in, turning the once-dormant venue into a sweaty, joyous fray of dancing and cheers.
Angelica Franco said she could feel that community was centered here. For years, she said, her mother, Veronica, told her stories about visiting as a child to watch Mexican films in the theater. It was surreal to be inside together, and important that these Chicano bands were the first onstage.
“This neighborhood has always been raza-oriented, right? It's one of the prominent neighborhoods that welcome brown folks,” she said.
Franco said the theater’s revival feels like part of a broader reconnection of the neighborhood and its Hispanic culture — along with the recent renaming of La Raza Park and Denver City Council’s official backing of lowrider cars on Federal Boulevard.
Montano said reactivating Federal Boulevard will be good for the surrounding Northside neighborhoods.
“Because you don't see a lot really happening on Federal, in terms of entertainment or whatever, right? I mean, there are some restaurants, but I just think it'll revive it,” she said.
Artist Tommy Nahulu, who we met out front as he grinned up at the newly reactivated neon sign, said the Federal Theatre’s return might be even more profound. It’s a difficult time in Denver, and the country — this was a beam of light amid all of his existential dread.
“It’s for the neighborhood. It’s for artists,” he said. “This is a big deal. This is awesome.”
Happel said he was delighted by the turnout. A wholly new crew opened a wholly new venue, and it went as smooth as he could have hoped.
“It was pretty awesome. I was absolutely exhausted,” he said. “It was all worth it.”
