The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is planning to spend $17 million to make some major changes to the look and feel of its east-facing entrance for the first time in decades.
The east plaza revitalization project, which is slated to begin in 2025, will transform the historic entrance of the museum where Infinity Theater (formerly IMAX) patrons enter in the evening. It will also redesign the plaza outside the entrance, museum officials said, opening it up to both the public and museum-goers eating at the cafe and restaurant just inside the doors.
Perhaps most visibly, a historic staircase will also be reintroduced with the removal of an existing canopy, officials said.
“People use it now, it’s just under the canopy and covered in carpet,” said Ed Scholz, executive vice president of operations and finance at DMNS. “It’s still going to be the entrance to the (Infinity) theater, but it can also be used by people for just sitting and hanging out — and any programming they might do there.”
The east-facing structure was first built in 1938 as Phipps Auditorium, which opened in 1940, and the entrance to it has always been used as such, Sholz said. In 1983, Phipps was turned into a movie theater, which earlier this year was updated and rebranded as Infinity Theater.
“The opening of the movie theater in 1983 was a big deal because it was the first giant-screen theater in Colorado,” Scholz said. “At the time it was a cool thing, with the canopy and red carpet inside. But it’s always just been an entrance, which is why we’re excited to (redesign) it.”
The new design will add pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly features to the immediate area, Sholz said, increasing safety and access for all. The current canopy, which has been painted for years, was “pretty modern looking in the 1980s, but pretty nondescript otherwise,” Sholz said.
Designs are already being prepared for new landscaping, surface improvements and outdoor seating, according to DMNS. The project aims to improve offerings like regular sensory-friendly screenings and Free Night programming, as well as create spaces for private events such as weddings and parties.
Museum officials are planning a bigger announcement with more details after Jan. 1, 2024, when their design is further along, Scholz said.
The renovation stems from 2018’s City Park Master Plan Update (see page 63). It includes converting the park’s South Meadow (the lawn just south of DMNS) to native plants and grasses. There would also be a Living Land Acknowledgement suggested by local Indigenous tribal members and community groups, according to the City Park Friends and Neighbors group.
A third project will convert the east playground that borders the east bank of Ferril Lake into a picnic area and gathering space, they added.
In January, the city broke ground on a $7.9 million, 4-acre outdoor play and education area called Nature Play that also restores native plants and a historic waterway to City Park. Set in the southwest corner of the museum complex, Nature Play will host a 20-foot sculpture of a bighorn sheep, swings, slides and family-friendly seating and lounging areas.
