The rebirth of the Federal Theatre has begun to take shape with the restoration of the majestic neon marquee outside the theater. That job is being undertaken by Gary Weseloh of a Denver company called Morry’s Neon, which restored the sister Oriental Theatre’s historic sign in 2023.

If you have driven past 3850 Federal Blvd. over the past 10 years, you’ve had little to see on the exterior save for the small, original tiled words “Federal Theatre.”

Now, with the job only just getting started, you already can see the word ‘Federal’ written in two dramatic, cursive red swaths above both sides of the marquee, now separated by a jutting, light-lined yellow accent jutting about 50 feet above the sidewalk.

Next is for Weseloh to restore the actual horizontal marquee where rotating band names will go. Weseloh said the job will be essentially complete by the end of this week.

Scott Happel and his partners from the nearby Oriental Theater and HQ announced in June that they would reopen the Federal Theatre as a 650-seat live-music venue this September.

Happel envisions varied programming of both national touring and local live music, comedy, wrestling, burlesque, podcasts and more — “just like the Oriental Theater,” said Happel.

Rockets great Jones dies

Just last month, I told you about coming across an essay written by my father recounting highlights from his life in bullet points. One that leapt off the page was this one:

“The Larry Jones Caper in Pittsburgh, and the process-server who sat on the Rockets’ bench looking for him.”

Ralph Moore was the first daily sports reporter assigned to cover Denver’s professional basketball team, soon to be renamed the Nuggets. He died in 1997, but last month, I came across his essay as we prepared to commemorate his 100th birthday.

I had to know what really happened in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 1967.

Jones was the first superstar in Denver Rockets history, averaging 25.4 points over three seasons from 1967-70. It turns out, Jones had been playing in an NBA feeder league before jumping to the Rockets of the American Basketball Association. Jones had been released by the parent Philadelphia 76ers, which one would think released him from the minor-league team.

Jones, assuming he was a free agent, soon had offers from the NBA’s Lakers and the ABA’s Rockets. Jones loved telling the story of how he picked Denver: He packed his things and began driving West before actually deciding where he was going. When he got to St. Louis, he was at a crossroads: I-70 to Denver, or Route 66 to L.A.

“I decided to go to Denver,” he said. “It was closer.”

But the Eastern League didn’t take kindly to losing its star player, so it filed a complaint disputing the legality of his contract with Denver.

According to my dad’s reporting, the process-server showed up at the court as the players were warming up to play Pittsburgh. He wasn’t able to serve the papers because no one would tell him which one Jones was. In 1967, players’ names were not yet listed on their jerseys, and Jones’ teammates squired him away to the locker room before his pursuer could figure it out.

Confusing things, though, was a more recently reported account that says Jones had been tipped off about the subpoena, so he never even got off the plane in Pittsburgh and missed the game entirely.

This had to be resolved. I set out to find Jones, whom I learned was 83 and still doing quite well in Columbus, Ohio. I tracked down a family friend who was working on connecting us for a quick phone call.

So I was all the more crestfallen when I was just told by my Denver Gazette sports colleague Chris Tomasson that Jones died on Aug. 13. So I’ll likely never know.

I do know that during his second ABA season with the Rockets, Jones averaged 28.4 points and became the first ABA player to score 2,000 points in a season. He once went 23 straight games scoring at least 30 points.

Big day for Elitch Theatre

Sunday (Aug. 24) is shaping up to be a big day for those still raising funds for the restoration, preservation and eventual reopening of the historic Elitch Theatre. A swath of local musical theater performers will take to the stage where Grace Kelly once performed for a Broadway-style variety fundraising show titled “Legacy in Bloom.” The hosts are local TV icon Chris Parente-Rios and Denver’s Ms. Senior America, Natalie Oliver-Atherton.

There will be food, auction, the works. But nonprofit president Greg Rowley calls this party the anti-gala gala.

“We decided to do something a little less formal, because we are a scrappy team of volunteers,” said Rowley. “We wanted to do something that celebrates our connection to the history of Denver, the history of theater in Denver, and the history of THE (Elitch) Theatre. No one can claim the 134 years of history that we have.”

Among those performing Sunday are Cooper Kaminsky and Patrick Griggs from Miners Alley’s “Ring of Fire”; Isabella Duran, Andrew Serecuse and Ellen Shamas-Brandt from Town Hall Arts Center’s “Once”; and Ella Cho from Town Hall’s upcoming “Annie.”

It’s set for 2-5 p.m. (with the main program starting at 3:30 p.m.) Tickets ($75) are available at historicelitchtheatre.org. But friends of the theater still need to raise about $3 million to make the theater fully operational. 

To catch a thief

And then there is this: Despite now being situated smack dab in the middle of a planned residential community, the Elitch Theatre has long been an easy target for break-ins – though it’s presumed these are more young and misguided troublemakers and vandals than hardcore thieves.

This go-round, Rowley said, “has been a three-month battle with kids breaking in.” The videotape shows them mostly just exploring the interior. With security cameras that now set off a loud alarm, Rowley said, with relief: “No break-ins for the past four weeks.”

While he has no interest in seeing these kids sent to jail, Rowley does want them identified “so they can be made to realize that breaking and entering is a crime, and they are causing us thousands of dollars to fix the doors they force open.”

Videotapes have identified the same logo on a hoodie worn in two separate break-ins. Anyone with information is asked to call Denver Police at 720-913-2000. 

Music news

It didn’t take long for Boulderite Gregory Alan Isakov’s road trip to Radio City Music Hall to perform with the Colorado Symphony to sell out. Jan. 30 is gone, and now Jan. 31 has been added. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday (Aug. 22) at 8 a.m. MDT at 303-623-7876 or coloradosymphony.org …

Grammy nominated pianist and composer Rob Mullins and his Neu Quartet are returning to Colorado for a one-night-only concert at Dazzle Jazz, 7 p.m. Saturday (Aug. 23). Info at dazzledenver.com.