Central City Press Club The Central City Press Club met with the Denver Press Club on September 30, 2021. Organizer Kathy Heider welcomed Kevin Wright to the event. Kevin’s father served as editor of the Weekly Register Call newspaper, and Kevin worked for the paper for 10 years. PHOTO BY ANNE SCARFFE[/caption]

The Central City Press Club hosted the Denver Press Club on the eve of the 30th anniversary of gambling in Colorado on Thursday, September 30, at the pocket park adjacent to the Belvidere Theatre. About 25 people attended the event.

Organizer Kathy Heider said the Central City Press Club hasn’t met in a few years. The Central City Press Club is made up of some current and former reporters and editors, mostly involved in print and some in advertising. It’s purely social and is just an opportunity to get to know people and share funny stories. It meets about once every few years.

The Denver Press Club is much larger but some people belong to both. This is the first time for the clubs to meet together like this. Heider thought this would be a good opportunity to celebrate the anniversary of gaming and to visit the Belvidere.

It’s been 30 years since $500 in quarters were tossed off the roof of the Gilded Garter onto the opening-day crowd below, as gambling became legal in Central City and two other Colorado mountain towns, Heider wrote. Those first quarters were played on October 1, 1991. The ensuing history of gaming in the area is apparent as the largest casinos rise far above the old city skylines.

Heider is also on the Board for the reconstruction of the Belvidere Theatre, and the Central City Press Club was the last group to meet inside the Belvidere before a failed attempt to turn it into a casino resulted in the building being closed several years ago.

After refreshments of cheese, meat, and chips, the Press group toured the theatre. The historic Belvidere, named one of Colorado’s Most Endangered Places, was the social and cultural hub of the Rockies when it opened in 1875.

Efforts are underway to restore it to its former glory, and Press Club members and their guests saw the inside of the building, which has been shuttered for much of the last three decades.

Heider said the anniversary of gaming in Central City and the renovation of the Belvidere coincided at an opportune time for an event with the Central City and Denver press clubs to get together.

For more information about the Denver Press Club, check out https://denverpressclub.org/.