CHEYENNE — If all goes according to plan, there will be a sweetheart of a reopening for the historic 139-year-old Atlas Theatre, just in time for a Valentine’s Day production of “Almost Maine.”
The play is about love and loss in the winter, all the while illuminated by the mysterious aurora borealis. It’s not a bad metaphor for what’s taking place at the heart of the Atlas Theatre.
With love that lasts comes change. And change is what the Atlas Theatre has needed to save the 1887 structure after it was discovered that the second and third floors of the building are hanging from the ceiling.
The Atlas has been closed since August for what is a $700,000 repair necessary to ensure the facility can survive its next 139 years.
Travis Kirchhefer, president of the board for Cheyenne Little Theatre Players, said he’s hopeful that the facility will be ready in time for Valentine’s Day.
Even if that does not happen, he knows it will be ready in time for the next melodramas held during Cheyenne Frontier Days.
Having a ceiling that hangs off the roof was probably a “great idea in 1887,” Kirchhefer said.
“She stood for 138 years without any help,” he said. “So, I think it was a great idea then.”
But in the intervening years, things have been added to the facility that have created more pressure on that particular design.
“We recognized over time that the ceiling of the first floor was starting to flex a bit,” Kirchhefer said. “We wanted to make sure that stopped happening, so that we can continue to keep our lobby open.”
To fix the issues, new, 4-by-5-foot concrete footers have been set in the basement with structural steel beams that go all the way up to the third-floor roof.
Steel plates have also been added to some of the building’s original brick columns. The columns are still solid, but openings that were later cut into the wall after it was built mean a little more structural support is warranted.
“You can see how those openings were cut into the wall, and so to ensure that the brickwork is going to be (strong), our structural engineers recommended that we put those steel slabs on both sides, to make sure it’s able to support," Kirchhefer said.
Guests who visit the Atlas once it opens, however, are not likely to notice much of anything new. That’s because all the work is interior, structural work that's not meant to be seen.
Once the renovation is completed, there will be just three steel beams visible to guests. The steel beams in the ceiling will be hidden behind drywall — fire-resistant gypsum, which will help bring the building up to modern codes for fire resistance.
All of the modernizations are being done with a light hand, to ensure the building retains its historic character, even as it comes up to modern safety standards.
Travis Kirchhefer, right, is president of the board for Cheyenne Little Theatre Players. He's hopeful that the facility will be ready in time for Valentine’s Day. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Fire-resistant sheetrock and insulation are being installed at the Atlas Theatre, after structural repairs required adding steel beams and girders. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Structural repairs inside the Atlas Theatre are nearing completion. The hope is the facility will be ready in time for Valentine’s Day. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Travis Kirchhefer is president of the board for Cheyenne Little Theatre Players. He's hopeful that the facility will be ready in time for Valentine’s Day (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Born In The Wild West
The Atlas Theatre, located at 211 W. Lincolnway, began life in the Wild West, three years before Wyoming had even become a state.
Cheyenne, though, already had a reputation as the Magic City of the Plains.
“If you go back and look at the original plats that General Grenville Dodge drew up for downtown Cheyenne, he called this block the Atlas block,” Kirchhefer said. “You know, from Greek mythology. Atlas is the Titan who holds up the world. And this is the Atlas Theatre block.”
That’s the relative importance Dodge was giving to that section of downtown Cheyenne when the city was coming to life. Today, Cheyenne Little Theatre Players still believes in the enormous importance of the historic structure.
“We believe that this building and this block is critical to the success of downtown Cheyenne, and that’s why we’re here to save it,” Kirchhefer said. “That’s why we want to take good care of it.
"And we have a constant reminder across the street of The Hole, and all the things we want to make sure we don’t do so that we can make sure this building that’s been here since 1887 stands here for another (139) more years.”
At first, the Atlas was a tea and confectionary shop, with offices for a doctor and others upstairs.
The theater came along in 1908 with architect William Dubois.
“It opened in February 1908,” Kirchhefer said. “And it was a Vaudeville house, which is really cool. You can see the very wide alleyway, which is wider back there between us and the Albany than it is anywhere else downtown. That’s because the train tracks used to back up directly to the Atlas Theatre.”
The actors and the musicians, along with all their sets and equipment, could unload directly into the theater which, at that time, had huge barn-style doors that opened wide so that the actors could disembark from the train car straight into the back of the theater.
“We’ve boarded up a lot of that because it doesn’t work well for modern theater,” Kirchhefer said. “What we need to do, getting the space dark, doesn’t allow us to have big windows and big holes in the wall.”
Secrets Of The Atlas
In 1929, the upper floors of the Atlas Theatre became the Strand Hotel, while the first floor continued as a theater.
Legend has it that the Strand entertained a robust trade in prostitution — like a lot of railroad towns of the era did. To this day, there are still call buttons on the second and third floors of the Atlas, which are believed to have been part of that history. Tunnels once also connected the Atlas straight to the Capitol, according to some local historians.
One of the cool secrets hiding upstairs in the Atlas Theatre is a loose floorboard. It was a trapdoor, with a substantial space underneath, where several bottles of whiskey could be hidden, along with a lockbox of money.
The floorboard was in a small closet space, secured by a piece of wooden trim, which completely obscured the hidey-hole from casual view. It was discovered by accident one day during some cleaning. The trim seemed to be loose, prompting a quick fix. But, as the person bent to fix it, a trapdoor was then revealed.
It was a secret that had been hiding in plain sight for decades. Some believe the hiding place was for whiskey during prohibition, so it’s affectionately referred to as the “hooch” hole during behind-the-scenes Atlas Theatre tours.
There are also bathrooms in the Atlas that have odd windows, which appear to have been placed to offer a direct view of the area where the clawfoot bathing tubs once were. Cowboys reportedly could pay money to watch women bathing via those windows.
Two workers were installing insulation this past week in preparation for installing fire-resistant gypsum sheetrock over new steel beams. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
New concrete footers were poured and steel beams inserted into them that run from the basement, shown here, to the third floor. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
Some of the steel beams on the first floor in the lobby will still be visible once the structural repairs are complete. But the steel roof girders and the steel plates along the brick columns will be covered up. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
This fire-resistant gypsum sheetrock will help bring the Atlas Theatre into modern codes. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily) 
The "war" room is a simple folding table and chairs, with a dry erase board inside the Atlas Theatre. (Renee Jean, Cowboy State Daily)
Hanging By A Thread
Cheyenne Little Theatre Players bought the Atlas Theatre in the 1970s and has been its steward ever since.
Brenda Lyttle, who has been involved with efforts to save the Atlas over the last 45 years, has previously told Cowboy State Daily that the building is legendary, and one that Cheyenne Little Theatre Players members feel a special obligation to restore.
“When Cheyenne Little Theatre bought the building, we were passionate about getting it, getting the foundation where it needs to be, getting it restored, making sure it’s stable because it’s old,” she said. “And it had been vacant for a while.”
The group started with cosmetic changes that the public could readily see. A new paint job for the exterior to brighten the place up. Restoration of its vintage asbestos curtain, which is one of only three remaining in the United States.
“Those are things that the public could see that would make a difference to people,” Lyttle said. “The next steps are things that aren’t so sexy and fun. We have to reinforce some of the foundation. There are pillars that hold up the floor that have to be reinforced.”
Dreaming Big
The structural problems at the Atlas Theatre have been holding back big dreams for the facility.
“Part of our plan with all of this is the theater needs more than a two-stall bathroom for men and a two-stall bathroom for women,” Lyttle said. “And we need to have an elevator for people to go up to the balcony, because right now, the only way to get to the balcony is by stairs.”
In the next phase of the project, Kirchhefer believes the theater will probably take over the space next door to the theater.
Cheyenne Little Players bought that to eventually facilitate moving things from the second and third floors while they’re being renovated, as well as to eventually provide storage space for set pieces and other props.
The space will likely also eventually house an expanded green room, as well as a commercial kitchen space for dinner theaters.
“One of the things we’ve talked about for upstairs to expand our revenue opportunities is to do our dinner theaters there,” Kirchhefer said. “We’ve been doing our dinner theaters here since about 2017, one in the spring as well as an annual Christmas show.”
The Christmas show was canceled this year to allow work on the Atlas to proceed.
“Maybe part of what we do upstairs is create some sort of general occupancy space that could be used occasionally for dinner tables, so that people who sit in the balcony can have dinner and then go sit in the balcony,” Kirchhefer said. “I did that recently at a show in New York, and it was so cool. That would elevate the theater experience we have here.”
Regardless of which way the project goes, though, the future is looking brighter for the facility, which has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places and houses some of Cheyenne’s earliest history.
It has become a modern favorite, particularly beloved for its old-fashioned melodramas during Cheyenne Frontier Days, but also for its live theatrical productions throughout the year.
Renée Jean can be reached at renee@cowboystatedaily.com.
