If you've ever wondered why the exterior of the venue at 204 S. College Ave. doesn't look like the turn-of-the-century buildings in Old Town, it's because the original structure burned down in the 1950s. (Who knew? Not me...) Here's a little background: 

Denver Westword cartoonist Karl Christian Krumpholz lays out the pre-live music days of the Aggie pretty well in a comic strip [see it here], which explains how the Aggie opened as a movie theater back in the 1950s (showing Ivanhoe as its inaugural film).

The Aggie (movie) Theatre called it a wrap in the '90s though, and seating was cleared out to make way for the music venue we now know.

Shelby Taylor-Thorn/TSM ATLAS GENIUS at the Aggie Theatre in 2016
Shelby Taylor-Thorn/TSM
ATLAS GENIUS at the Aggie Theatre in 2016
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That's pretty cool, but what we found even more interesting is that prior to the boxy mid-century building which stands on the 200 block of S. College, was an early 1900s store called Neutze Furniture, which was destroyed by a fire. The Fort Collins historical archive has a photo of what it looked like [see more here].

Copyright © Larimer County Digitization Initiative, 2001
Copyright © Larimer County Digitization Initiative, 2001
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RELATED: Old Town Crown Pub Damaged by Fire

So, from now on, be really careful when you put your lighters up in the Aggie -- you don't want history repeating itself.

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