Since 1955
Seventy-One Summers and Counting
On a gravel lot off Highway 92, one screen has stayed lit through seventy-one Colorado summers — same asphalt, same stars, same hush before the first trailer rolls.
The Timeline
From Opening Night to Tonight
Theaters like this one used to be everywhere. This one never closed.
Opening night. On March 11, 1955, the Tru-Vu opens on Highway 92 with Randolph Scott's Canadian Pacific and Abbott & Costello's The Naughty Nineties — one screen, one lot, room for roughly 400 cars.
Drought years and boom years, gas-price spikes and video-store booms that closed a thousand screens just like this one — through all of it, the marquee at the Tru-Vu kept going up on Friday afternoon, and the gate kept opening at dusk.
Owner Charles Mason runs the Tru-Vu on the same original screen, the same Friday–Sunday schedule, the same 400-car capacity as opening night. History Colorado recognizes the Tru-Vu as one of the state's enduring original drive-in theaters.
Same screen. Same lot. Same stars.
Meet the Mascot
Say Hello to Sparky the Speaker
Every window speaker the Tru-Vu ever hung on a car door has a little bit of Sparky in it — round eyes, a grille for a grin, and a star held up high because he's genuinely thrilled you're here. He's been at his post for all seventy-one summers, and he has not once missed a showtime.
Sparky's the enthusiastic usher who's seen every double feature since Canadian Pacific, and he still gets excited for every single one.
“Tune in, Delta — showtime's at dusk.”
By the Numbers
Why We're Still Here
In 1958, there were 4,063 drive-in theaters across the United States. Today there are roughly 283. The Tru-Vu isn't a nostalgia act that got lucky — it's one of the handful of originals left standing, and Charles Mason intends to keep it that way.
Source: United Drive-In Theatre Owners Association, 2024 count.
Come Say Hi
The Marquee's Still Lit
Seventy-one summers of stories are easier to feel than to read. Pull onto the lot, tune your radio in, and let Sparky show you to your spot.
Come See It for Yourself