Boulder's 1936 Art Deco concert hall where former manager George Paper died in 1944 and has reportedly remained ever since
2032 14th St., Boulder, CO 80302
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Admission price varies by event; check website for show schedules and ticketing.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Urban Pearl Street area; flat approaches with accessible theater entry
Equipment
Photos OK
City of Boulder Historic Landmark (designated 1980) · Art Deco cinema architecture, 1936 · Active music and event venue
The Boulder Theater at 2032 14th Street opened in 1936 as the Curran, an Art Deco movie house in downtown Boulder. The building's design reflects the commercial cinema architecture of the 1930s, and it has been a fixture of the Pearl Street neighborhood since its opening. The City of Boulder designated it a historic landmark in 1980, one of the earlier landmark designations in the city's program.
George Paper came to the theater in the 1920s when it was still operating as the Curran. He managed the venue for roughly two decades. In 1944 he died in or near the building; local legend holds that he accidentally became entangled in lighting equipment and hanged himself, though the precise circumstances are not confirmed in the primary documentary record. His death ended a tenure that had defined much of the theater's early operational history.
The theater later converted from cinema to live music and events, and it continues to operate as a concert venue under the Boulder Theater name. In 2008, the adjacent bar was renamed 'George's Food and Drink' in acknowledgment of the ghost tradition — a rare instance of a venue formally incorporating a haunting into its commercial identity.
Sources
The Boulder Theater's paranormal tradition is more consistent across sources than many comparable Colorado venues. Employees across different eras and departments have reported the same cluster of phenomena: doors swinging independently in backstage areas, a cold spot in the lighting bay, light bulbs vanishing from fixtures and later turning up in unexpected locations, and the apparition of a tall man in a period suit that workers associate with 1920s fashion.
The figure is identified as George Paper, who managed the theater from the 1920s until his death in 1944. Local legend attributes his death to an accidental entanglement with lighting equipment in the upper reaches of the theater — placing his fatal moment in the exact area where the cold spots and equipment anomalies are most frequently reported. Whether the entanglement account is accurate or embellished by subsequent storytelling is not determinable from current sources; the death itself in 1944 is reported consistently.
The 2008 renaming of the adjacent bar to 'George's Food and Drink' formalized the ghost tradition as part of the building's identity. This is documented by the Travel Boulder tourism board and corroborated by both the Haunted Colorado site and the City of Boulder's own official historic properties page. The coincidence of an official city historic designation, a venue-operated bar name, and consistent employee reports across decades makes this one of Boulder's better-sourced ghost traditions.
Notable Entities
The Boulder Theater operates as a working concert and event venue on 14th Street. The adjacent bar, 'George's Food and Drink,' was renamed in 2008 in honor of the resident ghost. Employees report cold spots, independently swinging doors, and a tall apparition in a 1920s suit in the backstage and lighting areas where George Paper worked.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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