Program on Alexander Film Company at OCC History Center Oct. 12
An undated photo, possibly from the 1950s,
shows a production shot in progress inside the Alexander Film Studios.
Courtesy of Pikes Peak Library District
Special Collections
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“The Story of the Alexander Film Company” will be presented at the Old Colorado City History Center, Friday, Oct. 12 at 11 a.m.
Owned and run by the all-volunteer Old Colorado City Historical Society (OCCHS), the center is at 1 S. 24th St.
The Alexander operation, which for a time included an aircraft element as well as offices in Old Colorado City, was a major employer in the area from the late 1920s to the late 1950s. Started by brothers J. Don and Don M. Alexander in Denver in 1919, the company was best known for producing widely distributed movie commercials.
Presenting the one-hour program will be Steve Antonuccio, a retired library manager who has researched the Alexanders for many years.
In a previous talk on the subject to the Pikes Peak Posse of the Westerners, Antonuccio quoted the late Leland Feitz, a local-history author who had worked for Alexander and wrote an article about it in the February 2007 issue of the El Paso County Pioneers' Association publication, the Pioneer Courier.
“At one time, the company had over 24,000 clients with movie ads showing in some 10,000 theaters in the United States and 1,400 in other countries,” Feitz wrote. “An estimated 50 million people saw Alexander theater commercials every week!”
The public is welcome to attend the program, but a fee of $5 is charged for people who are not OCCHS members.
Otherwise, admission is free to the History Center, which includes a bookstore and a museum specializing in Westside history.
Westside Pioneer article
(Community:
Old Colorado City History Center)
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