New Shriners Temple Owner Undecided About Historic Building's Fate

DENVER-It’s a wait-and-see situation for preservationists, who want the new owner of the historic Shriners Temple to save the Central Business District structure.

The Moorish-style building had cost $180,000 to build in 1906, making it at the time the most expensive in the Shriners’ portfolio. Continental Oil Field Services Inc. recently has closed a $3.9-million purchase of the building, but remains undecided about its fate, says Pam Taylor, a broker for Coldwell Banker Commercial American Spectrum, which had handled the transaction.

Located at 1770 Sherman St., the temple is commonly called “El Jebel,” Arabic for the word “mountain” and so named for its onion-shaped domes. The theater troupe, Eulipions, is the seller of the structure, which has a striking auditorium as its interior focal point.