OUR HISTORY

The Fremont Center for the Arts, located at 523 Main Street in Canon City, has been continuously operating since 1947. FCA has done wonderful things in the field of fine arts and related activities since its creation.

At the beginning, a relatively small group of local citizens organized the first Blossom Festival Art Exhibit in 1948 when Colorado artists were invited to show their works at the time of a local festival known as the Blossom Festival. The Canon City Blossom Festival had been started originally by the Junior Chamber of Commerce before World War II to bring people to Canon City to view the apple blossoms with the hope that they would spend their money with local businesses. This art exhibit has been held annually since I948.

In 1948, Fremont Center for the Arts began curating a Permanent Collection of artworks meant to ensure the cultural heritage of Fremont County and surrounding areas of Colorado. FCA now has over 200 works of art that represent and continue FCA’s extensive legacy.

At the start, this organization was named the “Canon City Fine Arts Association”, which has now grown into the county-wide Fremont Center for the Arts. The first headquarters in 1949 was a rental on the second floor of a downtown mercantile store building known as Shaeffer Hall, which previously had been used as a hall for meetings of a local lodge. Twenty-four years later, in 1973, a small building on a side street in Canon City was given by the local electric utility to the Art Center when they abandoned it as the service facility for their operations. At this time the Art Center was able to hire a Director at a small salary to replace the volunteers who had previously operated the Art Center, and then FCA was able to hire a clerk-bookkeeper at an equally low salary.

When the Federal Government abandoned the Canon City Post Office building built in 1930, the County Commissioners of Fremont County were convinced by local citizens that this building should be used as a County art center, and they wisely purchased it for the use of Fremont Center for the Arts in 1992.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Fremont Center for the Arts sold the Canon City Post Office building in 2019. In 2025, Fremont Center for the Arts moved to 523 Main Street within the historic Daily Record building. This acquisition has provided the space for the greatly expanded activities at the Center and has serves as a place for varied art exhibits including school art, prisoner artwork, musical events, and classes for both adults and children.

Fremont Center for the Arts continues to be an increasingly vital asset and actively contributes to the quality of life in Fremont County.