The historic Mary Rippon Theatre on the University of Colorado campus, home of the annual Shakespeare Fesstival, is commemorated in an ornament now available from Historic Boulder. The cost is $25 including tax; shipping and handling is $2. Visit the Historic Boulder office at 1123 Spruce St. or call 303-444-5192 to purchase this or other ornaments commemorating historic sites in Boulder.

Completed in 1936 by Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration, the Mary Rippon is a Greek amphitheater with a capacity of 1,000 patrons. Its rosy semicircle of flagstone benches, low retaining walls, and gently descending paths form a grand, yet intimate setting for classical plays, particularly Shakespeare.

The theater was named for Mary Rippon (1850-1935), the first woman to attain faculty status at an American university. She was a leading figure on the University of Colorado's campus.

Dr. George Reynolds (1877-1964), a professor of English and one of the founders of the University?s Theatre Department, was instrumental in designing the Mary Rippon. In 1944, James Sandoe directed a production of "Romeo and Juliet" staged there. Its success led to the establishment of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in 1958.