Laughs From the Past: Fort Collins Used to Have a Comedy Works

It was in May of 2019, that Hodi's Half Note became Comedy Fort, brining in great fun to Downtown Fort Collins. Longtime Fort Collins residents will remember how there was a Comedy Works in town.

Back in the day, it really had Fort Collins feeling like a big city like Denver, when there was a Comedy Works. For about ten years, people headed to Downtown to get their laughs on, without having to travel to the Mile High City.

Imagine it's the '80's: Your rocking your acid-wash jeans, you've got your big hair "just right," Rick Springfield and Loverboy are coming out of your radio, and you're headed for a night out in Old Town, Fort Collins.  Maybe you're starting with dinner at Coopersmith's. Why not, because your plans include hitting the comedy club right across the alley - at 5 Old Town Square, Comedy Works.

Comedy Works began in Denver in 1981, where at one point it was the Comedy Shoppe. If you were to stop in at the Comedy Works in Old Town, you might be getting served by the company's future owner - a woman going to school at CSU. in 1991, they ended up shutting that Fort Collins location down. Soon after Coopersmith's opened their pool-hall bar, "Poolside," which they closed down in September of 2022.

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CSU graduate Wende Curtis took over ownership of Comedy Works, fully, in 2003. At the Landmark location you'll find a bar named after Curtis' grandmother: Lila B's, how neat is that?