Landers Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Landers Theatre in Springfield, Missouri
, built in 1909, is the oldest and largest civic theater
operation in Missouri
. It has been in continuous use either as a legitimate theatre
or a movie theater
since it opened. In 1928, the theater became the 35th facility in the world to acquire sound film
. It was designed by architects Carl Boller and Brother
in association with Hickenlively and Mark of Springfield in a French-influenced neoclassical style.
The theater is unusual in its use of wood for nearly all structural framing, in contrast with the steel and cast iron more usually employed in its time. Landers, the original owner, was in the lumber business, providing a possible explanation. Where steel is employed, it uses unusual bonded steel and masonry assemblies. The theater was designed for live performance, with a large stage and supporting spaces.
The theater's street facade employs Missouri limestone
piers with terra cotta
cornices, cartouches, quoins and parapets. Infill between these decorative elements is brick.
A fire in 1920 completely gutted the stage area, but the remainder was saved by the fireproof asbestos
curtain. Subsequent renovations moved the orchestra
pit behind the curtain and raised the boxes. Heavy clear-span beams replaced columns supporting the balconies, and the Jim Crow-era ticket booth for "coloreds" and its separate entrance were removed.
From March 17–September 22, 1961, NBC-TV carried a live country music
variety program from the theater, Five Star Jubilee
, on Friday nights; the first network color television
series to originate outside of New York City or Hollywood. First-run films continued to be shown on the other six nights of the week.
Landers was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1977, significant for the preserved Baroque Renaissance, Napoleon architectural style
. A number of major restoration projects have been undertaken, and the most recent restorations have been cited with awards from the American Institute of Architects
.
It is currently the home of the Springfield Little Theatre
.
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. According to the 2010 census data, the population was 159,498, an increase of 5.2% since the 2000 census. The Springfield Metropolitan Area, population 436,712, includes the counties of...
, built in 1909, is the oldest and largest civic theater
Theater (structure)
A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance , a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces...
operation in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. It has been in continuous use either as a legitimate theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
or a movie theater
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
since it opened. In 1928, the theater became the 35th facility in the world to acquire sound film
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
. It was designed by architects Carl Boller and Brother
Boller Brothers
Boller Brothers, also spelled as Boller Bros., was an architectural firm based in Kansas City, Missouri which specialized in theater design in the Midwest of the United States during the first half of the 20th century...
in association with Hickenlively and Mark of Springfield in a French-influenced neoclassical style.
The theater is unusual in its use of wood for nearly all structural framing, in contrast with the steel and cast iron more usually employed in its time. Landers, the original owner, was in the lumber business, providing a possible explanation. Where steel is employed, it uses unusual bonded steel and masonry assemblies. The theater was designed for live performance, with a large stage and supporting spaces.
The theater's street facade employs Missouri limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
piers with terra cotta
Terra cotta
Terracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic, although the term can also be applied to glazed ceramics where the fired body is porous and red in color...
cornices, cartouches, quoins and parapets. Infill between these decorative elements is brick.
A fire in 1920 completely gutted the stage area, but the remainder was saved by the fireproof asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
curtain. Subsequent renovations moved the orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
pit behind the curtain and raised the boxes. Heavy clear-span beams replaced columns supporting the balconies, and the Jim Crow-era ticket booth for "coloreds" and its separate entrance were removed.
From March 17–September 22, 1961, NBC-TV carried a live country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
variety program from the theater, Five Star Jubilee
Five Star Jubilee
Five Star Jubilee was an American country music variety show carried by NBC-TV from March 17–September 22, 1961. The live program, a spin-off of ABC-TV's Jubilee USA, was the first network color television series to originate outside New York City or Hollywood.From March 17 to May 5, the...
, on Friday nights; the first network color television
Color television
Color television is part of the history of television, the technology of television and practices associated with television's transmission of moving images in color video....
series to originate outside of New York City or Hollywood. First-run films continued to be shown on the other six nights of the week.
Landers was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1977, significant for the preserved Baroque Renaissance, Napoleon architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
. A number of major restoration projects have been undertaken, and the most recent restorations have been cited with awards from the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
.
It is currently the home of the Springfield Little Theatre
Community theatre
Community theatre refers to theatrical performance made in relation to particular communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community...
.