Missouri Theater and Missouri Theater Building
Encyclopedia
The Missouri Theater and the Missouri Theater Building adjoin each other in St. Joseph, Missouri. The Missouri Theater was built as a cinema
in the atmospheric
style, using a combination of Art Deco
and Moorish
detailing. The Missouri Theater Building was built as a companion, and both were completed in July 1927.
The Missouri Theater was designed by noted theater architects Boller Brothers
of Kansas City, Missouri
, with sculpture by Waylande Gregory
. It was constructed by the Capital Building Company of Lincoln, Nebraska
for local attorney and promoter Joseph Goldman. The theater has a single balcony that looks over a house designed to resemble an open tented courtyard, decorated with details borrowed from Assyrian and Persian architecture. While the theater was principally designed for movies, it could also be used for live performances, with dressing rooms, a fly loft
and an orchestra pit
. It also featured a Wurlitzer
theater organ.
The Missouri Theater operated as a cinema until 1970. For the next few years it operated as a community theater, and was purchased by a community group in 1976. In 1978 the city of St. Joseph bought the theater for use as a performing arts center. The theater and office building were placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1979.
The theater was renovated in 2002. A 1960s canopy was removed and the marquee was restored.
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
in the atmospheric
Atmospheric theatre
An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace which has an auditorium ceiling that is intended to give the illusion of an open sky as its defining feature...
style, using a combination of Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
and Moorish
Moorish architecture
Moorish architecture is the western term used to describe the articulated Berber-Islamic architecture of North Africa and Al-Andalus.-Characteristic elements:...
detailing. The Missouri Theater Building was built as a companion, and both were completed in July 1927.
The Missouri Theater was designed by noted theater architects Boller Brothers
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...
of Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, with sculpture by Waylande Gregory
Waylande Gregory
Waylande Desantis Gregory was one of the most innovative and prolific American art-deco ceramics sculptors of the early twentieth century. His groundbreaking techniques enabled him to create monumental ceramic sculpture, such as the Fountain of the Atoms and Light Dispelling Darkness, which had...
. It was constructed by the Capital Building Company of Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln, Nebraska
The City of Lincoln is the capital and the second-most populous city of the US state of Nebraska. Lincoln is also the county seat of Lancaster County and the home of the University of Nebraska. Lincoln's 2010 Census population was 258,379....
for local attorney and promoter Joseph Goldman. The theater has a single balcony that looks over a house designed to resemble an open tented courtyard, decorated with details borrowed from Assyrian and Persian architecture. While the theater was principally designed for movies, it could also be used for live performances, with dressing rooms, a fly loft
Fly system
A fly system, flying system or theatrical rigging system, is a system of lines , blocks , counterweights and related devices within a theatre that enable a stage crew to quickly, quietly and safely fly components such as curtains, lights, scenery, stage effects and, sometimes, people...
and an orchestra pit
Orchestra pit
An orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
. It also featured a Wurlitzer
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to simply as Wurlitzer, was an American company that produced stringed instruments, woodwinds, brass instruments, theatre organs, band organs, orchestrions, electronic organs, electric pianos and jukeboxes....
theater organ.
The Missouri Theater operated as a cinema until 1970. For the next few years it operated as a community theater, and was purchased by a community group in 1976. In 1978 the city of St. Joseph bought the theater for use as a performing arts center. The theater and office building were 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 1979.
The theater was renovated in 2002. A 1960s canopy was removed and the marquee was restored.