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 Lyric Theater - Boonville, Missouri Posted by:  iconions
N 38° 58.426 W 092° 44.586
15S E 522253 N 4313896
This two story red brick building (now known as Thespian Hall) is located at 522 Main Street in Boonville, Missouri.
Waymark Code: WMH55P
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 05/24/2013
Views: 9
Greek Revival style theater building, built 1855-1857, two stories and basement, rectangular plan, originally 50 x 103 feet, brick construction. Front (west) portico has four unfluted Doric columns constructed cf wedge-shaped brick. Wooden pediment (above) and architrave (below) complete gable under ridge roof.
Cast iron columns in basement support main floor. These columns originally continued up through the first floor space to support the second floor.
Original surviving exterior ornamentation includes: window frames, entablature mouldings, column and pilaster capitals, and iron scrollwork bolted to the cast iron window lintels.
Evidence of Victorian influence noted particularly in use of cast iron ornamentation, establishes building as late example of the Greek Revival style.
Basement originally used as reading room; rain floor used as combined theater and lecture hall or auditorium. Second story housed the city hall, Masonic and Odd Fellows hall. (History of Howard and Cooper Counties, Missouri, 1883, p. 663; and Boonville Weekly Observer, May 17, 1856, p. 2, col. 2.)
Building was in need of repair at end of nineteenth century and was in danger of being razed. Owner W. Speed Stephens hired architect T. W. Bast of Sedalia, Missouri, to design remodeling of second floor.(Boonville Weekly Advertiser, August 31, 1900, p. 1, col. 1.) On April 5, 1901, plans were made public announcing an extensive renovation and enlargement of the auditorium to provide an opera house. (Boonville Weekly Advertiser, April 5, 1901, p. 1, col. 5.)
Architect for the auditorium enlargement was J. L. Howard of St. Louis, who specialized in theater design. (Boonville Weekly Advertiser, May 17, 1901, p. 1, col. 1.)
This enlargement required, the removal of the east (rear) wall and an addition was constructed lengthening the building by approximately 25 feet. New space accommodated more elaborate stage mechanisms and provided rooms for the musicians and heating plant. (Boonville Weekiy Advertiser, May 24, 1901, p. 1, col. 1.) First floor was sloped, into original basement area to make possible better viewing of stage. Other interior alterations included: removal of several second story support columns, construction of balcony over rear third of auditorium, application of ornamental plasterwork, and extensive reworking of lobby.
- National Register Application
For more than 150 years Thespian Hall has captured the vision, the imagination and the essence of the community in which it was built.
The roots of Thespian Hall go back to 1838, when a remarkable thing happened in the frontier town of Boonville. That year, sixty leading citizens founded an all-male dramatic group called “The Thespian Society”, which enjoyed wide community support that was unique in its day.
By 1855, the Thespians were ready to build a permanent struction as ". . . a monument to the liberality and good taste of our citizens...". It took two years to complete the four story high Greek revival building. The Odd Fellows, Masons and City government occupied the second floor with its 18 foot ceiling. The Thespians, incorporated now as the Boonville Library, Reading Room and Thespian Society used this first floor for their productions and the basement as their reading room. Thespian Hall opened July 3rd, 1857, with a grand ball, with dedication ceremonies held on Independence Day. Boonville’s home for the arts began its long life as catalyst for community involvement and civic pride.
During the Civil war, Thespian Hall filled many needs, from quartering the Federal Troops to serving as a hospital for soldiers. The unity created by Thespian Society began to disintegrate and sometime during the War, the Society ceased to exist.
The Hall’s ownership was transferred to J.L. Stephens, once a Society member, and Boonville became known as the “best little theatre town in Missouri” as well-known performers from Eddie Foy to black pianist “Blind” Boone played the Hall. The Turn and Gesang Verein, one of the athletic and singing societies which flourished in the areas of heavy German settlement, was a major occupant of the building, sponsoring many of these events.
By 1898, Thespian Hall had lost much of its charm and and some debated “removing this historic building … ”. Owners Lon Vest Stephens (Governor of Missouri, 1897-1901) and his brother W. Speed Stephens decided to renovate the hall instead and, in 1901, opened it as the Stephens Opera House with a stage house added at the rear of the building. The main floor had been slanted, cutting into the former reading room, and an orchestra pit, box seats and curved balcony completed the modernization. A new era began, with Boonville a stopping point for many major touring companies, only to end in 1912, when the nickelodeon began the hall’s transition to movie house.
The second and most serious threat to building occurred in 1937 when Fox Mid-West Theaters, owners of the building, announced plans to tear down Thespian Hall and replace it with a “modern movie palace.” Concerned local citizens, led by historian Charles van Ravenswaay, called a public meeting and formed the Thespian Hall Preservation Committee. This group mounted a state wide preservation effort, one of the first of its kind in Missouri. This well-orchestrated campaign saved Thespian Hall and for the next 38 years, it continued as a movie theater.
In 1975, the Friends of Historic Boonville acquired the theater as a gift from the Kemper Foundation of Kansas City. With the help of the Foundation and the community, the Friends have worked to restore the building, making Thespian Hall once again a home for the arts.
The Hall, oldest theater still in use west of the Alleghenies, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969. Because of the vision and the hard work of the Friends, not unlike the Thespian Society which built it, Thespian Hall is an historic building still making history.
- Friends of Thespian Hall Website
Street address:
522 Main
Boonville, MO USA
65233
County / Borough / Parish: Cooper
Year listed: 1969
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Periods of significance: 1850-1874
Historic function: Recreation And Culture-Theater
Current function: Recreation And Culture-Theater
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.
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