The Columbian Theatre is a richly historic
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
from the turn of the 20th century located in
Wamego, Kansas
Wamego is a city in Pottawatomie County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 4,841.
History
Wamego was platted in 1866. It was named for a Potawatomi Native American chief.
The first post office in ...
.
Early history
This
music hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...
was built in 1893 by J. C. Rogers, a Wamego banker. He had been amazed by the scope and beauty of the exhibits at 1893
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordi ...
, which celebrated the 400th anniversary of
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
’ discovery of
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
The New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
. The Exposition, more commonly known today as the Chicago World's Fair, was a “White City,” covering with 200 buildings. It was open for six months and had attendance which ranked as high as nearly one half for the entire population of the United States at that time.
This same fantasy land was
Frank Baum’s inspiration a few years later when he described his
Emerald City
The Emerald City (sometimes called the City of Emeralds) is the capital city of the fictional Land of Oz in L. Frank Baum's Oz books, first described in ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' (1900).
Fictional description
Located in the center of the La ...
. So it is easy to understand Rogers’ fascination with the vision and his desire to recreate a music hall in that image in his own town. He purchased actual art and decor from the World’s Fair once it had closed and this was used to create the plans for the Columbian Theatre.
As a music hall
In the late 1890s and early 1900s, the events at music halls consisted of a combination of community events, concerts, plays,
masque balls and
vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
. The Columbian Theatre was no exception to this and the hall became a center of entertainment activity for the local community.
Original 1893 artwork
As part of Rogers purchases from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition owners, he obtained a significant collection of artwork. Some of the paintings were done in
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
, while more significantly, many of the paintings were created using
distempera (which is a typically Northern European form of tempera which is oil or animal-glue-based paint). There are a total of twenty original Columbian Exposition paintings still in the collection.
The original six paintings that hung in the theatre were of a set of eight that was commissioned by the Federal Government. They are by in size. An article in ''
Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...
'', Spring, 1894, listed J.C. Rogers as buying the eight paintings from the rotunda of the Government building. (The whereabouts of the remaining two are unknown.) They were likely painted by Ernest Theodore Behr (1861–1922).
Image:East1893.jpg, East
Image:West1893.jpg, West
Image:North1893.jpg, North
Image:South1893.jpg, South
Image:Steel1893.jpg, Steel and Industrial Trades
Image:Building1893.jpg, Architecture and Building Trades
Current Activity
The Columbian Theatre is currently a local venue for
theatre arts
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
, such as plays and musicals. The concept which is in vogue is that of a “dinner theatre,” where patrons can come just for the performance or to make a whole evening with a dinner and performance. These productions take place in the beautifully decorated Peddicord Playhouse, which is a 288-seat theatre with
proscenium stage
A proscenium ( grc-gre, προσκήνιον, ) is the metaphorical vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor ...
and as was typical in 1890 music halls, a flat floor.
Today’s Columbian Theatre Museum and Arts Center is an active member of the Manhattan Area Arts and Humanities Coalitio
Trivia
*
Frank Baum’s Wizard of Oz centers today in Wamego
Wamego#Oz
References
The Columbian TheatreGoogle Street View
{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbian Theatre, The
Event venues established in 1893
World's Columbian Exposition
Theatres in Kansas
Buildings and structures in Pottawatomie County, Kansas
Arts centers in Kansas
Art museums and galleries in Kansas
Museums in Pottawatomie County, Kansas