The Brown Grand Theatre is a community-based historical theatre located in

Concordia, Kansas Concordia is a city in and the county seat of Cloud County, Kansas, United States. It is located along the Republican River in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains in North Central Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ...

and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The theatre has been called "the most elegant theater between Kansas City and Denver" and to this day plays host to many popular events in the region.

Construction

In November 1905, Concordia resident Colonel Napoleon Bonaparte Brown announced to the townspeople his plans to build a fully outfitted opera house for Concordia. Renowned Kansas City

theatre 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 ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Carl Boller was hired to prepare the design drawings and the blueprints. The construction of the theatre was under the direction of Brown's son, Earl Van Dom Brown. Young Earl researched and gathered ideas by touring more than thirty opera houses in Kansas and Missouri. Native Concordian W.T. Short (already known for his work on the Brown family home Brownstone Hall and other buildings in the area) was hired as the construction supervisor. Ground breaking ceremonies took place on April 3, 1906.

Opening night

At its completion, The Brown Grand Theatre stood sixty-feet high and spanned one-hundred-twenty feet in length. Renaissance in style and overall design, the $40,000 structure became a priceless jewel amid rare aesthetic riches in a small town in start of the 20th century mid-America. The formal opening of the Brown Grand Theatre took place September 17, 1907 with the production The Vanderbilt Cup (a comedy set against the backdrop of the auto racing trophy

Vanderbilt Cup The Vanderbilt Cup was the first major trophy in American auto racing. History An international event, it was founded by William Kissam Vanderbilt II in 1904 and first held on October 8 on a course set out in Nassau County on Long Island, ...

. :"The firemen who were at the doors were in full uniform and the ushers at the door wore white gloves. I'll tell you, that night society sort of quivered. It was all beautiful . . . yes it was." --Carl "Punch" Rogers who was in attendance on opening night.

Early years

During the next four years, the theater prospered until 1910, when N.B. Brown died. Four months later, his popular son Earl died. According to theater lore, Earl's ghost haunts the theater, especially during the "opening" season. The theatre operated under various management until 1925 when it was sold to the Concordia Amusement Company.

Motion Picture years

From 1925 to 1974, the Brown Grand was converted to show silent pictures and later

talking pictures 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 passed before ...

. The theater was remodeled several times (including air conditioning and concessions) to bring the theater more in line with the times. The last movie to be shown at the Brown Grand was the world premiere of ''

The Devil and LeRoy Bassett ''The Devil and LeRoy Bassett'' is a 1973 modern-day western adventure. The story follows a jailbreak that leads to the fugitives taking a church bus while trying to keep ahead of the law. The film was directed by Robert E. Pearson and starred ...

'' which was written and directed by Robert E. Pearson, a native of Concordia. Soon after, the theater underwent extensive restoration led by grassroots community efforts.

Restoration

Restoration was completed in 1980. The theatre was returned to its original 1907 splendor with 650 seats. The Brown Grand Theatre now serves as a tourist attraction and performing arts / community center for Concordia and North Central Kansas. Restoration included replacement seats, restoration of all walls and artistic work, updating of lighting system, addition of air conditioning, and many other enhancements. The restoration project has put the theatre today to be unique among theatres. On September 17, 2007 the Brown Grand celebrated its 100th birthday with community events lasting over several days. The event coincided with the opening of the National Orphan Train Museum also in Concordia.

Drop curtain

Original

On opening night in 1907, Earl Brown unveiled a magnificent drop curtain reproduction of a

Horace Vernet Émile Jean-Horace Vernet (30 June 178917 January 1863), more commonly known as simply Horace Vernet, was a French painter of battles, portraits, and Orientalist subjects. Biography Vernet was born to Carle Vernet, another famous painter, who w ...

painting. The curtain, entitled Napoleon at Austerlitz, was presented as a gift to Colonel Brown from his son in recognition of his father's contribution to the community and to the Brown Grand Theatre, his crowning achievement. The original curtain still hangs above the stage but saw little use during the theatre's motion picture years. A 1967

tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with both the surface of the Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, altho ...

caused extensive water damage to the roof over the stage. The rain that accompanied the tornado permanently stained and streaked the already faded and brittle painting.Kansas Photo Tour, Brown Grand Theatre
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Replacement

Taking an extreme interest in the Napoleon curtain, Marion Cook (a member of the Brown Grand Board of Directors at the time) donated a new replacement drop curtain. The new curtain was painted by Twin City Scenic Company of

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

—the same firm that had painted the original. For the artistic work on the drop, sought-after scenic painter Robert Braun was hired to do the Napoleon battle scene, and Michael Russell, president of the company, came out of retirement to paint the bordering green draperies and gold and bronze frame around the picture. The two artists requested a color photograph of the original Vernet work

Battle of Wagram The Battle of Wagram (; 5–6 July 1809) was a military engagement of the Napoleonic Wars that ended in a costly but decisive victory for Emperor Napoleon's French and allied army against the Austrian army under the command of Archduke Charles ...

which hangs in the Hall of Battles in the Palace of Versailles near

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

References

External links

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The Brown Grand at Kansas Photo Tours

Video tour of The Brown Grand (YouTube)
{{Cloud County History Buildings and structures in Cloud County, Kansas Theatres in Kansas Opera houses in Kansas Concert halls in the United States Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Kansas Theatres completed in 1907 Boller Brothers buildings Tourist attractions in Cloud County, Kansas Reportedly haunted locations in Kansas Music venues completed in 1907 National Register of Historic Places in Cloud County, Kansas 1907 establishments in Kansas