The Landers Theatre in Springfield, Missouri, built in 1909, is the second oldest and largest civic theater operation in Missouri. It has been in continuous use either as a legitimate theatre or a

movie theater A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...

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. It is located in the

Walnut Street Commercial Historic District Walnut Street Commercial Historic District is a national historic district located at Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales ( ...

. 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. D.J. 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 Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

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 The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

-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 Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...

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.Terry, Dickson "The Show that Put a Town on the Map" (August 6, 1961), '' TV Guide'', p. 8 Landers was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, significant for the preserved

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

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 Little Theatre or Little Theater may refer to: Australia *Little Theatre, Adelaide, South Australia * Little Theatre, Sydney, former name of the Royal Standard Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales *Melbourne Little Theatre, an amateur theatre company ...

Notes

References

* *Terry, Dickson "The Show that Put a Town on the Map" (August 6, 1961), ''TV Guide'', p. 8

External links

Springfield Little Theatre
{{National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Missouri Cinemas and movie theaters in Missouri Culture of Springfield, Missouri Buildings and structures in Springfield, Missouri Boller Brothers buildings Tourist attractions in Springfield, Missouri Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Missouri Theatres completed in 1909 1909 establishments in Missouri National Register of Historic Places in Greene County, Missouri