Springfield Little Theatre
311 E. Walnut Street,
Springfield,
MO
65806
311 E. Walnut Street,
Springfield,
MO
65806
1 person
favorited this theater
The Landers Theatre opened on September 18, 1890, with a stage production of “Golden Girl”. In 1908 it was operating as the Orpheum Theatre offering Orpheum vaudeville and quality live shows. The front facade is done in brick and terra cotta.
In 1915, movies were added to the vaudeville programme when D.W. Griffith’s “Birth of a Nation” was screened. Equipped for sound in 1927, it was the 35th facility in the world to play talkies, the first talkie movie to play at the theatre was “The Jazz Singer”. It was remodeled by Carl Boller of the Boller Brothers architectural firm of Kansas, Missouri. During the 1940’s, the Lander Theatre was operated by Fox Midwest Amusement Corp. and it operated as a first run movie theatre until the late-1960’s. For a while in 1959 it was also the home for a NBC national TV show titled “Five Star Jubilee”.
The Springfield Little Theatre purchased the Landers Theatre in 1970. Major renovations were done to the theatre in 1985 and 1988.
The Landers Theatre was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1977. The Landers/Orpheum Theatre was done in a Baroque/French Renaissance style. It is one of the oldest theatre operations in the state of Missouri.
Contributed by
Chuck Van Bibber, Red Ball
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Recent comments (view all 18 comments)
This website claims that the Landers Theater is haunted.
A Kilgen theater organ opus 3652 size 2/3 style U06 was installed in the Landers Theater in 1926.
Here is a postcard, circa 1910, from the Missouri State Library:
http://tinyurl.com/2t846a
The Landers Theatre was the home to the NBC color television series “Five Star Jubilee” during the summer of 1961, not 1959
For Michael Coate-
Yes, the Springfield Little Theatre was called the Landers 400 when it was a movie theatre. The reason for the name— the downstairs orchestra section had 400 seats. The two balconies were closed off during the “400 years” Later, when Springfield Little Theatre bought the building to house their stage productions, the balconies were reopened after the building had been refurbished. Sorry, this reply is two years late but I just discovered this site!
Forgot to add— in the 50’s and early 60’s ( before it became the 400) the Landers was simply known as the Landers and was a second run theatre.
Attractive facade which still maintains its original appearance. I hope someone can post a photo of the auditorium.
1982 phto of the Little Theatre.
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The header should read Springfield Little Theatre as per their web site. Should also have an AKA Landers 400
Nice period photos of Landers can be seen here –
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