Springfield Little Theatre
311 E. Walnut Street,
Springfield,
MO
65806
311 E. Walnut Street,
Springfield,
MO
65806
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Nice period photos of Landers can be seen here –
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The header should read Springfield Little Theatre as per their web site. Should also have an AKA Landers 400
1982 phto of the Little Theatre.
View link
Attractive facade which still maintains its original appearance. I hope someone can post a photo of the auditorium.
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.
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!
The Landers Theatre was the home to the NBC color television series “Five Star Jubilee” during the summer of 1961, not 1959
Here is a postcard, circa 1910, from the Missouri State Library:
http://tinyurl.com/2t846a
A Kilgen theater organ opus 3652 size 2/3 style U06 was installed in the Landers Theater in 1926.
This website claims that the Landers Theater is haunted.
Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977
Landers Theater (added 1977 – Building – #77000806)
311 E. Walnut, Springfield
Historic Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering
Architect, builder, or engineer: Boller,Carl
Architectural Style: No Style Listed
Area of Significance: Architecture, Entertainment/Recreation
Period of Significance: 1900-1924
Owner: Private
Historic Function: Recreation And Culture
Historic Sub-function: Theater
Current Function: Recreation And Culture
Current Sub-function: Theater
This is a recent photo of the Little/Lander’s Theater.
Is this the same theatre as the LANDERS 400?
Here is a photo and some additional information for the Landers:
http://tinyurl.com/pjt5o
Here is a photo of the Lander’s/Little theater.
BTW…..Who is John Boller?
This is the website for the Springfield Little Theatre. The address is East Walnut St. It seems trivial but it will map correctly. On the history page of the Little Theatre website concerning the architect, it reads “it was designed by architects John and Carl Boller”.
I attended the Landers several times during the 50s when it was a first-run double-feature house specializing in action-adventure, western and monster movies. I saw one of my all-time favorites (“Forbidden Planet”) there, and late in 1959 attended a live nation-wide broadcast of the “Ozark Jubilee” tv show, which starred Red Foley. A wonderful old theatre, still in active use as a playhouse, located in the heart of downtown Springfield.