Gillioz Theatre
325 Park Central E,
Springfield,
MO
65806
325 Park Central E,
Springfield,
MO
65806
14 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 33 comments
Grand opening ad:
Gillioz theatre opening 10 Oct 1926, Sun Springfield Leader and Press (Springfield, Missouri) Newspapers.com
Boxoffice, May 8, 1948: “SPRINGFIELD, MO.— The Gillioz Theatre here has been sold by Mr. and Mrs. M. E. Gillioz of Monett to the Missouri-Fox Realty Corp. of Kansas City, a subsidiary of Fox Midwest Theatres. Purchase price was $105,000. Equipment was sold in a separate transaction. Built in 1924, the house has been leased for some years by the new owners.”
1938 photo added. Photo and additional history credit the Vintage St. Louis & Route 66 Facebook page.
October 11, 1926 – The “Glorious Gillioz” Theater in Springfield, Missouri opened. M.E. Gillioz couldn’t find a location on Route 66 for his theater, so he bought property one block to the north, leased a 20 foot wide frontage on St. Louis Street and linked it to the theater 130 feet away. The 1,100 seat theater, where Elvis Presley watched a movie before his 1956 concert, closed in 1980 but was restored in 2006.
Saw several movies here in the 50s. Had a long, skinny lobby opening into what seemed like (to a kid) a gigantic auditorium. Quite plush. In case you’re wondering how the theaters name is pronounced, it’s “GILL – oyz” – rhymes with “toys.” The pronunciation may have been different long ago when it opened, but the locals say “GILL – oyz” these days.
Grand opening ad at
Found on Newspapers.com
Still open as of the time of this post as a live venue
Just following comments. Thanks!
The theatre may be foreclosed on due to a $3.5 million debt. However, there is a campaign to save the theatre.
View link
Very nice.
The theater recently hired a new executive director. The story is here: View link
Does anyone have access to historic photos of this theatre that they could share off site? If so please contact me, I am working on a landmarks of Route 66 exhibit and would like to include the theatre.
Thanks
Glad to hear that the management at the Gillioz will continue to schedule movies. I always loved that theatre. I believe the last movie I saw there was the 1976 KING KONG!! I was home for Christmas and took my niece and nephew Christmas afternoon. I need to come back home sometime and attend a movie, stage play or concert just so I can see the theatre again. Friends who attended the last SMSU Tent Theatre reunion took a tour of the Gillioz last year. They were impressed.
I recently saw To Kill A Mockingbird here. Average crowd, original 35mm print but it got the support from local business that most area repretory shows fail to get.
I recently saw To Kill A Mockingbird here. Average crowd, original 35mm print but it got the support from local business that most area repretory shows fail to get.
Gillioz was a good size single screen theatre. The Gillioz was the premiere (Mann) theatre downtown) when I lived in Springfield. The sister theatre, the Fox got most of the Disney , American International features. Not the Gillioz— first class product. Occasionally there would be a double feature bill but not often. I loved going to the Gillioz and walking down that long lobby— great coming attraction displays and posters.
I haven’t seen the remodel but two musical productions (A Little NIght Music, Little Women) were staged last year at the Gillioz. Sounds like the Gillioz is back, even though it’s no longer a movie
venue.
This looks like a sweet little theatre-love the marquee outside.
A 1987 view of the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield here, here, here and here. I wonder why the original design of the marquee and GILLIOZ lettering was not retained.
If it has anything to do with theatres in Kansas or Western Missouri, I probably have a post on them. I worked for the Dickinson as well as the Mann and American Entertainment circuits in the late 1970’s and early 80’s so I will probably make a nuisance of myself on this fantastic site occasionally!
Jeeze Joel Weide, we’re hittin all the same holes here!!! LOL. To comment on all of the above. Yes, the Gillioz did have a narrow lobby but waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay long. To let the customers stand inside in case of inclimate weather. The concession stand was part of the conversion into a movie theatre as there was no room for it except to build it in the hollowed out area under the stairwell. Way uncomfortable to work in. The lobby design between the Gillioz and the Fox were not similar at all. Nope – not at all. The Fox Joplin? yea – very much so except the Fox/Joplin had a wider lobby area.
That’s correct.
As mentioned above log onto YouTube and keyword in Gillioz, there is a fanstatic 3 minute video tour of the theatre that is very very very well done, plus other short clips from various acts that have recently played there.
If I remember right this theatre was at one time owned by National General and then the Mann circuits and may have been sold to the Dickinson chain when they acquired Mann’s interests in Missouri.
I saw The Wizard Of Oz here on Friday. I saw it in the balcony and the people involved really put out all of the stops here. 35mm print (from the 1998 reissue), introduction by actors playing characters, bubbles provided during Glinda’s scenes and the air conditioning going at full-blast during the tornado scene.
Great experience.
Recently, 35mm prints of The Seven Samurai (10/5/2007), It’s A Wonderful Life (12/13/2007 and 12/14/2007) and Casablanca (2/14/2008 and 2/15/2008) have run at the Gillioz.
Status should be changed to Open. Reopened in October 2006!
Their webpage (link above) has a great photo gallery with historic and current photos throughout the interior.
Events calendar shows an interesting and wide-range of events. Comedy nights, broadway touring productions, fund raisers, high school reunions, quitye a few private events. It’s turned into quite a community resource!
Nice to see that the restoration is complete! From the pictures and website it seems a job well done. Congrats to all of those involved. I’ll have to check it out again next time I’m in Springfield. There was still a lot of work to be done when we toured this theatre in 2004 on the THSA Conclave listed above & I remember the story about Elvis being spotted here at one time.
I’ve recently posted some photos of the Gillioz to my photobucket.com album: search GILLIOZ and THEATRE. Saw several movies there during the 50s, and remember the place as Springfield’s nicest downtowner at that time.