Farris Theatre
301 W. Main Street,
Richmond,
MO
64085
301 W. Main Street,
Richmond,
MO
64085
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F.G. Weary Jr. began leasing the theater from J.L. Farris (a local lawyer) in 1914, and bought it outright in 1921. The theater was first modernized in 1930 when the theater began showing talkies. In 1931 it was leased out to Dickenson Theaters, Inc., although the Weary family managed the theater all the way up to at least 1982. This information from the NRHP listing.
Boller Brothers were only responsible for the 1930s and 1940s remodels, which have been effectively destroyed by ‘restoration’. The original architects were Shepard and Farrar. The Boller modifications left the auditorium untouched, although they did remove a large fly tower, and the lobby was changed, although I suspect this again has been put back similar to its 1901 appearance.
The NRHP listing has some interesting pictures of the theater in the late ‘70s and early '80s. The only authentic historical detail on the exterior of the theater is the large central window, and the two round ones. The rest is a reproduction. The photos can be seen on the last pages of this document: https://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/82003158.pdf
The theater is still open, but the website has a lot of broken pages. The 1909 Sanborn calls it Daugherty’s Auditorium, and it’s unclear whether it was yet showing movies.
2017 photo added, credit Vicki Schaefer.
The Farris Theatre has made the conversion to digital projection with 3D capabilities. In 1946 the Farris was remodeled by the Boller Brothers of Kansas City, MO.