Early History
Designed by Rapp & Rapp, the 90,000-square-foot (8,400 m2) theater opened on October 30, 1921 as the Mainstreet Missouri. The 3,200 seat theater was a popular vaudeville and movie house, and the only theater in Kansas City designed by Chicago firm Rapp and Rapp. The interior of the theater was designed in French Baroque style, and the exterior is a blend of neoclassical and French Second Empire. The lobby is topped by a dome encircled by circular windows. The Mainstreet Theater was the largest theater in Kansas City until the Midland Theatre opened in 1927.
The Mainstreet was the first theater in Kansas City to have a nursery for children whose parents were attending a show. The nursery was located in the basement, and it was staffed by a trained nurse. Toys and games were available for older children, and cribs were available for babies. A tunnel connected the lower level of the theater to the nearby President Hotel at 14th and Baltimore. The tunnel was initially created as a means for actors to enter the theater from dressing rooms, but the tunnel also became infamous as a passage for bootleggers to escape police during Prohibition. The supposed tunnel is not shown on the Sanborn fire insurance map for 1939 (The Sanborn Map Co., New York, Kansas City 1939-1940 vol. 1, 1939, Sheet 34). The theater also had space in the basement and sub-basement where animals were kept for vaudeville shows. The space included an elephant cage, a pool for seals, and an elevator large enough and powerful enough to haul elephants to the stage. Noted performers such as Cab Calloway, Charlie Chaplin, Sir Henry Lauder, the Marx Brothers, and Olson & Johnson all head-lined at the vaudeville house. In the early 1920s, at the height of the theater's popularity, attendance at shows averaged over 4,000 daily.
The name of the Mainstreet Theater changed to the RKO Missouri Theater in April 1941. The RKO Missouri ran Cinerama three strip film.
| Mainstreet Theatre | |
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
| The Mainstreet Theater as it originally appeared, prior to several name changes and removal of the large sign suspended from the roof | |
| Location: | 1400 Main St., Kansas City, Missouri |
|---|---|
| Area: | less than one acre |
| Built: | 1921 |
| Architect: | Rapp, C.W. and Rapp, Geo. L.; Thompson-Starrett Construction Co. |
| Architectural style: | Beaux Arts |
| Governing body: | Private |
| NRHP Reference#: | 07000043 |
| Added to NRHP: | February 15, 2007 |
Read more about this topic: Mainstreet Theater
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or history:
“Foolish prater, What dost thou
So early at my window do?
Cruel bird, thou’st ta’en away
A dream out of my arms to-day;
A dream that ne’er must equall’d be
By all that waking eyes may see.
Thou this damage to repair
Nothing half so sweet and fair,
Nothing half so good, canst bring,
Tho’ men say thou bring’st the Spring.”
—Abraham Cowley (1618–1667)
“Revolutions are the periods of history when individuals count most.”
—Norman Mailer (b. 1923)