The Gillioz Theatre is a historic theatre located at Springfield, Greene County, Missouri. It was built by M. E. Gillioz of Monett, Missouri. Mr. Gillioz was in the business of building bridges, and the theater was built with steel and concrete. Wood was only used for handrails, doors, and doorframes. The original cost of the building was $300,000. Renovation costs totaled approximately $1.9 million.
The theater opened on October 11, 1926, in Springfield, Missouri. Gillioz managed to secure a 100-year lease on one 16-foot (4.9 m) wide piece of property which bordered on U.S. Route 66, so that the theater could garner patrons who traveled on that historic highway. After many prosperous years, and many not-so-prosperous years, the "Gillioz, Theatre Beautiful" finally offered its last show in the summer of 1980, an opera.
The theater was originally a transition theater, with a pipe organ for silent movies and a stage for live performances, such as vaudeville acts. A sound system was installed in 1928 with the advent of talkies.
The Gillioz is mainly a concert venue. The Gillioz host a variety of entertainment such as Dave Chappelle, Elvis Costello, George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Kacey Musgraves, and many more. Capacity for general admission is 1,300 and for reserved seating there is 1,015.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. It is located in the Springfield Public Square Historic District.
Video Gillioz Theatre
Premieres
The Gillioz hosted the premieres of three movies:
- 1938 January 14: "Swing Your Lady" with Humphrey Bogart and Penny Singleton
- 1952 June 6: "The Winning Team" with Ronald Reagan
- 1952 July 4: "She's Working Her Way Through College," also starring Ronald Reagan
Maps Gillioz Theatre
Stories
Elvis Presley passed an afternoon watching a movie at the Gillioz after performing sound checks for an evening show at the nearby Shrine Mosque.
Renovation
The Gillioz is now operated by the Gillioz Center For Arts & Entertainment, a 501c-3 non-profit committed to preserving the space and enhancing the quality of life for people in the Ozarks, visitors and residents alike, through music, comedy, film and education. Restoration began in 1990, and was completed in 2006. The lobby and auditorium were restored to the original 1926 appearance. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Eighty years after first opening its doors, the Gillioz had a grand reopening in October 2006 known as Encore 2006. The historic Gillioz has experienced a strong resurgence, including being named top event venue by both 417 magazine and the Springfield Newsleader. In 2017 the Gillioz was named a top 5 event venue under 4000 seats by the Academy of Country Music. Other venues listed were the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville Tennessee, Austin City Limits in Austin Texas, the PlayStation Theatre in New York and Hoyt Sherman Theatre in Des Moines Iowa.
Reagan Center
The Gillioz Theatre and the Jim D. Morris Building together are known as the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Center. The Gillioz Theatre was chosen due to Ronald Reagan's theatrical contributions.
References
Baumlin, James S., ed. (October 2006). The Gillioz "Theatre Beautiful": Remembering Springfield's Theatre History, 1926-2006. Moon City Press. ISBN 0-913785-05-9. CS1 maint: Extra text: authors list (link)
External links
- Official Gillioz Theatre Website
- News-Leader Ozarks Entertainment Published Sunday, April 30, 2006
- National Register of Historic Places
Source of article : Wikipedia
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