Thespian Hall, believed to be one of the oldest surviving theaters west of the Allegheny Mountains, brought culture to the frontier town of Boonville. In 1838 sixty leading citizens founded an all-male dramatic group called the Thespian Society. The Society used an old log building, a store and a courthouse for its activities.
In 1854 the Thespians purchased this lot at Main and Vine Streets for $500. In 1855, they incorporated as the Boonville Library, Reading Room, and Thespian Association. To raise the money needed to erect a building, they collaborated with the city government, the Masons, and the Odd Fellows. Together, they build [sic] this monument to the liberality and good taste of our citizens in the Greek Revival style. Thespian Hall opened to the public with a grand ball on July 3, 1857. City offices and lodges occupied the second story.
During the Civil War, both sides used the Hall as a barracks, horse stable, and hospital at various times. The Thespian Society disbanded, and the Hall passed into the hands of an original incorporator, Col. Joseph Lafayette Stephens. Among those who leased the Hall were a skating rink operator and the German Turn and Gesang Verein Society for their plays, music, and athletic events.
By April 1901, there was talk of demolishing the aging building, but the Stephens family instead announced they would add a modern stage house and remodel the interior, with J. L. Howard of St. Louis as the architect. On October 5, 1901, the Hall reopened as Stephens Opera House, with a new sloping floor and horseshoe balcony. Around 1912, the owners added accommodations to permit moving pictures accompanied by live piano music, but vaudeville and plays still utilized the stage. Renamed the Lyric Theater in 1915, the building was purchased by Fox Midwest Theaters in 1929 and fitted out for "talkies."
By 1936, Fox proposed replacing the Hall with a modern movie place. Historian Charles Van Ravenswaay rallied concerned local citizens to mount a statewide preservation campaign. Bertha J. Hitch of Hannah Cole Chapter, DAR chaired the committee, which was one of the first efforts of its kind in Missouri. The Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1969.
In May 1975 the Friends of Historic Boonville acquired the theater as a gift from the Kemper Foundation of Kansas City.
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