National Register of Historic Places

Gillioz Theater

Springfield, Greene County, Missouri
Listed
July 8, 1991
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
91000887

About this property

The Gillioz Theatre is a historic theater located at Springfield, Missouri, United States. 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 door frames. The original cost of the building was $300,000. Renovation costs totalled approximately $1.9 million. The theater opened on October 11, 1926. 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 Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ for silent movies and a stage for live performances, such as vaudeville acts. The pipe organ was Wurlitzer's opus 1411 Style D. The organ had 2 manuals and 6 ranks of pipes, 4 tuned percussions, 6 traps, and 9 sound effects. The organ was sold in 1980 when the theatre closed and is currently in private hands. A sound system was installed in 1928 with the advent of talkies. The theatre is mainly a concert venue. It hosts a variety of entertainment such as Dave Chappelle, Elvis Costello, George Clinton, Ben Folds, Shaun Cassidy, Weird Al Yankovich,Parliament Funkadelic, Blue October, Kacey Musgraves, Billy Ray Cyrus and many more. Capacity for general admission is 1,300 and for reserved seating 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.

Location

325 Park Central E.
Springfield, Greene County, Missouri
37.20949, -93.29043

Categories

ENTERTAINMENT/RECREATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Battles

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0.1 mi
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Springfield (Confederate Occupation 1861)
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0.1 mi
Battle of Springfield
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Questions about this property

When was Gillioz Theater listed on the National Register?

Gillioz Theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 8, 1991.

What type of historic resource is Gillioz Theater?

Gillioz Theater is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Gillioz Theater?

The period of significance for Gillioz Theater is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Gillioz Theater?

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