The St. Louis Scottish Rite scenery collection provided a wonderful context for the Fort Scott acquisition, both then and now. They both followed the same pattern of growth during the early twentieth century. Sosman & Landis Studio created the 1904 scenery for Fort Scott, Kansas. Similarly, Toomey & Volland created the 1902 scenery for St. Louis, Missouri. Artists from these same studios replaced the original collections with much larger versions in 1924.
It is interesting to examine the Toomey & Volland Studio, as it evolved from an earlier scenic art partnership called Noxon & Toomey.
The scenic studio of Noxon & Toomey appeared in St. Louis during 1869 – almost a decade before Sosman & Landis in Chicago. Founded by Thomas C. Noxon and Patrick Joseph Toomey, the studio’s name changed from Noxon & Toomey to Toomey & Volland by 1902. This was the same year that the Valley of St. Louis installed a new scenery collection in their Scottish Rite Cathedral. The “Volland” part of the company was Hugo R. Volland, a 32nd degree Mason who was one of two stage managers for degree productions at the Valley of St. Louis.
St. Louis’ first official Scottish Rite building was a residential building purchased during June of 1886. As membership dramatically increased from 86 in 1890 to 306 in 1900, the Valley of St. Louis began to consider constructing a stage to produce degree productions. They selected the Second Presbyterian Church and extensively converted this structure between June 1900 and January 1902. Enlarging the church’s original seating capacity by fifty percent, the space was retrofitted with an elevated stage containing an elaborate set of scenery from Toomey & Volland Studios. The 1902 reunion program photographs depicted numerous degree settings and credits Toomey & Volland Scenic Co. for the work.
An insert in the souvenir program notes the Toomey & Volland contributions:
“All scenery, stage properties and lighting effects used in the Scottish Rite Cathedral at St. Louis, were specially designed for the purpose and constructed at our Studio No. 2312-14 16 Market Street St. Louis, Missouri. There are 40 complete settings, consisting of 90 drops, innumerable set pieces, etc., all of which, we think, we can truthfully say, are historically correct, and for beauty, originality and richness of color are not surpassed in this country.
I was able to identify some of this original 1902 scenery during the March 2017 evaluation. The Valley of St. Louis had kept portions of the original collection with the intention of future expansion!
Masonic affiliation between the scenic studio and the Valley of St. Louis originated with the firm’s first president and senior partner, Thomas C. Noxon. Noxon was not only a Scottish Rite Mason, but also a charter member for the Benevolent and Protected Order of Elks. He moved to St. Louis in 1845 and worked as both a scenic artist and a decorative painter. By 1869, he joined forces with Patrick Joseph Toomey to establish the Noxon & Toomey Painting Studio. Noxon managed the scenic studio from approximately 1869 until 1896. Although his partner Toomey had no affiliation with Freemasonry, Noxon’s successor, Hugo R. Volland, was also a Mason.
Volland, the studio’s third president, was integral in supporting degree productions at the Valley of St. Louis. Migrating from Grossbremback, Germany, he initially worked for his brother Otto, but later found work with Noxon & Toomey as the company’s secretary. Rapidly rising through the company’s ranks, it was his Masonic affiliation as a Scottish Rite stage manager for degree productions that secured the contract for the new Cathedral’s stage scenery. The scenic studio’s relationship with the Scottish Rite in St. Louis flourished as Volland eventually supervised all degree productions. To honor Volland’s theatrical contributions, the 1922 class was named the “Volland Class.”
Two years later in 1924, Volland Studio produced the 90’ wide scenery for the new stage, all constructed with wooden battens and spaced 2” apart on center in an elaborate counterweight rigging system.
To be continued…
