Part 675: The Second Scottish Rite in Wichita, Kansas.
The Wichita Scottish Rite Masons laid their cornerstone for their second cathedral in 1907. That year, the “Grand County Republican” reported, “The consistory has grown from two little room, decorated with calico curtains to a stately temple erected at a cost of $250,000 and with costing paraphernalia for the proper setting of the different degrees valued at no less than $25,000” (6 April 1907, page 5).
When the building opened in 1908, the “Wichita Daily Eagle” included a full page spread about the new Scottish Rite Cathedral, detailing specifics of the building. There were three sections of particular interest to me that I am going to share today:
The Auditorium
The mind at this stage has been raised to such a pitch of pleasurable delight that one forgets that there are grandeurs yet to com. Standing in the center of the great auditorium, which measures 77×73 feet, two feelings struggle for mastery, a sense of largeness of the place and its extreme beauty. The sense that one generally gets when standing in the great cathedrals or buildings of the world, is here replaced by the sense of beauty which is inculcated by the choice of the best effects of the ages have produced. One feels for the moment that these past ages have been profitable only in that they have produced this, for there is no room in the mind to think of other glories of architecture and
art while the senses are yet endeavoring to assimilate the surroundings here.
Proscenium and Stage
Passing under the proscenium arch, one enters upon the immense stage which measures 73×37½x42. This is a stage commensurate for any production the world has ever seen, and will afford ample space for all the rites and ceremonies for which it was built. An idea of the immensity of the stage may be gained from the fact that it will house 115 drops, each of which measures 20×36 feet. There are six boarder lamps, each containing 192 subsidiary lights divided into four colors –red, white, green and amber [I hope this was a misprint!] These lights will produce and known combination in stage effect and would meet even the exigencies of a Savage or Belasco production. The switchboard is a striking example of advanced electrical proficiency and contains 110 switches. The dimmers are of the very latest pattern and the whole system is laid in conduits and not exposed in any place in the entire building.
Underneath the stage are the dressing rooms. The space devoted to them covers 25×73 feet and they contain all the modern paraphernalia and costumes necessary for the rendition of the degrees. To the south of the dressing rooms are property rooms and toilets. These rooms are finished in golden oak.
The decorations f the auditorium, foyers and halls are the work of the F. Seifert Plastic Company of St. Louis, Mo. The stairways were designed by Terry and were made by the Standard company of Chicago.
Lights for the Stage
The stage equipment will require about 2,500 lights. Of these there will be six border lamps, each of which will carry 248 lights in four colors. By means of these colors in the lights, stage effects can be produced which are impossible in a ordinary theater. The switchboard, which in part of the stage equipment, will be between seven and eight feet in length, and six feet in height, and will carry one hundred and ten switches, controlling a different set of lights.
As an auxiliary to the switchboard will be the dimmer plant by which the power of any separate set of lights, or all of them, can be turned low or high at will. This will set near, ad be operated in connection with the switchboard.
Besides this, facilities have been installed for a system of arc lights to be used in connection with or alone in stage illumination. Other means of handling the lighting equipment for stage lighting are by what are known as “stage pockets.” These are holes in the floor, from which connection is made for lighting the lower portion of the scenery. An ordinary good stage usually has two to three of these on each side, but this stage is equipped with sixteen on each side, with an additional of six others for special purposes.
The Electrical Equipment
The electrical equipment of the old building has been installed under the personal supervision of Mr. Frank Payne, who is well known in Wichita. Although not identified with electrical work commercially in the past, Mr. Payne – or “Frank” as he is familiarly known to everyone, has kept pace with electrical matters for a number of years, and has planned equipment of a number of buildings. Associated with him has been Mr. Henry Stumberg, formerly of St. Louis, who did the conduit work in the new building.
At first it was intended to let much of the wiring in the old building remain but upon inspection, non of it was found up to standard, and as nothing short of the most carefully installed and complete equipment was to be considered. All the old wiring was removed and reinstalled to meet the most modern requirements
The equipment will be by far the finest and most complete in any structure west of Chicago, and in stage equipment proper, will probably not be excelled by any theater in any city, large or small. The current will be distributed from seven separate switchboards advantageously placed in different sections of the building, and by this means a much more economically arranged system is secured, and also one which is readily handled.”
There is a point at which numerous Scottish Rite theaters began shifting from using red, white and blue lights to light their scenery to red, white and green lights. This shift always confused me. M. C. Lilley offered three-color and four-color systems to Scottish Rite theaters. Reading the newspaper article and the role of Frank Payne, the hometown lighting guy with minimal electrical experience, makes me pause. Was this the moment when the green was introduced to the Scottish Rite border lights?
The article specified, “There are six boarder lamps, each containing 192 subsidiary lights divided into four colors –red, white, green and amber. These lights will produce and known combination in stage effect and would meet even the exigencies of a Savage or Belasco production.”
To be continued…
