Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar. The Kansas City Scenic Co.

Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett

The establishment of the Kansas City Scenic Co. was briefly summed up in an article about its two founders in 1922. They both grew up in Olathe, Kansas, and the “Jackson County Democrat,” reported, “Ben Dunn and John Bronaugh, proprietors of the Kansas City Scenic Company, a concern which for many years has provided scenery for theatres throughout the country, were in Olathe Sunday visiting friends and boyhood stamping [sic.] grounds. Benn Dunn was raised in Olathe and went to school with the owner of this paper, who reported that Ben put in a good deal of time drawing scenery of one kind of another, some horrifying to the vigilant teacher who often confiscated his works of art. John Bronaugh was raised on the old Bronaugh farm west of Olathe. He is not only a business man, but is also influential in Kansas City politics” (9 June 1922, page 3) In Bronaugh’s 1925 obituary, he was credited with founding the Kansas City Scenic Co. in 1890 (The Clinton Eye, Clinton, Missouri, 24 January, 1925, page 4).

However, the earliest mention of the company that I have located to date is 1887. Neither Bronaugh nor Dunn were associated with the firm that year. In 1888 and 1889, Benjamin F. Dunn was listed in the Kansas City Directory as an employee of Lemuel L. Graham.  By 1890, Dunn began representing the Kansas City Scenic Co. working on a new opera hall in Little River, Kansas. The “Little River Monitor” reported, “The carpenters work on the new opera hall is going on at a lively rate, Canfield & Co. are doing the work in good shape, Messrs. Tschudi, Dunn and Oldham, of the Kansas City Scenic company, are painting a set of scenes for the hall, and are doing a fine job. The mammoth drop curtain is a beauty. It is ornamented with the business cards of our merchants and others, and will be first class in every particular” (16 June 1887, page 3). J. M. Tschudi was a sign painter in Emporia, Kansas, and I will cover his life in the next few posts.

By 1891, the company began to dramatically expand their reach, targeting stages not only in nearby states but also much farther south. On July 9, the “Kansas Patron” reported, “Mr. John Bronaugh, one of the firm of the Kansas City Scenic company started Tuesday of this week on an extended trip through Texas in the interest of the company. In passing Olathe, owing to circumstances over which he has no control, as yet, he was compelled to stop and spend the night, much to the delight of – his friends” (page 5). Two years later, the same newspaper clarified that Bronaugh was “the traveling member of the Kansas City Scenic Co. (Kansas City Patron, 13 July 1891, page 3). He was the firm’s traveling salesman at first and Dunn painted the scenery. By 1897 Bronaugh was still listed as the firm’s treasurer and manager with Dunn as the president (Miami Republican, 1 Oct. 1897, page 3).

On October 11, 1891, the “Topeka Daily Capitol” included an article on the Kansas City Scenic Co., noting, “This well known company, the largest scene painting concern in the western United States placed on exhibition during last weeks fair some of its finest work…At their headquarters 2331 and 2333 Grand avenue, Kansas City, Mo., they have a building built and especially arranged for scene painting. The workman takes up his station on the second floor and his canvas slides up and down before him through forty feet of space. Thus his curtain does not have to be rolled neither does he climb up and down the ladder” (page 8).

The company then opened a regional office in Jefferson, Missouri during 1892 (St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 29 March, 1892, page 2).

In 1894, the “Kansas Patron” reported, “Mr. John Bronaugh of the Kansas City Scenic company was in town Friday meeting his many friends. He also met the Board of Public Works at D. and D. Institute and was awarded the contract for painting the scenery for the new chapel. The board exhibited good judgment in making this award as there are no better artists than Frank Dunn and John Bronaugh” (Olathe, Kansas, 26 April 1894, page 3). In this relationship, Dunn was the primary artist and Bronaugh was the salesman, just like Sosman & Landis in Chicago; one was selling and one was painting, but both deeply understood the painted aesthetic and mechanics of stage settings.

The staff the studio continued to increase over the years. In 1895, J. E. Wagner was listed as traveling for the Kansas City Scenic Co. in Harrisonville, Mo. (The Olathe Mirror, 31 Jan, 1895, page 4). J. C. Kloos was the “expert stage machinist.” That year Kloos overhauled the stage of the opera house in Pittsburgh, Kansas, installing new scenery, two new drop curtains and other effects (Pittsburgh Daily Smelter, 6 Aug. 1895, page 4). The local newspaper reported, “Mr. Kloos has the reputation of being the most rapid stage setter in the United States and is the man who put on the scenery at San Francisco for the celebrated ‘Fall of Pompeii.’ He was late with Matt Morgan, the stage artist who is without equal.” The following day, the “Pittsburgh Daily Smelter” elaborated, “Mr. J. C. Kloos, the clever artist and machinist…is not an artist of a day but a man who has years experience and who knows just where and how to put that experience to the best practical use as his work in the Opera House will attest” (7 Aug, 1895, page 4). In 1896, J. B. Lane from Pittsburgh, Kansas, secured a position with the company too (The Pittsburgh Daily, 25 May 1896, page 4). 

In 1897, W. H. Walborn, scenic artist and salesman, was added to the Kansas City Scenic Co. staff. The “Downs Times” reported, “W. H. Walborn, representing the Kansas City Scenic Co., is about to put up a new drop curtain at the opera house. He has been canvassing for advertisements for the front of the curtain. Mr. Walborn is also doing this line of work in various other towns in this section of the state”  (18 Nov 1897, page 5).

The “Kansas City Weekly” expanded on Walbourn’s contribution to the company in 1897, noting, “W. H. Walbourn, who represents the Kansas City scenic Co., and who is placing considerable work in Kansas, Nebraska, and Colorado, at one time resided in Midddletown, Penn . and distinguished himself by ‘knocking out’ a heavy weight that was vey insulting and stuck on himself. Mr. Walbourn is one of the finest artists with a paintbrush that ever traveled in this part of the country. His process are reasonable and his work first-class, and satisfaction guaranteed” (26 Nov., 1897, page 2). He was still with the studio in 1898, painting a Venetian-themed drop curtain for  the new public hall and opera house in Jamestown, Kansas (The Kansas Optimist, 3 Dec. 1898, page 5). The newspaper reported, “The new drop curtain for the stage, just completed by Mr. W. H. Walborn of Kansas, a scenic painter of wide reputation, is a beautiful work of art. The central picture of this curtain represents one of the water-ways of Venice, painted in colors. The picture is bordered with neat and attractive advertising cards of Jamestown merchants.” That same year he also delivered a new drop curtain to the opera house in Independence, Kansas. The local newspaper reported, “Mr. Walborn, who has been in the city for some days” was securing “twenty ‘ads’ from our businessmen to adorn the border.”

By 1900, Walborn began partnering with another scenic artist on projects, both representing the Kansas City Scenic Company, to deliver new scenery to the new opera house in Stanberry, Missouri. The “Stanberry Headlight” reported, “Mr. Powers has secured the services of Messrs. W. H. Walborn and Harry Minor, two scenic artists, who certainly are artist with the brush. They are painting new scene and side-wings throughout and it is the finest work we have ever witnessed” (Stanberry, Missouri, 2 May 1900, page 1). This is the same Harry Minor who published the dramatic directories.

In 1925, Bronaugh passed away, leaving control of the company to Dunn, more on Bronaugh tomorrow. The company was still running in 1931, when founder Benjamin F. Dunn (b. 1862) passed away. At 69 years old, he was the president of Kansas City Scenic Co. (The Morning Chronicle, Manhattan, Kansas, 28 July 1931, page 1).

To date, I have identified the following thirty-two venues that purchased scenery from Kansas City Scenic Co. between 1897 and 1910. I am sure that there are more, but only a few of this list are still standing, let alone have any scenery:

Kansas Theaters:

Opera Hall in Little River, Kansas (1887)

New Hall in Baldwin, Kansas (1892)

New Chapel Hall in Olathe, Kansas (1894)  

New Parochial School Hall in St. Mary’s, Kansas (1894)

Mallory Opera House in Paolo, Kansas (1897)  

Kansas City carnival parades float (1897)

Opera House in Independence, Kansas (1898)

Dr. A. B. Seelye’s New Theatre in Abilene, Kansas (1900)

Olathe, Kansas. Grange Opera house. (1901)

Sapp’s New Theatre in Galena, KS (1905)

Missouri Theaters:

New Gillis Theatre in Kansas City, MO,  (1897)

Opera House in Stanberry, Missouri (1900)

Jefferson Theatre in De Soto, MO (1903) gone

People’s Theatre in Kansas City, MO (1906)

New Hubbell Theatre in Weston, MO  (1906)

Lyric Theatre in Fredericktown, MO (1908)

Arkansas Theaters:

King Opera House in Van Buren, Arkansas  (1907)  

Imperial Theatre in Marianna, Arkansas (1908)

Alabama Theaters:

Meyer’s Opera House in Sheffield, Alabama (1897)

Kentucky Theaters:

Opera House in Clinton, Kentucky (1910)

Louisiana Theaters:

Auditorium Theatre in Monroe, Louisiana (1903)

Colorado Theaters:

Elks Opera House, Silver City, Colorado (1908)

Elks Opera House, Leadville, Colorado (1902)

West’s Theatre, Trinidad, Colorado (1908)

Idaho Theatres:

Rigby Opera House in Rigby, Idaho (1903)

Nebraska Theaters:

North Opera House in Columbus, Nebraska (1903)

New Mexico Theaters:

Coliseum Theatre in Raton, New Mexico (1906)

Texas Theaters:

New Opera House in Brownwood, Texas (1907)

Opera House in Lockhart, Texas (1907)

Harryman Opera House in Brownwood, Texas (1908)

Seguin Opera House in Sequin, Texas (1908)

Kempenstein Theatre in Sequin, Texas (1910)

To be continued…