Author: waszut_barrett@me.com

Wendy Rae Waszut-Barrett, PhD, is an author, artist, and historian, specializing in painted settings for opera houses, vaudeville theaters, social halls, cinemas, and other entertainment venues. For over thirty years, her passion has remained the preservation of theatrical heritage, restoration of historic backdrops, and the training of scenic artists in lost painting techniques. In addition to evaluating, restoring, and replicating historic scenes, Waszut-Barrett also writes about forgotten scenic art techniques and theatre manufacturers. Recent publications include the The Santa Fe Scottish Rite Temple: Freemasonry, Architecture and Theatre (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2018), as well as articles for Theatre Historical Society of America’s Marquee, InitiativeTheatre Museum Berlin’s Die Vierte Wand, and various Masonic publications such as Scottish Rite Journal, Heredom and Plumbline. Dr. Waszut-Barrett is the founder and president of Historic Stage Services, LLC, a company specializing in historic stages and how to make them work for today’s needs. Although her primary focus remains on the past, she continues to work as a contemporary scene designer for theatre and opera.

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 1179: The Fort Wayne Shrine, 1924

In 1924, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Fred and I took an auto trip to Fort Wayne and got the wires laid for the Shrine work.” They were bidding on scenery for the new Mizpah Shrine Temple at 409 West Berry Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana. On April 24, 1924, the “Garrett Clipper” reported, “The general contract for the construction of the auditorium of Mizpah Shrine temple to be erected in Fort Wayne has been let to Max Irmscher & Sons of that city and excavations were started Thursday morning. The structure will be finished some eighteen months from now or around September 1, 1925.” Designed by Fort Wayne architect Guy Mahurin, the building was an interesting mixture of eastern and western elements. The stage was intended to host professional productions. From the beginning the Masons anticipated that the stage would be used for much more than Masonic activities.

In 1925 Moses wrote, “Fulton and I started our western work by making a lot of models and sketches for a big job in Fort Wayne, Indiana, all Shrine work. The Mizpah Temple. We have endeavored to give them some new ideas and I hope they will go…After a number of delays, we expressed our models to Fort Wayne.”

Moses landed the contract and painted everything on site. That fall, he recorded, “Arrived in Fort Wayne on September 17^th and found everything in good shape; a good bridge and frame and a drop on the frame ready for me. I got busy the next day and did a 30’ x 75’ wood in a day and a half – quickest time I ever made, and for one who had not worked in five months, I considered it some feat. I found that I was in good condition and capable of doing a good day’s work.” He was 69 years old and still incredibly fast at scene painting.

After the project was completed, Moses even stayed for the opening ceremonies, writing, “I finished on time and enjoyed my Fez parade and mixing with real fellows, especially the stunts that I have been working on for so many years.”

The opening of the Mizpah Shrine was a three day event that ended with a production of “Aida.” On Nov. 18, 1925, “The Times” announced, “Fort Wayne, Ind. Nov. 18. – A three-day program marking the dedication of the new $1,000,000 clubhouses and auditorium of the Mizpah Shrine temple was opened here today with hundreds of Shriners from Northern Indiana, Ohio and Michigan in attendance” (Muncie, Indiana, page 6).

On Nov. 19, 1925, “The Times” reported, “With 3,000 nobles from all over Indiana in attendance, the three-day program incident to the dedication of the new $1,000,000 building of the Mizpah Shrine Temple was opened here today. Ritualistic services of the order during the day were in charge of Elias Jacoby, of Indianapolis, past imperial potentate. The day’s events closed with a grand ball in the auditorium of the new temple. Tomorrow a class of 300 novices will cross the hot sands to Mecca, the initiation being in charge of Imperial Potentate James C. Burger of Denver, Col., and his divan. A banquet will be served in the evening. The dedication ceremonies will come to a climax Friday evening when the Chicago Grand Opera Company will present Verdi’s “Aida,” with Rosa Raisa singing the title role.”

I was surprised about the addition of n operatic performance. More information was published in the “Steuben Republican” – “The Chicago Grand Opera Company is now in the midst of its season at the Auditorium, Chicago, but will break into its season there and transport the entire immense company and massive scenic equipment to Fort Wayne for the one appearance at the new Mizpah Temple” (Angola, Indiana, 4 Nov., 1925, page 4). That had to have cost a pretty penny at the end of the day, as the production traveled with a 65-piece orchestra too. Membership in the Shrine was skyrocketing and the coffers were filling fast. This did not last, and the Masons could not hold onto their grand edifice.

*From the “Garrett Clipper,” 18, June 1925, page 4*.

The building is now known as the Robert Goldstine Performing Arts Center.

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 1178 – Thomas G. Moses and the San Antonio Scottish Rite

In 1924, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “I left home on the 5^th of January for a southern trip.”

He was heading south to San Antonio, Texas, to bid on another Scottish Rite theatre contract; one that he would not get. Regardless, the trip was quite eventful. Moses continued, “I reached St. Louis quite late on the Alton road. Found our connecting line had gone on. Awfully cold and storming badly. Managed to bluff my way onto another train and was fortunate in securing the same berth number. Travelled all the next day on our way to Paris, Texas, where we had to remain overnight. We left Paris early the next morning and arrived in San Antonio at 8:21 in the evening, where I spent several days with my old friend Herbert Barnard. We had quite a good showing at his studio.”

Barnard had quite a reputation in San Antonio and should have been the local favorite, but he was not a Mason. Barnard was well known as a designer and director of outdoor festivals. In 1923, the “Tulsa Tribune” reported, “Barnard stands almost unrivaled in America. Despite the number of years that he has been engaged in scenic decoration, his work displays ever-increasing ingenuity and originality. He builds the floats in keeping with the spirit and nature of the event for which they are designed, and in some of his former connections has produced carnivals and festivals of bewildering lavishness and startling originality” (July 22, 1923).

Unfortunately, they were bidding against Toomey & Volland, another southern studio with quite a reputation. Unlike Barnard, however, Toomey & Volland were well-respected for their Masonic Scenery production.

Moses wrote, “Barnard is really entitled to the contract and I did all I could to throw the work at him with the understanding that our company would be sharer in the profits. We finally got our estimate submitted. It was $38,000.00 Volland took the contract at $26,000.00.” It was a big project -114 drops.

This was a pattern that would continue to plague Moses for the next decade. No matter how he figured the numbers, Moses often came in as the highest bidder, the projects quickly slipping thru his fingertips.

The Scottish Rite Cathedral of San Antonio was completed in 1924 at a cost of $1.5 million.

*The stage at the San Antonio Scottish Rite Cathedral*

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 1177 – Thomas G. Moses and the Masonic Temple in Manhattan, Kansas

In 1924, Thomas G. Moses wrote, “We also did a small job at Manhattan, Kansas of $1,100.00.” It was York Rite scenery for the Masonic Temple.

*From the “Manhattan Mercury,” 20 May 1922, page 2.*

On Nov. 29, 1924, “The Morning Chronicle” announced, “Select Masters Degree to Four Candidates Tonight. New Scenery – Nine Drops and Four different scenes – to be used.” The article continued, “Four candidates will be given the Select Masters degree by the Masonic be the first to be performed by the Council tonight. The ceremony will council and the number of candidates was limited for that reason. There are about 25 candidates for the degree.

The new scenery for the temple arrived Thursday night and will be in position for the services tonight. The scenery consists of nine drops and four scenes. It is to be used by all the Masonic bodies.” The new scenery would be further described a year later when it was featured again. On June 30, 1925, “The Morning Chronicle,” reported “New scenery will be utilized.” The article continued, “A stunt night program in which all of Manhattan’s six Masonic orders will join is to be held in the Masonic Temple next Thursday evening…The occasion will afford a splendid opportunity to utilize the new scenery and lighting equipment to fine advantage.”

Moses’ work was well known in Manhattan, as Sosman & Landis delivered scenery to the new temple in 1922. On July 13 of that year the “Manhattan Nationalist” reported, “New Scenery Arrives. Drop Curtains Placed in Masonic Temple – to Confer Degree on Large Class.” The article reported, “The scenery which will be used by the Masonic in conferring the Most Excellent degree arrived Monday and has been put in position in the new Masonic temple. It is expected that it will be used the first time in conferring the degree upon a class of eight candidates from Wamego, who have signified their intention of coming to Manhattan for the ceremonies. The scenery was made by Sosman & Landis Scenic Co. of Chicago, one of the largest firms of this kind in the country and is considered a real work of art.”

The Sosman & Landis scenery was mentioned again the next year. In December 1923 the Royal Arch Masons conferred degrees on a class of 25 candidates from Manhattan and Wamego. “The Morning Chronicle” reported, “Historic hymns which are included in the ceremonial will be illustrated with lantern slides. The new scenery furnishing settings for degree work which was purchased and installed in the temple last year will be used in connection with the initiatory ceremonies.”

To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 1176 – 416 S. Kedzie Avenue in 1924

In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Our small studio on Kedzie Avenue has certainly got my ‘goat’ as it seems almost impossible to move our large drops and wings.” This was the beginning of Moses’ continued struggle for space, a problem that would plague him for the remainder of his career. In the end, it became easiest for him to paint on projects on site, or rent a nearby theatre. It must have been a logistical mess.

*The address was still listed for the studio in 1931*

Moses & Megan were renting space at 416 S. Kedzie Ave. as they waited to finalize their purchase of the Sosman & Landis name. They would remain at that address throughout the decade. The site is now a parking lot.

To be continued…

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Yankton, South Dakota

Scenery by Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio for the Scottish Rite Theatre in Wichita, Kansas. In 1908, the Wichita Scottish Rite purchased new scenery. Their old scenery was relocated to the Masonic Temple in Yankton, South Dakota.

Painted detail. *Scenery by Sosman & Landis, 1898*

*The Masonic Temple in Yankton, South Dakota*

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 1175 – The Illini Theatre in Sterling, Illinois, 1924

In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Some small work has filled in very nicely. We secured the contract for my old hometown theatre.” Moses was referring to the Illini Theatre in Sterling, Illinois. The 1,200-seat venue was a combination house, built by George Greenough and W. A. Weeks. Moses & Megan delivered both fabric draperies and painted curtains, each now considered necessary for venues featuring both live entertainment and film. This project was secured and completed while Moses and Fred R. Megan were waiting to purchase the Sosman & Landis name.

From the “Sterling Daily Gazette,” 10 March 1924.

On March 19, 1924, The “Sterling Daily Gazette” described the stage of the new theater. The article reported, “The stage, 28 feet deep and 52 feet wide, an arch opening which is 30 feet wide. The stage is equipped with appropriate drops to harmonize with the color and decorative scheme of the theater. The asbestos curtain is plain but for the letter “L.” Back of that are beautiful tobacco brown velour drapes which operate on tracks so that they may be gathered back in drape effect. Furnishing an outline setting for the silver picture screen is a lavender and gold drape of sateen. An advertising olio curtain, a wood scene and the usual interior and exterior boarders are included in the stage drops. All of the curtains were designed and furnished by Tom Moses of the firm Moses and Megan. Mr. Moses is a former Sterling resident and has many friends among the older citizens.”

From the “Sterling Daly Gazette,” 10 March 1924.

After a brief nod to the scenic elements, the article described the new “beautiful lighting effects” at the Illini Theatre. The article continued, “The lighting effects comprise a tribute to the highest genius of electrical science. It is doubtful if Fairyland with its pale, delicate hues – the pinks and purples, the reds and yawning yellows, balmy blues and gentle greens of the most resplendent imaginative array – could be more adequately illuminated to reveal its hidden charm. An ingenious system of lighting operated by a new type of remote-controlled switchboard and cleverly adjusted dimmers, whose levers may be operated with piano touch, is the source of the subtle brilliance in the reflector boxes under the organ screen on both sides of the proscenium arch and throughout the auditorium. The seven primal colors of the rainbow may be blended and diffused by this artful scheme to suit the whims of the picture upon the screen, with unerring faithfulness to plot suggestion. There can be pink dawns, golden noons and purple twilights, bleak breaks-o’-day, cheerless noontimes and drab sunfalls, sombre nights shot with silvery moonlight; yellow hazes simmering in the summer in the summer sun; mountain blues and grey flecked with snowy whites, the vital greens of meadow and hillside, the pinks of rose and the red glows of pulsating life whichever the theme of the picture suggests.”

From the “Sterling Daily Gazette,” 12 June 1924, page 2.

From the “Sterling Daily Gazette,” 24 May 1924, page 2.

From the “Sterling Daily Gazette,” 10 June 1924, page 2.

To be continued…

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Salina, Kansas

In 1927, 117 drops were moved from the Scottish Rite Theatre in McAlester, Oklahoma, to the Scottish Rite Theatre in Salina, Kansas. The collection dates from 1908, originally delivered by the Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio of Chicago. Thomas G. Moses (1856-1934) supervised the design and painting of the collection.

*Scenery and stage machinery By Sosman & Landis, 1908*

*Sosman & Landis wooden arbor cage, 1908*

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 1174 – Thomas G. Moses and White River Trip, 1923.

In 1923 Thomas G. Moses traveled from Little Rock, Arkansas, to Fort Scott, Kansas. He decided to take the scenic route along the White River. Of the experience, he wrote, “I listened to many travelers regarding the wonderful White River trip through the Ozarks. I took it – never again. I was disgusted. I have since learned that I should have taken another route, which is the real one…”

*Part of the line along the White River*

The White River flows through Arkansas and Missouri, starting in the Boston Mountains of northwestern Arkansas.

The railway that followed the White River included a series of engineering challenges, even cutting into limestone cliffs. Bill Caldwell wrote a pretty informative article about the line entitled, “The Sad Tale of the Missouri & North Arkansas line, aka the ‘May Never Arrive.’” Here is the link: https://www.joplinglobe.com/…/article_bf1d0ed9-b924…To be continued…

Tales from a Scenic Artist and Scholar. Part 1173 – Thomas G. Moses and the Wichita Shrine Circus, 1923

Thomas G. Moses visited Wichita, Kansas, multiple times throughout 1923. Often it was a quick stop as he hustled from one project to another, zipping across the country. By summer, he stayed at Wichita’s Acacia Hotel, made sets for the Shrine, closing a contract for $750.00.

Moses was working on scenery for the Midian Shrine Circus. Planning for the 1924 Shrine Circus began by April 1923. The Shrine Circus was under the direction of Henry Wallenstein. Wallenstein was in charge of most Masonic ceremonies and activities in Wichita; his being involved in numerous Masonic orders, as well as being both the Director of the Work and Secretary for the Wichita Scottish Rite. Wallenstein had known and worked with Moses since the 1890s. He was heavily invested in fraternal theatre endeavors throughout the state, and the circus was his new pet project.

On February 8, 1924, the “Inman Review” reported, “The Midian Shrine Circus to be presented at the Wichita Forum February 18^th to 23^rd will eclipse any previous show ever produced in the number of real circus acts in the variety and ability of the performers and in the large display booths and other attractions. There will be a very pervading atmosphere of fun and frivolity during the full six days of the Circus” (page 4).

*The Midian Shrine Circus was held at the Forum in Wichita, Kansas*

By Feb 8, 1924, the “Inman Review” reported, “A complete change of program will be offered, all new and different acts out of the big summer white top shows. It is the policy of the Management of the Midian Shrine Circus to spare no expense in offering this amusement event to the public. Ten months have been spent in planning and twenty big acts of professional performers will be on hand to offer you the greatest indoor attraction witnessed in the Southwest. 50c admittance, the same as always, will be charged, and there will be hundreds of free seats” (page 1). The 1924 shows ran from Feb 18-23^rd.

The Lindsborg News-Record described some of the acts: ‘Among the twenty real circus acts booked are the now Famous Flying Wards, who are now booked at the New York Hippodrome; the Joe Hodgini Troupe of Equestrians from Sells Floto Circus; Madame Bellini, the biggest individual act in the circus world who brings her beautiful menagerie and high school horses; Sir Vistor’s Dogs and Ponies; the Laemy Sisters; Dainty Ethel Marine in her Spanish Web Act, the Hamilton Sisters; Hassan Bey and his Arab Troupe; twenty other famous clowns, and many others” 1 Feb 1924, page 4).

Of the event, the “Hazelton Herald” announced, “Five thousand members of Midian Temple located in every progressive city of the Southwest are assisting in making the Midian Shrine Circus of 1924 a success. The date is set for the entire week of Feb 18 to 23 and two performances a day will be given at the Forum, Wichita. One hundred and fifty thousand people who have seen the previous Midian Shrine Circuses are anxiously waiting for the doors to open on Feb 18^th” (1 Feb 1924, page 1).

To be continued…

Travels of a Scenic Artist and Scholar: Leadville, Colorado.

Scenery by Sosman & Landis for the Elks Opera House (Tabor Opera House) in Leadville, Colorado, 1902. The Sosman & Landis Studio was subcontracted by the Kansas City Scenic Co. for the project.

*Scenery by Sosman & Landis for the (Elks Opera House) Tabor Opera House in 1902*

For more scenes from the Tabor Opera House, visit www.drypigment.net and keyword search “Tabor Opera House.”