Update: The building that housed this collection was sold without the University disclosing the contents. The fate of these historic stage artifacts remain unknown at this time.
Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.
The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.
Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.
Between 1924 and 1925, Thomas G. Moses, Fitch B. Fulton and Harry E. Naile delivered scenery to several Masonic theaters. The Pasadena Scottish Rite project began on the heels of the Fort Scott Scottish Rite project. It all started with Fort Scott, Kansas.
In August 1924, Moses wrote, “Fulton is now in Fort Scott getting ready for our big work. I bought a round trip ticket for a long western trip and started on the 16th of August arriving in Fort Scott on the 17th. Put in one day with Fulton, leaving on the 19th.”
Fulton was on site setting up the paint space in the theater and was already painting when Moses arrived for a day in Fort Scott. The two worked on a platform twenty-feet above the stage-left side of the theater. The project would be completed in spits and spurts that year.
After leaving Fort Scott and stopping in Salt Lake City, Moses arrived in Los Angeles on the afternoon of the August 22, He wrote, “Got busy immediately at Pasadena for ten days. As a final deal, I offered the Little Rock drops for $8,500.00, closed the deal and at Los Angeles for a big interior for the Consistory.”
So, while Fulton began the Fort Scott job, Moses landed the Pasadena job.
Moses returned to the Fort Scott Project, finished the work with Fulton, and then headed back to Chicago. By November 1924, Moses wrote, “I must get back to Pasadena as they want to open on the 24th of February, so we put the house in perfect shape for cold weather and got our tickets via the D.R.G. through Colorado. Met Fulton at Denver and were soon on our way to San Jose. Arriving in San Francisco, we reached the 3rd Street Station just in time to catch a train for San Jose. Went to the Vendome Hotel and Mrs. Fulton came up. It took us eight days to close a $7,000.00 contract and get to Los Angeles where we spent two days, finally securing a fine apartment at the 159 S. Los Robles Avenue in Pasadena, where we will remain for two months. Had a delightful Christmas day at Walters.”
Moses and Fulton planned on preparing the used Little Rock scenery for installation and painting a few new scenes for the Pasadena Scottish Rite.
Scene by Sosman & Landis for the Scottish Rite theater in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1902. It was sold to the Pasadena Scottish Rite and installed in 1925.Scene by Sosman & Landis for the Scottish Rite theater in Little Rock, Arkansas, 1902. It was sold to the Pasadena Scottish Rite and installed in 1925.Backdrop painted by Thomas G. Moses and Fitch Fulton in 1925 for the Pasadena Scottish Rite.Painted detail. Backdrop painted by Thomas G. Moses and Fitch Fulton in 1925 for the Pasadena Scottish Rite.
On February 14, 1925, the “Pasadena Post” reported, “The magnificent scenic drop curtains which have been hung in the new Scottish Rite cathedral to be dedicated Tuesday evening, are a gift of Major Charles M. Skillen, in memory of his son, the later Dr. Ralph G. Skillen. Both father and sone were charter members of the Pasadena Consistory.“The 73 drops represent some of the finest work of the artists of Sosman & Landis company of Chicago have ever produced, according to Thomas G. Moses, president of the firm, who is in Pasadena to personally supervise the work of installing them. “Each of the drops was especially designed and finished for the Pasadena cathedral. Months were spent in the preparation of then, it is said. About half were painted in the Chicago studios of the company and the reminder finished in this city. While Mr. Moses has watched carefully the painting of the curtains, much credit for their final perfection must go to the assistant and scenic artist, F. B. Fulton. Mr. Fulton believes the scenic work to be some of the finest he has ever produced. The final work of hanging and installing the curtains will be under the supervision of Harry Nail, a member of the Sosman & Landis company. This work demands such expert workmanship that Mr. Nail [sic.] was brought from Chicago so that no mistakes in installation could be made.”
The stage machinery at the Pasadena Scottish Rite installed by Harry E. Naile in 1925. This is the same system that was previously used at the Little Rock Scottish Rite from 1902 to 1923.The Pasadena Scottish Rite theater became known as the Cobb Auditorium in 1935.The original decor at the Pasadena Scottish Rite from 1925.The renovated Pasadena Scottish Rite, ca. 1965.The Pasadena Scottish Rite, c. 2017.
Only if you were standing backstage at the Pasadena Scottish Rite and saw “Little Rock” written all over the back of many of the scenes would you suspect that they scenery was not new. That a good portion of the collection was previously designed and installed at the Little Rock Scottish Rite in Arkansas.
“Little Rock” written on the back of a drop at the Pasadena Scottish Rite.“Little Rock” written on the back of a drop at the Pasadena Scottish Rite.Also included is information about the size, composition, scenic piece, and degree.
When the Scottish Rite in Little Rock purchased new scenery in 1923, their old scenery was returned on credit, applied toward the purchase of new scenery. This used collection was stored and then split between the Miami Scottish Rite and the Pasadena Scottish Rite. When some of the old Little Rock scenery arrived in Pasadena, Moses and Fulton touched up the scenes and then added some drops.Over the decades, the scenery collection was expanded, touched up, and repositioned. A complete remodel of the auditorium took place from 1964-1965, greatly altering the overall aesthetic and proscenium opening that showcased the scenic artworks.https://www.pasadenascottishrite.org/about-us/history/
Update: The building that housed this collection was sold without the University disclosing the contents. The fate of these historic stage artifacts remain unknown at this time.
Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.
The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.
Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.
An example of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.An example of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.An example of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.An example of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.An example of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.An example of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.An example of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.
Thomas G. Moses worked with Fitch Fulton on a variety of Scottish Rite scenery projects during 1924 and 1925. One was Pasadena Scottish Rite, a project that offered escape from the cold in Chicago. Moses desperately wanted to spend his winters in California, and the Pasadena Scottish Rite project ensured a few months of work in a warm location.
At the end of 1924, Moses wrote, “The last Sunday in the year we spent at the Fultons, where we enjoyed the day. As I had hoped a year ago, we are spending the winter in California and so far we have thoroughly enjoyed it, as we have many winters in the past.”
Even when Moses and Fulton weren’t painting scenery, they enjoyed social gatherings and sketching trips. The two were a generation apart, with Fulton in his 40s and Moses in his 60s. Both were skilled artists and greatly enjoyed plein air painting. Of one excursion, Moses wrote, “Walter, Fulton and I went out for a day’s sketching at Sycamore Rock near Eagle Rock. We had plenty of visitors. I found a vast difference between the far east and California as far as atmosphere is concerned. So, I was not as successful with my sketches as I had hoped to be.”
Later in 1925, Moses wrote, “We all enjoyed the many week-end trips, we took with wonderful lunches and good sketching grounds. Mrs. Fulton looked after the eats and she certainly did not overlook anything, as we were overfed and did not feel like sketching after the meal. We found some very good sketching down in Topanga Canyon, over towards Santa Monica and Flint Cliff. I would like to make an extended sketching trip out here, but I am very much afraid I will never be able to, as business will keep me from it as it has always done in the past. It has been very pleasant out of doors. Some days the sun was so hot that we had to get under a tree – pretty good for January.”
Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.Topanga postcard form the 1920s.
Update: The building that housed this collection was sold without the University disclosing the contents. The fate of these historic stage artifacts remain unknown at this time.
Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University. The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.
Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.
In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Fitch Fulton drifted in from the west on the 18th of July and we found work for him on designs.”
Fulton became Moses’ right-hand man for the next few years. Moses, Fulton and Harry Naile formed a unique scenic trio that went from one Masonic project to another, completing work secured by Fred R. Megan. Two of their projects included Scottish Rite theaters in Pasadena, California and Fort Scott, Kansas. Fulton was Moses’ painting assistant, friend, and sketching companion. Like many of Moses’ friends living in California, Fulton transitioned from theater to motion pictures by the 1930s. Moses did not.
Today, Fulton is primarily associated with one particular painting – his matte painting of Tara from “Gone With the Wind.” Measuring 36 inches by 31.5 inches, it was used under the films’ opening credits. In 2013, CBS reported on a Hollywood Memorabilia Auction, where Fulton’s painting was sold for $225,000. (https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/hollywood-memorabilia-auction/). Fulton originally gifted the painting to his son, John P. Fulton, inscribing on the lower right corner, “To John from Dad.” His son John P. Fulton ended up in special effects for the motion picture industry, starting out as a cameraman.
Men like the Fitch Fulton bridged the gap between nineteenth-century special effects and twentieth-century special effects. It is no wonder that his son would excel in the planning and engineering of special effects for film, as he grew up watching his father engineer special effects for the stage. The only difference was that one century created illusion for live performance on stage and the other century used the screen. Again, nineteenth-century scenic artists did much more than paint backdrops, they engineered and often constructed stage illusion, spectacles, amusement park rides and other popular entertainment. Those, like Moses, who clung to only producing special effects for the stage continued to struggle. Interestingly, they became more reliant on the integration and sale of draperies.
Fulton is repeatedly mentioned by Moses his memoirs in 1924 and 1925, I am going to include a little history about this interesting individual. Like Moses, he was not only a scenic artist, but also an easel artist and exhibited his work in California. He was a member of the Painters and Sculptors Club, the Artists of the Southwest, Academy of Western Painters, the California Watercolor Society and the California Art Club.
Fitch Burt Fulton was born in Beatrice, Nebraska, on Oct. 10, 1879. He was the son of John Blythe Fulton (1835-1924) and Sarah Phipps Fulton (1835-1902). One of six children, his siblings were Margaret Ann (1859-1951), Thomas B. (1867-1946), William S. (1868-1955), Richard N. (1870-1953) and Jessie Berlin (1873-1912). Fulton’s artistic ambitions were apparent by the 1890s.
On September 30, 1898, “The Tribune” in Beatrice, Nebraska, reported, “Fitch B. Fulton, the young Beatrice designer and engraver, is rapidly coming to the front. He has gotten up some very handsome and artistic designs of late. The young man shows great ability and undoubtedly has a very bright and successful career before him” (page 6). On October 15, 1898, the “Beatrice Daily Express” reported, “The carnival cut on this page is the design of Fitch B. Fulton of this city. It is a credit to Mr. Fulton’s genius and betrays the evidence of a rising young artis.” He continued his artistic studies in Chicago at this time.
Fitch Fulton’s Carnival Cutfor the Beatrice Daily Express, 1898.
In 1899, Fulton returned to his studies in Chicago after holiday break. On March 14, 1899, the “Beatrice Daily Express” reported, “Fitch B. Fulton has gone to Chicago to re-enter the art institute there.” Fulton studied under John Vanderpoel, Frederick W. Freer and J. Francis Smith at the Art Institute. He also studied at the Arts League of New York.
Fulton married Anna Maria Engstrom (1879-1941) in on March 8, 1902, and the two celebrated the birth of a son, John Phipps Fulton (Nov. 4, 1902), and the birth of a daughter, Bernice (July 23, 1905). Bernice was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
On Dec. 16, 1902, the “Beatrice Daily Express” reported, “The Beatrice Book and Stationary Co. has on display in their north show window a number of sketches done in watercolors by Fitch Fulton, a local artist. These simple studies are well excited and show a fidelity to nature that is remarkable. The color is rather subdued but it is the more striking because of the prevalence and effect of the soft tints. At present Mr. Fulton is in Omaha engaged in work of this nature.”
In 1913, the Fultons moved to San Francisco on where he worked on the railroad exhibit at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1914. After the world Fair’s work, the Fulton’s loved in Denver for a year before permanently moving to Los Angeles in 1916.
In 1918, Fulton listed that he was working as a scenic artist at the Edwin H. Flagg Scenic Co. in Long beach, California, on his WWI draft registration card. At the time, his physical appearance was described shirt and stout, with black hair and brown eyes. By 1920, the Federal Census listed the Fultons as living next to fellow scenic artist Arthur R. Hurtt and his wife Winnifred (58 and 55 yrs. old, respectively). The Fultons were at 1510 Mowhawk Street and the Hurtt’s at 1518 Mowhawk Street. That year Fulton partnered with J. D. Martin and Wm. T. Martin to establish the J. D. Martin Scenic Co., Los Angeles. It was listed in the Incorporations section of “Southwest Builders and Contractors” (11 Feb 1920, page 30). The listing included: “Capital stock, $25,000; subscribed, $3,000; Directors J. D. Martin and Wm. T. Martin, 215 E. 25th St., and Fitch B. Fulton, 1519 Mohawk St.; Attorney: William Crop, 544 Wesley Roberts Bldg.
In 1922, the Fultons were living at 1545 Columbia in Glendale, California. That year he was credited with painting a landscape for California’s Pageant of Progress and Industrial Exposition. On September 4, 1922, the “Los Angeles Times” reported, “Camping styles for maid who crave to trade their skirts for knickers and steal away with rod and gun to fish and hunt have become distinctly a Los Angeles product. The best examples of this young Diana styles are on display at one of the most unique and effectively decorated booths on the exposition grounds. The Army and Navy camp shows a mountain woodland scene with a scenic background painted by Fitch B. Fulton, who received a gold medal at the Panama Pacific Exposition for the Gould Railway exhibit. He is a member of the California Art Club.” In 1922 Fulton also received applause for his stage settings for “La Golondrina (The Swallow)” at the playhouse in San Gabriel (Los Angeles Evening Express, 9 April 1922, page 16). J. M. Cox was the director.Throughout the 1920s, he continued to primarily work on stage productions. On June 1, 1925, he was credited with the settings for “The Big Top” at the Majestic (Los Angeles Evening Express, 1 June 1925, page 6).
During the 1920s, Fulton became increasing active in art shows. In 1923, he exhibited with the California Watercolor Society. On January 7, 1923, the “Los Angeles Times” reported “Fitch Fulton’s ‘Wedding Dream’ is remarkably decorative in composition and color, it is permeated with delicate and refined beauty, it is a painted Epithalamium.” In 1925, some of Fulton’s painting were included in the first exhibition of the Artland Artists. On Nov. 1, 1925, the “Daily News” listed “Soboba Sycamore” by Fitch B. Fulton as one of the oil paintings on display (page 33). In 1926, Fulton’s artworks were part of the third exhibit of paintings by the L. A. Art Club (Los Angeles Evening Express, 3 September, 1926, page 17). That year, he also was the president of the Painter and Sculptors Club in Los Angeles. He continued to exhibit artworks whenever he could, but held off on a one-man exhibit until 1951. On April 29, 1951, the “Los Angeles Times” announced “Fitch Fulton Impresses.” (page 14). Fitch Fulton, now 62, has long been known here as a good landscape painter. Until his recent retirement from work for motion pictures, however, he was always too busy to prepare an exhibit. So, at 62 Fulton has his first one-man show. It consists of small oil landscapes, very sensitively recording things see by a poetic eye. This exhibit is on until May 7 at the Little Gallery, 626 N. Glendale Ave.” For a glimpse at some of his paintings, visit Mutual Art at https://www.mutualart.com/Artist/Fitch-Fulton/41294041B9B9CE70/Artworks
Fitch Fulton painting sold at auction.Fitch Fulton painting sold at auction.Fitch Fulton painting sold at auction.Fitch Fulton painting sold at auction.Fitch Fulton painting sold at auction.
All the while, he kept working as a scenic artist, completing projects for a variety of studios and under his own name. In 1927, Fulton was credited with the scenic design for the “Devil’s Plum Tree” (San Francisco Examiner, 11 Sept. 1927, page 52.). J. D. Martin Studios in Hollywood executed Fulton’s designs. By the 1930s, Fulton transitioned to the motion pictures and was associated with the visual effects for “The Enchanted Cottage” (1945), “Citizen Cane” (1941), and “Gone with the Wind” (1939). He was listed as part of the technical staff for “Mighty Joe Young” (1949), credited with special effects for the film. Again, this is no surprise as Fulton was already familiar with engineering special effects for the stage.
Fitch Fulton is credited with special effects for “Mighty Joe Young.”Fitch Fulton is credited with special effects for “Mighty Joe Young.”
He lost his wife Anna just as his film career was starting to gather momentum in 1941. On April 7, 1941, their hometown newspaper reported, “A message was received here yesterday announcing the death of Mrs. F. B. Fulton, formerly of Beatrice, which occurred at Glendale, Calif., where she had resided since leaving this city. She has been in failing health for a year or more. Surviving are her husband, who has long been connected with the scenic department of the movie colony in Hollywood, one son John, who is also with the movies as a production representative and a daughter, Bernice. (Beatrice Daily Sun, page 1).
Fulton soon remarried the next year. On May 8, 1942, he was wedded to Mary Ann “Mamie” Davlin Fulton (1890-1994). Mary is quite interesting in her own right, as she was the first woman in the United States and Canada to become a freight router. A native of Plankington, South Dakota, she spent most of her adult life in Los Angeles, where she attended Heald Business College. This was Mary’s second marriage too. She long out lived Fitch, passing away in 1995 at the age of 104.
The grave of Fitch and Mary Fulton
He died on Feb. 23, 1955 in Glendale, California and is buried at Mission Hills, Los Angeles, California. His obituary was published in the “Los Angeles Times” on Feb. 25, 1955. It noted, “Mr. Fulton, who first came to California in 1913, was a designer and artist. He leaves his widow Maryl; a daughter Mrs. Krutchfield Ahair, Santa Barbara; a son, John P. Fulton, North Hollywood, and four grandchildren.”
I cannot end this post without a brief mention of Fulton’s daughter and son. Both of the Fulton children were artistically gifted. When Bernice married in 1932, the “San Bernardino Country Sun” reported, “Miss Fulton has been a teacher in the art department of the Belmont high school, Los Angeles, for five years, being a graduate of U. C. L. A. and also studies in Europe. Her father was the artist painting the curtain in the municipal auditorium in San Bernardino.”
Her brother, John P. Fulton, directed his artistic abilities toward the film industry. In 1930, John P. was listed as a Cinematographer in the motion picture industry, living at 1168 ½ on Hampshire Blvd. in Los Angeles.
A decade later, John P. was listed as a cameraman in the 1940 census. By 1947, his draft registration card listed his employer as Universal Pictures Corp, Universal City. At the time, John was living with Bernice at 1521 Kings Rd. Hollywood, California. There is a great amount of information out there about Fitch’s son, especially blog posts. Here is a link to
Sadly, John passed away only a decade after his father. In 1965, he contracted a rare infection while working on a film in Madrid, Spain (“The Battle of Britain”), and passed away in an English hospital.
Update: The building that housed this collection was sold without the University disclosing the contents. The fate of these historic stage artifacts remain unknown at this time.
Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.
The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.
Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.
Update: The building that housed this collection was sold without the University disclosing the contents. The fate of these historic stage artifacts remain unknown at this time.
Examples of historic scenic art from the Scenery Collection stored in the Arts Annex of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Northern Illinois University.
The Scenic Collection includes elements from the settings of 90 operas, with approximately 900 backdrops and borders and more than 2200 framed scenic units. The stage settings illustrate an exceptional range of production styles between 1889 and 1932. In addition to the scenery there are 3 dimensional units including furniture and properties. Furthermore, the collection is supported by an extraordinary archive of production notebooks, property lists, inventories, expense records, performance time sheets, correspondence, original photographs of the sets, selected costumes, and opera stars of the period, ground plans and blueprints, painters elevations and renderings, original costume and set design drawings, and 120 exquisitely painted and detailed ¼” scale maquettes of the settings.
Unfortunately, some of the scenery has been damaged since initial documentation. The roof leaks and flooding is a problem due to non-working sump pumps.
In 1924 Thomas G. Moses wrote, “Closed a contract at Pittsburg for some new drapery at the Shrine.” Moses was referring to the new Shrine Temple in Pittsburg, Kansas. The Mirza Temple featured an auditorium and galleries with a seating capacity of 2,500.
The Mirza Shrine building in Pittsburg, Kansas, 1924.The building is now known as the Pittsburg Memorial Auditorium.
On August 25, 1924, the “Parsons Daily Sun” included a picture of the new building and announced, “Mirza Mosque As It Nears Completion” (page 6). The article described, “The mosque of Mirza Temple of the Mystic Shrine at Pittsburg which is being built by the Shriners of southeast Kansas, over which the temple has jurisdiction is nearing completion. The structure is being erected at a cost of over $400,000, of which the Shriners in Parsons pledged a generous amount. The building of the mosque started about a year ago and it is expected the formal opening will take place sometime this fall. The structure is three stories high, covers a half block square is built of dark red brick and trimmed with Carthage building stone. When competed it will have adequate facilities for all the Shrine activities. The auditorium will seat between 2500 and 2600 and the stage, is large enough to care for the elaborate ceremonials of the Shrines. The city of Pittsburg will have access to the various community affairs.” The article went on to state that there were about 3,000 Shriners in the district which includes southeastern Kansas. Mirza Temple also had a 52-piece band whose members came from all over the area, including Iola, Parsons and Coffeyville. By the late 1920s, Mirza Temple also had a group named the “Agitatin’ Annies,” a woman’s auxiliary of the Shrine that performed and marched in parades.
The Mirza Shrine Circus TrainThe Mirza Shrine’s Agitatin’ Annies, c. 1929Illustrations of the Mirza Shrine were published in regional newspapers.Detail of the entrance still used today.
On November 13, 1925, the “Chanute Weekly Tribune” included a picture of the new building with the description, “the above building has a frontage of 167 feet on Pine and 142 feet on Fifth Street in Pittsburg. In its interior is an auditorium for conferring the Shrine work, also for entertainments, including the productions of the largest theatrical companies on the road. The most wonderful electrical effects produced in great theatres of New York City can be reproduced by the Temple equipment. Various offices, patrol and band rooms, dining hall accommodating 1500 people, dancing floor, kitchens, etc. are also in the building” (page 6).
The Patrol for the Mirza Shrine, c. 1929The Mirza Shrine drew members from Iola, Kansas.
On November 27, 1925, the “Chanute Weekly Tribune” reported, “Many Chanute Shriners sojourned to Pittsburg yesterday to attend the dedication of Mirza Temple’s new mosque, costing half a million dollars. The dedication ceremonial was held at 10 o’clock in the morning and in the afternoon a class of 114 novices began their pilgrimage over the burning sands at the largest ceremonial session ever held by Mirza Temple” (page 4).
For the past year, I have slowly plugged along on the Tabor Opera House scenery project. In addition to two site visits, I tracked down a massive amount of information pertaining to the individuals and scenic studios that produced scenery for the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado, and the Tabor Grand Opera House in Denver, Colorado. Both were built by silver magnate Horace Tabor in 1879 and 1881, respectively. The story of the Tabor Opera House is intertwined with the success of a boom town, a passionate love triangle, and the establishment of the Silver Circuit. Tabor and his opera houses have repeatedly been the topic for both fictional and non-fictional accounts, even inspiring the 1932 movie “Silver Dollar.” Tabor’s second wife was the famed beauty featured in the 1958 opera by Douglas Moore and John Latouche, “The Ballad of Baby Doe”(http://usopera.com/operas/ballad.html).
The Tabor Opera House in Leadville was planned by someone who did not understand theatre architecture nor the basic logistics. Horace Tabor was simply a patron of the arts with money to burn. Although his opera house opened in November 1879, the auditorium and stage were renovated by August 1882; the acoustics and stage machinery were an abysmal failure. There were more structural changes for the building two decades later when the building was purchased by Leadville’s Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (B.P.O.E.). Tabor lost his fortune in the early 1890s, and the building changed hands before the Elks purchased it in 1901.
The Tabor Opera House in Leadville, c. 1879-1882The Elks Opera House (renovated Tabor Opera House) after 1902.
By the way, the founder of the Elks (actor Charles Vivian) died in Leadville and his funeral was held at the Tabor Opera House.
When the Elks acquired the Tabor Opera House (then known as the Weston Opera House), they completely renovated the auditorium and stage. Part of the renovation included adding a fly loft and purchasing all new scenery from the Kansas City Scenic Co. The Kansas City Scenic Co. subcontracted some of their project to the Sosman & Landis Scene Painting Studio of Chicago. Sosman & Landis delivered at least two of the interior settings and a ceiling panel.
Between 1879 and 1902 new scenery was delivered multiple times as the venue transitioned from a wing-and-shutter scenery to a fly drops, box sets and folding wings. Scenic artists included decorative artist James E. Lamphere (C. A. Treat, Denver), T. Frank Cox (well-known theater architect and founder of Cox Bros. Great Southern Studio, New Orleans) and Henry E. Burcky (well-known scenic artist of Hooley’s Theatre in Chicago and the 1881 Cincinnati Opera Festival).
Tree profile by Frank Cox, 1888.Signature and date on back of tree profile by Frank Cox, 1888.Cut Shutter by T. Frank Cox, 1888.Moving painted shutters by T. Frank Cox.
When the nineteenth-century scenery was replaced with new scenery in 1902, the old scenery was simply stored in the attic. Over the years a few pieces were lowered to the floor, but it was an arduous task to transfer it from the attic to the stage floor, so much remained untouched. Until 2020, much of the scenery remained stacked along one attic wall, patiently waiting under piles of dust and debris.
Piles of nineteenth-century scenery were once stored in the attic of the Tabor Opera House. Photograph from June 19, 2018.
I was hired in 2020 to document and evaluate the Tabor Opera House scenery collections. My task was to conduct a historical analysis of the collection, evaluate the condition of individual artifacts, provide replacement estimates, and create a collections care management program. At the time, I believed there were about 50 pieces on the stage and about 30 pieces in the attic. I was very, very wrong, and grossly underestimated the amount. I could not never have anticipated the size or scope of the collections. The sheer numbers surprised everyone.
A small section of flats stacked against the back wall of the Tabor Opera House in Leadville, Colorado.
To date, the documented stage artifacts comprise fourteen unique theatre collections, spanning from 1879-1902. There are over 250 individually painted compositions, as many pieces are double-painted. Nineteenth-century scenery once stored in the attic was designed for a wing-and-shutter system. The twentieth-century scenery was designed for a more modern stage with a fly loft. I have never encountered so much scenery delivered to one place, specifically one small opera house in the mountains. Even when the scenery was damaged over the years, it wasn’t discarded. We uncovered dozens of painted scraps and little broken bits, just tucked away, out of sight, out of mind.
The packed stage before all of the attic scenery was lowered to the stage floor.
I have completed two of three phases, as there are still piles of undocumented scenery scattered throughout the building, stored above attic rafters and elsewhere. The first phase of the project (February 2020) focused on the twentieth-century scenery and the second phase (September 2020) focused on the nineteenth-century scenery in the attic. The third phase will happen sometime this year and include a “rounding up” of the remaining artifacts. They just keep popping up all over the place.
The historical analysis of the fourteen Tabor Opera House collections is 440 pages long. I wrote the text in a conversational format to help communicate information to both the Board of Directors and architects. I included fun facts and stories for moments of levity, sharing the lives and careers of the many individuals involved with the stage from 1879-1902. I wanted these artifacts to personally impact those without a thorough understanding of technical theatre or theatre history. The title of my tome is “A Theatre Time Capsule: Scenic Collections at the Tabor Opera House.” My work places the collections and each artifact within a historical context, both nationally and internationally. This 440-page document does not include the individual conditions reports, replacement appraisals, recommendations or collections care program. That was a whole separate headache. When everything is put together, my work is just shy of 1300 pages. I am dreading making a hard copy of everything next month.
A stray piece documented in the Tabor Opera House attic, June 2018.That same stage artifact cleaned and lowered to the stage floor in September 2020.Nineteenth-century stage setting delivered to the Tabor Opera House.Twentieth-century scene delivered to the Tabor Opera House.
The scope of the collection is the broadest that I have ever encountered, not just in regard to the scenery, but also in regard to stage hardware. Yes, there is water damage, punctures, abrasions, poor repairs, alterations and the like, but much of the scenery is between 119 and 142 years old, so with that in mind, the scenery is in remarkable shape and all salvageable.
I will keep you posted once third final phase is complete.
