The Midland Theater , officially known for sponsorship purposes as Arvest Bank Theater in Midland , is a 3,200 seat theater located in Power & amp; District of Light City Kansas, Missouri, United States. The National Collegiate Athletic Association under Walter Byers had its headquarters in the building from 1950 until it moved to 6299 Nall Avenue on the Shawnee Mission Parkway in Mission, Kansas in 1971. The theater was originally known as Midland Loew's Theater b> to 1961. Over the years, the theater has been known by various names including: Saxon Theater , Midland Stadium , Midland 1-2-3 Theater , Midland Theater and Midland by AMC .
Video Midland Theatre
Design
Built by Marcus Loew, completed in 1927, at a cost of $ 4 million and is the largest historic theater within 250 miles of the city. Midland was designed by architect Thomas W. Lamb of New York and Boller Brothers of Kansas City, and Boaz-Kiel Construction of St. Louis established the structure. The theater, built in the French and Italian Baroque, was representative of Lamb's work in the late 1920s.
The exterior of the theater is built in Renaissance Renaissance style inside a tarred glass terra cotta, adorned with involved pilasters, winged figures, leaves, flowers, stolen goods, volute, jars, and arches. A four-story curved window rises above a copper and gold tent containing 3,600 light bulbs.
The theater is famous for over 500,000 gold leaf legs, five Czech-made crystal hand-made chandeliers, irreplaceable art objects and precious antiques, and spectacular woodwork and plaster.
By the time Midland Loew was opened, it was home to Robert Morton's theater pipe organ. This organ was used in the theater until after World War II, when a larger screen sound film finally resulted in an end to stage performances and organ music at home. The organ began to deteriorate due to lack of use until it was purchased and removed in 1960 by Robert Fray and placed in his home. After the organ changed hands and moved across the country several times, it was finally purchased by local fans in 1984 and now at home at the Kansas City Music Hall.
Midland closed in January 1961, and then after some renovations, it was briefly reopened as an arena that served as home to Kansas City's Kansas City Stars professional bowling team. The stars were financially unsuccessful, and they left Midland in December of the same year.
Maps Midland Theatre
AMC ownership
AMC Theaters (later a small Kansas City regional chain) bought Midland in 1966, and the theater continued to operate as a cinema until 1981. Since then, it has become a show hall, still in use today for concerts, Broadway and stage performances , ballet and other events. It also serves as Kansas City's home of the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular over the past few years. The theater was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
Redevelopment
In 2007, AMC and the Cordish Company formed a partnership to renovate the millions of dollars of the historic landmark. Since it was reopened in late 2008, the theater was called Midland by AMC and hosted an event promoted by AEG Live company.
Among the major changes made in redevelopment, the main level seating row has been removed and replaced with an open floor plan allowing cabaret-style tables and chairs, or standing rooms for public reception. The Midland's exterior tent was restored to its original appearance in 1927. The five-story section of the theater facing Main Street was converted into a mix of bars, sitting rooms and administration rooms. According to the Cordish Company of Baltimore, the developer of the project, all changes meet historical preservation guidelines as required by state and federal governments.
On September 4, 2013, AEG Live, the Cordish Company and Arvest Bank announced that the bank has obtained a multi-year naming rights agreement to the Midland Theater. The announcement coincided with the celebration of the fifth anniversary of the theatrical relaunch in September 2008. The name of the venue officially became the Arvest Bank Theater at The Midland on September 13, 2013.
References
- Midland Theater Accessed February 8, 2006
Source of the article : Wikipedia