The Brown Grand Theatre is a community-based historical theatre dedicated to enhancing cultural life in North Central Kansas in the United States. The theatre is a majestic opera house located in Concordia, Kansas and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The theatre has been called "the most elegant theater between Kansas City and Denver"[1] and to this day plays host to many popular events in the region.[2]
In November 1905, Concordia resident Colonel Napoleon Bonaparte Brown announced to the townspeople his plans to build a fully outfitted opera house for Concordia. Renowned Kansas City theatre architect Carl Boller was hired to prepare the design drawings and the blueprints.
The construction of the theatre was under the direction of Brown's son, Earl Van Dom Brown. Young Earl researched and gathered ideas by touring more than thirty opera houses in Kansas and Missouri. Native Concordian W.T. Short (already known for his work on the Brown family home Brownstone Hall and other buildings in the area) was hired as the construction supervisor. Ground breaking ceremonies took place on April 3, 1906.
At its completion, The Brown Grand Theatre stood sixty-feet high and spanned one-hundred- twenty feet in length. Renaissance in style and overall design, the $40,000 structure became a priceless jewel amid rare aesthetic fiches in a small town in turn of the century mid-America. The formal opening of the Brown Grand Theatre took place September 17, 1907 with the production The Vanderbilt Cup (a comedy set against the backdrop of the auto racing trophy Vanderbilt Cup.[3]
- "The firemen who were at the doors were in full uniform and the ushers at the door wore white gloves. I'll tell you, that night society sort of quivered. It was all beautiful . . . yes it was." --Carl "Punch" Rogers who was in attendance on opening night.[4]
- ^ Moran, Jerry. "Historic Performing Theatre - The Brown Grand Theatre". The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Retrieved 2008-02-29.
- ^ Kansas Legislature Joint Committee on Arts and Cultural Resources
- ^ Inside Cloud "Happy 100th Birthday Brown Grand Theatre" by Jenny Acree, September 21, 2007
- ^ "History of the Brown Grand Theatre in Concordia, Kansas". Brown Grand Theater. Retrieved 2008-02-29.