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Ramsdell Theatre

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Coordinates: 44°14′45.06″N 86°19′25.74″W / 44.2458500°N 86.3238167°W / 44.2458500; -86.3238167
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Ramsdell Theatre
Ramsdell Theatre is located in Michigan
Ramsdell Theatre
Ramsdell Theatre is located in the United States
Ramsdell Theatre
Location101 Maple St, Manistee, Michigan
Coordinates44°14′45.06″N 86°19′25.74″W / 44.2458500°N 86.3238167°W / 44.2458500; -86.3238167
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1902—1903
ArchitectSolon Spencer Beman
Architectural stylepossible Colonial Revival architecture or Greek Revival architecture
NRHP reference No.72000640[1]
Added to NRHPJanuary 13, 1972
Ramsdell erected tablet on building

The Ramsdell Theatre is a historic playhouse theater building and opera house at 101 Maple Street in downtown Manistee, Michigan. The building was financed by local businessman and politician Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell. At the time the structure was built in 1902, it was considered one of the best opera and vaudeville buildings in the United States. It replaced the town's two previous opera houses which had been destroyed by fire, one in 1882 and the other in 1900. Besides producing plays the facility was later used as a movie theater. James Earl Jones started his acting career at the theater.

Building features

The Ramsdell Theatre building was constructed between 1902 and 1903 by the town's only lawyer Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell at a cost of $100,000, equivalent to $2,955,000 in 2019. Architect Solon Spencer Beman was contracted to design the Ramsdell Theater structure. The Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts considered that at the time the theater was constructed it was comparable to the best opera and vaudeville houses in the United States. The building, located at First and Maple Streets, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972. The state of Michigan named the Theater as a Michigan Historic Site in 1980 and it presently serves as a local cultural center for the Western Michigan area.[2]

The general design has been described as Greek Revival or Grecian architecture[3] and also as a classic Colonial design.[2] Its front exterior is a design of red brick with Doric columns supporting the flat colonnade over the main entrance to the building.[3] The Ramsdell Theatre and the adjoining assembly hall called Ramsdell Great Hall are distinct buildings from each other, although built at the same time.[2]

The theater features a double balcony upstairs and private viewing boxes along the main floor. Its seating has been cut back to 462 from its original seating capacity of 1200 for fire safety. It has two boxes of seating located on each side ends of the stage and two additional ones in the lower balcony. The building has a hipped roof, closely spaced teeth-like block modillion cornice, a decorated center front with columns, round arched entrance, ornamental brick panels, and dome murals. An unusual feature of the interior is the balcony in the shape of a horseshoe which is supported by several pillars that extend to the tin plated ceiling.[2]

The stage measures 34 feet (10 m) deep and 60 feet (18 m) wide and the proscenium arch adorned in metal is 26 feet (7.9 m) wide. The raised frame from which lighting is suspended over the stage is 70 feet (21 m) while a pair of fly galleries are almost 30 feet (9.1 m) above the stage. In addition, there is a paint gallery that is 33 feet 10 inches (10.31 m) above the stage floor. This permitted artists to paint scenery cloths while they were hung rather than having to climb on a ladder or lay them flat on a floor.[4]: 47  When the theater was built it was proclaimed as being acoustically perfect.[5]

The interior decoration was completed by artists notable in their own right. Walter Burridge, a scenic artist who painted sets for an early stage production of The Wizard of Oz, created the front curtain called A Grove Near Athens; the curtain is still being used today.[2][6] Ramsdell's son Frederick Winthrop Ramsdell decorated a pair of lunettes in the lobby and the dome in the house showing Venus riding a chariot through the sky that is surrounded by cherubs.[7] In addition to the original murals still decorating the auditorium's dome, there is a 26-foot (7.9 m) gilded proscenium.[2]

Early history

Ramsdell Theatre interior 2005
Ramsdell Theatre grand ballroom 2019
Ramsdell Theatre historic marker
Ramsdell Theatre hipped roof + dentil

Planning for the building began in 1901 after the two previous Manistee opera houses were destroyed by fire.[2][6] The first one was the Scandinavian Opera House built by the Scandinavian Society "Nordisk Fremskridts Forening" for debates, music, and dramatics. It was built in 1876 and burnt down in 1882. The following year the Society built a second Opera House and in 1900 it also was destroyed by fire.[6] The third opera house, built by Ramsdell, is the structure that still stands and is being used today as the Ramsdell Theater.[2]

The neighboring Assembly Hall was finished in 1901[8] before the Theatre and an opening ball was held in December 1902 by the local Manistee Retail Clerk's Union.[4]: 20  The theater itself officially opened on September 4, 1903, with a performance of A Chinese Honeymoon.[7] It was referred to as Ramsdell's Folly when it was constructed, partly because of its notorious high cost.[9][7] Its original budget was for $25,000 (equivalent to $916,000 in 2023), but it ultimately cost $100,000 (equivalent to $3,522,000 in 2023) when finally built.[10]

Twenty-five more plays were performed in 1903 with a record 53 plays (25/53) presented in 1904. Ramsdell leased the theater to the Western Theatre Association of Chicago in 1909 and the lease was terminated in 1912. The plays and shows averaged around 40 each year while they were in production.[4]: 116 

Later history

Ramsdell died in 1917. The theater was purchased for $25,000 (equivalent to $434,000 in 2023) from his estate in 1925 by the Manistee Rotarians.[2] It was then turned into a movie theater house for five years that ran old movies.[7] In 1936 it was leased to the Butterfield Theatre chain that ran first-run movies.[2]

The Manistee Civic Players (MCP) was formed in 1939 as part of the Butterfield Theatre company and they used the Ramsdell theater for rehearsals. They performed two productions a year. Their first one was The Night of January 16th which was performed on September 14, 1939. The Civic Players performed four more plays between 1939 and 1941.[2]

The Manistee Rotarians in 1941 proposed to the City that they purchase the theater and hall for $3,000 per year. This was to go over a twelve—year period and there was a need for armory space for the Michigan State Troops. At the end of this period, the city acquired the property and saved thousands in rental costs for a facility for the troops. The Manistee Recreation Association was established in 1942 to provide for youth activities in the community. They were allowed to occupy part of the space in the hall from time to time.[2]

During World War II the activity of the Civic Players dwindled to nothing. There were no theatrical productions for nine years. In this time there was much damage to the buildings due to lack of maintenance. In 1949, a group of women's clubs (Lakeside Club, Junior Lakeside Club, and Business and Professional Women's Club) formed the Civic Betterment Committee. The main objective was to restore the Ramsdell Theatre back to its original time when many plays were done each year.[2]

The Manistee Drama Festival was formed in 1951 and it opened with Ruth Gordon's Over 21. The second production was George Washington Slept Here which cast local players. By this time a number of restoration objectives were accomplished by the profits from these productions. In the second season of the Festival, the Festival was renamed the Manistee Summer Theatre. Madge Skelly was hired as associate/assistant director and directed eight plays that same year. Skelly was named managing director in 1953, the same year that the city of Manistee purchased the theater and hall.[11] Skelly was responsible for the Summer Theatre until 1961.[2] The Manistee Civic Players began producing three or four shows each year after 1963.[12] One of them each year is designated for a musical production and sometimes a second one.[2]

In 1953 actor James Earl Jones had his beginnings here as a stage carpenter and in the 1955 through the 1957 summer seasons he was an actor and stage manager.[6] His first portrayal of Shakespeare’s Othello was on stage in this theater in 1955.[2] He has returned twice to support fundraising efforts for the restoration project.[2] In 1990 the Ramsdell Restoration Committee was formed for fundraising and managing restoration. The Ramsdell Governance Committee was formed in 2005 by the business people of Manistee and the city took over the responsibility for the building in 2006.[13]

Historical Marker

There is a Michigan State Historical Marker placed at the front entrance of the theater.[14]

References

  1. ^ "Michigan SP Ramsdell Theatre (National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form)". National Archives and Records Administration. January 13, 1972. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Staff. "Learn About Ramsdell Theatre History". The Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Eckert, Kathryn Bishop. "Ramsdell Theatre and Hall". Society of Architectural Historians/University of Virginia Press. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c Sexton, Lawrence R. (1963). The History and Study of the Ramsdell Theatre Manistee, Michigan, from 1902–1914 (MSc). Ann Arbor, Michigan: Michigan State University. p. 20. OCLC 999607723.
  5. ^ Dufresne, Jim (1988). Michigan: Off the Beaten Path : a Guide to Unique Places. Globe Pequot Press. p. 67. ISBN 9780871067913. It was proclaimed "acoustically perfect"
  6. ^ a b c d "Manistee History – Spirit of the woods". Archived from the original on June 11, 2007.
  7. ^ a b c d Royce, Julie Albrecht (2007). Traveling Michigan's Sunset Coast. Dog Ear Publishing. pp. 416–417. ISBN 9781598583212.
  8. ^ "Theatre Talk / Union Hall may be used as Temporary Theatre if Money can be raised". Manistee Daily News. Manistee, Michigan. November 22, 1901. p. 1.
  9. ^ "How far will some go to preserve an old northern Michigan landmark?". Detroit Free Press. Detroit, Michigan. January 13, 1991. p. 59.
  10. ^ "Historic Tour Downtown Manistee" (PDF). City of Manistee. Retrieved March 18, 2021.
  11. ^ Staff (July 11, 2012). "Summer Theater Act 2: Enter Madge Skelly". Manistee News-Advocate. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  12. ^ "Ramsdell Opera House is unusual theater in area". The Ludington Daily News. Ludington, Michigan. June 28, 1963. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  13. ^ "The Ramsdell: A New Century". manisteemi.gov. p. 4.
  14. ^ "Ramsdell Theatre Historical Marker". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
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