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Doric Theatre to
Come Full Circle by Rosalyn Drew Elkhart Tri-State News - Oct 2000 When the Doric Theatre came into being around 1918 it was built for live stage performances and silent movies. Dark now for many years, the theatre will once again come to life with the sounds of stage and crew. Morton County Community Theatre Group has purchased the building from Top Ranked Investments, Inc. the group has been approved for a loan and will apply for grants, seek donations and hold fund-raisers. In its early years, The Doric Theatre on Main Street in Elkhart was a stage for vaudeville acts touring the circuit. The one most remembered by Virginia (Coop) O'Brien of Tulsa, OK, whose father managed the Doric for several years, was the Hazel Hurd Players starring Hazel and her husband, Fred Twyman, from Kingman, KS. They put on plays along with the silent movies. Irene Sweem (who would marry the projectionist and manager, Bill Coop in 1924) played the upright piano positioned at the front of the stage in the orchestra pit to accompany the silent movies. Enter the "talkies" in 1925. The stage is once again renovated to accompany a new projection screen and sound system. The days of traveling vaudeville troups are over and the fly screens, painted scenery backdrops, (so called fly screens because the had to be changed on the 'fly')-were rolled up to make way for the updated equipment. The Doric continued showing the latest in cinema entertainment, often under the management of Bill and Irene Coop, until 1953. Bill passed away in '53 and Irene managed the movie house another year. When rent on the building continued to rise, Irene finally gave up the management in 1954. The Doric remained off and on under other management for several years. It was early 1980 when the last bit of film flickered from the projection room. Since then the building has been the home of many different businesses. Once, in the early '90s, it was a clothing factory. Following that it housed a boot repair shop with the operators living in the building. "Any original part of the interior is gone," explained Temple Reed, board member of the Group. "We in the Theatre Group know little about the building. We've been asking around for any pictures of the of the interior in its original stage, or even later," she said, "but we haven't come up with any leads. So putting it back like it once was is almost impossible." She went on to say that 'restoration' so to speak is not he way the Group will go with the building. But 'renovation' will better suit their needs. Reed was very excited when she was told that OI'Brien has offered to sketch out the interior as it was. "That would be wonderful. To have something to go on would be great!" she said. "We've talked to an architect and she has looked at the building. She said it is feasible to do what we want to do with the building and still keep the building's character," she said. A letter from O'Brien, "has been the biggest help and we're very grateful to have it," said Reed. "I've mad numerous copies and shared it with members of the Group and at the Kansas Arts Commission meeting in Dodge City. Officials there are encouraging us to pursue registering the building on the National Registry of Historic Buildings." This would likely open the door to additional grants for restoration. At the same time, Reed expressed concern that such a listing might hinder the Theatre Group's ability to make the building functional to meet their needs. Reed went on to say she would love to hear from anyone with any information about the Doric. The Tri-State News would like to have your stories about the Doric, too. "We would like to know who the original builder was , when the building was built, who its owners were, things like that," Reed said. "The building obviously ahs a great history. It would be fascinating to piece it all together." Having been gutted and made into apartments, the Doric isn't quite ready for it's next show, but the Morton County Community Theatre Group hopes to change that. With the help of O'Brien and others, they hope to breathe new life into the building, a former landmark of Elkhart's Main Street. |
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