The history of Boone Theater
History
Situated on the corner of East 18th Street and Highland Avenue, the Boone Theater building was first constructed in 1924 as a mixed-use commercial and theater building.
Source: Shomari Benton
The theater went through several name changes over the years. Initially called the Rialto Theater, it was renamed the New State Theater by 1929, and then the Boone Theater by 1930. Its second name change was in memory of concert pianist John William “Blind” Boone, one of Missouri's earliest and most influential Black ragtime pianists and composers, who died in 1927. In the mid-1940s, the theater and one of the storefronts became the Scott Theatre-Restaurant.
The building was also home to several local businesses in the 1920s-40s, including beauty parlors, barbers, a real estate office, women’s clothing stores, a physician’s office, a dentist’s office, a market, a music teacher’s office, and a record store. The Musicians Protective Union Local 627 also operated out of the building in the late 1920s. In the 1940s, while the Scott Theatre-Restaurant was in business, a portion of the building served as a hotel.
In 1949, the building was converted into an armory for the National Guard 242nd Engineer Battalion. Not much is presently known about the 242nd, but it was established in 1949 and appears to have been an all-Black or majority-Black battalion. Its members may have been the first Black troops accepted into the Missouri National Guard. After the 242nd left the building in 1962, it served as an armory for the 104 Replacement Battalion, then the 146th Engineers Battalion, and finally the 1140th Military Police Company, which left the building in 1971. The building has been vacant since then.
Period of Significance
The Boone Theater building is a contributing resource to the 18th and Vine National Register Historic District, whose period of significance spans from 1886 to 1941. This period begins with the construction of the earliest extant building in the district at the time of nomination (1991) to the arbitrary 50-year cutoff. Therefore, in accordance with the district’s listing, the period of significance for the Boone Theater building itself spans from its original construction in 1924 to 1941.
Features and finishes from this period are considered historic, even if they are not original. SHPO/NPS will consider their significance to the property and whether they are character-defining elements and to what degree they are impacted by proposed changes. This period of significance is relatively brief in relation to the history of the Boone Theater building. It does not cover the years during which the Scott Theater-Restaurant inhabited the building, nor the twenty-year period during which the building served as an armory, which are objectively significant periods of the building’s use. Because the changes made in 1949 when the building was converted to an armory fall outside of the current period of significance, those changes are considered non-historic. This means that they may be removed/reversed, if desired. However, because the armory was a significant use of the building and given that it played an important role in Black military history, it may be worth considering electing to keep some changes to preserve and tell the story of that era of the building’s history.
Property Description
Boone Theater is a rectangular CMU building clad with brick and stucco. The exterior has elements of the Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style, while the interior of the auditorium has Classical Revival detailing. The north portion (front) of the building is divided into three stories and originally housed the theater entrance, commercial storefronts, and offices, while the theater auditorium and back of house area in the rear span the full height of the building. Situated on a corner in a dense urban setting, the building has principal elevations on the north and west sides, and it sits flush with the sidewalks.
This article was sourced by: Rachel Alison, Rosin Preservation
