Fox–Watson Theater Building


The Stiefel Theatre is a theatre in Salina, Kansas. Opening in 1931 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988 as the "Fox–Watson Theater Building".

History

The Fox–Watson Theatre, as it was then called, was opened in late February 1931. The theater was the brain-child of Winfield W. Watson, a local businessman and banker. He led the campaign to bring a movie house to Salina and donated the land for the theater. Fox West Coast Theatres built the art deco style movie house at a cost of $400,000. Boller Brothers, an architectural firm out of Kansas City, Missouri, designed the structure.
The opening feature was Not Exactly Gentlemen featuring Fay Wray. The theater was closed in August 1987 by then owners Dickinson Theaters, as competition from Dickinson's mall theaters made the downtown location unprofitable.
Dickinson gave the theater to the city in 1989. It was restored by a non-profit group over several years and reopened as The Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts on March 8, 2003.
The mission of the theater is to "enrich, educate and entertain", while the programming goal is to "offer a broad base of quality entertainment in a variety of genres that will appeal to a large demographic". The theater provides entertainment for young audiences, and is the location of the Salina Symphony.

Noted performers

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