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Even if we can’t go see shows and concerts right now, we can still appreciate the incredible local buildings where they happen. Both in the past and today, few have been more magical than @GrandCenter's “big three.” #UpliftingSTL
The first of the big three, the Missouri Theater, opened in 1921 as a 3,700-seat movie house. It advertised the best vaudeville-style entertainment before and after its feature films, and one of its entertainment troupes would go on a huge future.
The theater’s Missouri Rockets became locally famous for their choreographed dance routines, and they were invited to perform at the opening of Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
Their performance won them a permanent gig there, and in 1932, the Missouri Rockets became the Radio City @Rockettes.
The second, the St. Louis Theater, was the largest theater in the city when it opened in 1925.
The second, the St. Louis Theater, was the largest theater in the city when it opened in 1925.
Decorated after the Palace of Versailles in a French Baroque style, its film showings often ran deep into the night, accompanied by vaudeville programs, organ concerts, and celebrity appearances.
After more than a decade of losing patrons to suburbanization and multiplex cinemas, The St. Louis Theater closed in 1966 with an 18-month run of "The Sound of Music."
The third, the 5,000-seat @foxtheatrestl, was built by William Fox in 1929 to show the films of 20th Century Fox. His wife, Eve Leo, designed the Fox’s exotic interior spaces, which William Fox called “decoration without limitation.”
The Fox was the last theater to close in Grand Center, holding on until 1977. A few years later, it was in bad enough shape to serve as a set for the dystopian sci-fi film "Escape from New York."
Thankfully, all three of these buildings have gone on to second lives. The St. Louis Theater reopened in 1968 as Powell Hall, the permanent home of the @slso.
The @foxtheatrestl reopened in 1982 after a multi-million-dollar renovation, and while the Missouri Theater’s stage was torn down long ago, the rest of the 12-story building was recently converted into the @AngadArtsHotel.
