Ramsdell Theatre

The theater 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 Theatre structure. The building, located at First and Maple Streets, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972. In 1980, the state of Michigan named the Theater as a Michigan Historic Site 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.[4] Its front exterior is a design of red brick with Doric columns supporting the flat portico 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.[4] Beman, a prominent Chicago architect and builder of the Pullman village, was contracted by Ramsdell to design and build the Theatre and the Hall.[4]

The theatre 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, denticulated modillion cornice, pedimented center pavilion, portico Doric 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 numerous pillars which extend to the tin plated ceiling.[4]

The theater was in the class of the finest opera and vaudeville places in the United States when it was constructed.[4] 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 gridiron 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. [5]The theater was proclaimed acoustically perfect when it was built.[6]

The interior decoration was completed by notable artists in their own right. Walter Burridge, a scenic artist who painted sets for an early stage production of The Wizard of Oz, painted the front curtain called A Grove Near Athens; the curtain is still being used today.[4][7] Ramsdell's son Frederick Winthrop Ramsdell painted a pair of lunettes in the lobby.[8] They were the dome in the house showing Venus riding a chariot through the sky that is surrounded by cherubs.[8] There is a 26-foot (7.9 m) gilded proscenium besides the original murals that bedeck the dome.[4]

Ramsdell Theatre interior 2005

Ramsdell Theatre grand ballroom 2019

Planning for the building began in 1901 after the two previous Manistee opera houses were destroyed by fire.[4][7] 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. In 1883 the Society built a second Opera House and in 1900 it also was destroyed by fire.[7] The third opera house, built by Ramsdell, is the structure that still stands and is being used today as the Ramsdell Theater.[4][6]

The neighboring Assembly Hall was finished in 1901[9] before the Theatre and an opening ball was held in December 1902 by the local Manistee Retail Clerk's Union.[10] The Theatre itself officially opened on September 4, 1903, with a performance of A Chinese Honeymoon.[8] It was referred to as Ramsdell's Folly when it was constructed, partly because of its notorious high cost.[11][12]

Twenty-five more plays were performed in 1903 with a record 53 plays presented in 1904.[4] Ramsdell leased the theatre to the Western theatre Association of Chicago in 1909 which was terminated in 1912. The plays and shows averaged around 40 each year while they were in production.[4]

Ramsdell died in 1917. The theater was purchased for $25,000 from his estate in 1925 by the Manistee Rotarians.[4] It was then turned into a movie theatre house for five years that ran out of date movies.[8] In 1936 it was leased to the Butterfield Theatre chain that ran first run movies.[4]

The Manistee Civic Players (MCP) was formed in 1939 and was licensed from the Butterfield Theatre company to the use 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.[4]

The Manistee Rotarians in 1941 proposed to the City that they purchase the theatre and hall for $3,000 per year. This was to go over a twelve-year period. There was a need for armory space for the Michigan State Troops. At the end of this period, the city would acquire the property and save 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 of the hall from time to time.[4]

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 heyday.[4]

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 theatre and hall.[13][6] Skelly was responsible for the Summer Theatre until 1961.[4] The Manistee Civic Players began producing three or four shows each year after 1963.[14] One of them each year is designated for a musical production and sometimes a second one.[4]

In 1953 actor James Earl Jones had his beginnings here.[7] In this year he started as a stage carpenter. In the 1955 through the 1957 summer seasons he was an actor and stage manager. His first portrayal of Shakespeare’s Othello was on stage in this theatre in 1955.[4] He has returned twice to support fundraising efforts for the restoration project.[2] In 1990 the Ramsdell Restoration Committee was formed for fund raising 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.[15]

Ramsdell Theatre historic marker

The Michigan State Historical Marker placed at the front entrance of the theatre reads:

• Royce, Julie Albrecht (2007). Traveling Michigan's Sunset Coast. Chicago, Illinois: Dog Ear Publishing. ISBN 9781598583212.

• Ramsdell Theatre - City of Manistee
• The History and Study of the Ramsdell Theatre Manistee, Michigan, from 1902-1914, Lawrence R. Sexton, Michigan State University Master's Degree Thesis (1963)