| Third Floor of the Kirksville Arts Center | History of the Kirksville Arts Center | You can always go ... Downtown ... |
When it was first built, The Princess Theatre was quite the showplace. I had been in there one time before, easily 15 years before under completely odd and different circumstances, so I didn't notice much of anything. Before leaving town, I knew I had to take a look around. (I should mention Sieren's Palace is a women's clothing store, and sometimes it's enough of an effort to get me into a men's clothing store.)
I spent a few hours one afternoon and really loaded up on photos. When Sieren's was under consideration as a possible home for the Kirksville Arts Association, I started doing a little research. Fascinating history, but not really feasible as a multi-purpose space. It's a theatre. It would be difficult to have a performance and an exhibit at the same time.
Live theatre is a tad more difficult to schedule than say, film. Movies can be changed weekly, whereas with theatre, one would have to be constantly rehearsing, constantly building sets, etc. And without a dedicated repertory company, volunteers just can't do that and not end up burning themselves out. While the theatre person in me loves the space, to make it work, and pay the bills, you have to have a space that can be all things to all people.
But let's get back to the tour. As I notice the fixtures, I start getting on my back to take pictures, scaring the staff when I popped up (which, I'm not going to lie, was fun), and here are the results ...
The left photo is the original image. I did an auto level adjustment for the center, and a sepia tone on the right. When it comes to older structures, especially the fixtures and details in them, odds are I'll pick the sepia.
Ditto, just a different angle.
Details of parts of the structure; the nooks and crannies.
Some of the decorative plasterwork. It would difficult to estimate the cost of replacing this, as this kind of work falls under the category of a dying art. Although, Van Dyke's has lots of architectural elements that could fill in. (Their catalog is a huge guilty pleasure of mine.)
Looking at the ceiling, above the now covered orchestra pit. I think this is the original paint scheme. I've not read or seen anything to suggest otherwise.
In some of these shots, you can easily see the cracks in the plaster, evidence the building has settled over the years. The exterior is in decent shape. A mural on the south side depicts the history of Kirksville. The north side's paint is flaking away in huge chunks, exposing the brick, and some mortar has begun to work its way loose and onto the sidewalk.
While it's good to see the building in use, I fear that minimal maintenance is employed. I believe it was offered to the city as a cultural arts center (for $250,000). They politely declined or shelved the project. In any event, they're off the hook now that the Kirksville Arts Center is now in existence.
| Third Floor of the Kirksville Arts Center | History of the Kirksville Arts Center | You can always go ... Downtown ... |
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