B & B to donate historic Fulton theater
By MARK SOMMERHAUSER
The Fulton Sun

A wall of photos featuring cinema stars from Humphrey Bogart to Frank Sinatra to Tom Cruise greets patrons in the lobby of the historic Fulton Cinema.

The photos provide a nostalgia-laden journey that marks the progression of film and entertainment for the last 75 years - much like the historic theater itself.

The downtown Court Street landmark contains visual and technical cues, both front-and-center and tucked into dusty corners, that are like still frames of a bygone era.

The building, originally a vaudeville theater built in 1928 and dubbed Fulton Theater, has undergone two major renovations in its history, according to the Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society.

A full-screen conversion and snack bar first was added in the 1950s, and the present subdivision into two separate theaters occurred in 1980 when the building came under its present ownership, Salisbury-based B & B Theaters.

Now, local theater supporters are mulling the extent of and uses for the third renovation - anticipated to be a full restoration to the building's original appearance.

B & B plans to donate the theater to a local non-profit group soon after it moves into a new, eight-screen location at the planned Fulton Commons south-end development next spring.

The new theater will be a state-of-the-art palace, complete with stadium seating, modern sound and projection equipment, and a full-size arcade.

The glittering allure of the new, however, is in some ways no match for the character and distinctness of a building that has entertained local patrons in varying capacities since the days pre-dating the Great Depression.

B & B Circuit General Manager Daniel Van Orden, who possesses an encyclopedic knowledge of Fulton Cinema's history, says he believes it is the longest continuously operating theater of its kind in mid-Missouri. "I can't think of any other old theater still in operation," Van Orden said. {The Fulton Cinema is the only continuously operated old movie theatre in mid-Missouri, but B&B has operated the Salisbury theatre since 1924 and Marshall still has an original old theatre.}

Inside, the building offers visible cues that mark various chapters in its rich history.

An eye-catching neon wall clock celebrates the theater's historic past, though, in a whimsical touch, it mistakenly declares the theater was built in 1927.

The walls are lined with a thick but worn sound-insulating fabric, and the stage is surrounded with plaster engravings of dogwood blossoms, Missouri's official state flower.

A walk upstairs into the theater's original projection room, which still projects film in the upstairs balcony theater, takes the visitor on a similar trip back in time.

The room's original projection windows, Van Orden explained, were equipped with lead doors to make the enclosure fire-proof.

That's because the projection reels once screened celluloid film, a highly flammable nitrate material that's been out of use since the 1950s.

One of the building's two front-facing stained-glass windows - both of which are located at the back of the projection room - even opens up to a fire hatch so projection operators could escape in case the nitrate's potentially noxious fumes created an explosion.

The now-obsolete equipment may no longer serve a functional purpose, but it's a virtual museum of early 20th-century film technology.

"I don't know why anybody left it, but I'm glad they did," Van Orden said. "None of it works anymore. "But you can walk up here and get a sense of what it was."

Van Orden manages not only the Fulton B & B location but works in many of the chain's other 27 locations throughout the small-town Midwest.

Interestingly, this isn't the first time B & B has donated an historic theater to a community non-profit group.

Van Orden said the company did the same thing at its Moberly location, as well as in four separate spots throughout eastern Kansas.

Locally, an already-established Theater Steering Committee plans to form a 501(c) non-profit corporation to take ownership of Fulton Cinema next spring.

Committee co-chair Tom Clapp says the group has yet to decide how much money will be required to restore the theater or what its potential uses might be.

Suggestions range from a hall for local theater and music groups, a pit stop for traveling-circuit shows in the spirit of its vaudeville history, and a venue available for rental by outside groups.

Clapp said the committee recently met twice and will convene again within the month to develop a consensus.

The group also plans to launch a major fund-raising campaign once it determines what degree of renovation is needed and the cost to fully restore the building.

The undertaking would include removing the partition dividing the balcony from the lower level, restoring the large stage area in front, and extensive cosmetic work throughout the building.

Despite its somewhat worn appearance, Clapp said the landmark has been kept in solid structural condition.

He said he and other backers have toured similar theaters of the period that were a different story.

"All the stuff we saw had floor joists sagging. ... We don't have those issues," Clapp said. "That makes our job a whole lot cheaper."

Clapp credits the oversight of B & B, and Van Orden specifically, for maintaining the theater as well as possible on a tight budget.

"The thing people need to understand ... is what a wonderful job Dan Van Orden has done to keep this place in order," Clapp said. "He's put 25 years into preserving this place."

Clapp said he is optimistic the steering group ultimately will find a way to restore a local landmark of incalculable historical value.

"When we walk away from this," Clapp said, "we want to be proud."

Return To Top