Boller Brothers, Architects and Theater Designers
Partners
Robert Otto Boller
Carl Heinrich Boller
Carl Heinrich and Robert Otto Boller had been the controlling figures in the construction of about 150 theatres nationwide by 1929, either as the original architects or as advisory or consulting architects. Most have subsequently been destroyed. The brothers were two of ten children of immigrants Charles William Boller of Frankfurt, Germany, and Pauline Emelia Grzmacher of Falkenberg, Germany. They located to St. Joseph, Missouri. Little is currently known of the elder of the two designers, Carl Boller.[3]
Robert Boller’s formal education ended with the eighth grade, in St. Joseph. He was apprenticed to his brother Carl, and then began practicing architecture in 1905. He later worked for Sullivan & Concidine. Robert became a member of the American Institute of Architects in 1917. By 1919 he had joined his brother in a partnership, but the later Midwestern business was operated under Robert Boller & Dietz Lusk, Jr., Associate Architects. Their offices were in Kansas City, Kansas, Baltimore, Maryland, and Los Angeles, California. Carl ran the Los Angeles office.
Perhaps the most beautiful theatre is the Missouri Theatre in St. Joseph, designed by Robert Boller. It is described as an architectural gem, and was featured in the American Heritage Magazine (unknown date). The Great Depression greatly affected the amount of work available, particularly in the Midwest. Work eventually recovered, but not on the scale or grandeur of the 1920’s. Robert Boller designed about forty additional theatres after the Depression. He closed his offices in 1957, and died in 1962 at Garland, Texas.[3][a]
This page is a contribution to the publication, Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. See the Format and contents of Nebraska architect entries page for more information on the compilation and page organization.
Contents
Compiled Nebraska Directory Listings
Educational & Professional Associations
1945: President of the Kansas City Chapter of the American Institute of Architects.[8]
Buildings & Projects
Dated
Nebraska
Orpheum Theater (1915), 12th & P, Lincoln, Nebraska.[1][2]
Lincoln Theater (1924; demolished 1962), 1227 N St, Lincoln, Nebraska.[1][2][4][b]
Stuart Theater (1927-1929), southeast corner of North 13th & P Streets, Lincoln, Nebraska.[1][c]
State Theatre (1931), 1415 O Street, Lincoln, Nebraska.[1][9][10][i]
Undated
Nebraska
Pioneer Theater (n.d.), Lincoln, Nebraska.[1][j]
Missouri
The Missouri Theatre (n.d.), St. Joseph, Missouri.[3][7][e]
Ben Bolt Theatre (n.d.), Chillicothe, Missouri.[5][8][f]
Lowe's Midland and Plaza (n.d.), Kansas City, Missouri.[5][8][f]
Mary Lou Theatre (n.d.), Marshall, Missouri.[5][f]
Degraw Theatre (n.d.), Brookfield, Missouri.[8]
Grand Theatre (n.d.), Columbia, Missouri.[8]
Davis Theatre (n.d.), West Plains, Missouri.[8]
Northside Theatre (n.d.), St. Louis, Missouri.[8]
Brookside Theatre (n.d.), Kansas City, Missouri.[8]
Apollo Theatre (n.d.), Kansas City, Missouri.[8]
Waldo Theatre (n.d.), Kansas City, Missouri.[8]
Orpheum Theatre (n.d.), Hannibal, Missouri.[8]
Princess Theatre (n.d.), Aurora, Missouri.[8]
Dickinson Theatre (n.d.), Webb City, Missouri.[8]
Capitol Theatre (n.d.), Jefferson City, Missouri.[8]
Missouri Theatre (n.d.), Maryville, Missouri.[8]
Patio Drive-In (n.d.), Cameron, Missouri.[8]
Drake Theatre (n.d.), Bolivar, Missouri.[8]
Tower Theatre (n.d.), Springfield, Missouri.[8]
Memorial Christian Church (n.d.), 72nd & Paseo, Kansas City, Missouri.[8]
California
Empress Theater (n.d.), Sacramento, California.[8]
White Theater (n.d.), Fresno, California.[8]
South Carolina
Colony Theater (n.d.), Easley, South Carolina.[8]
Michigan
Empress Theater (n.d.), Grand Rapids, Michigan.[8]
Texas
Wichita Theater (n.d.), Wichita Falls, Texas.[8]
The Texas Theater (n.d.), San Antonio, Texas.[8]
Colorado
Ute and The Peak Theaters (n.d.), Colorado Springs, Colorado.[8]
Boulder Theater (n.d.), Boulder, Colorado.[8]
The Kiva Theater (n.d.), Grand Junction, Colorado.[8]
Montana
Government Theater (n.d.), Peck, Montana.[8]
Kansas [g]
Palace Theatre (n.d.), Wichita, Kansas.[8]
Wichita Theatre (n.d.), Wichita, Kansas.[8]
Crest Theatre (n.d.), Wichita, Kansas.[8]
Nomar Theatre (n.d.), Wichita, Kansas.[8]
Uptown Theatre (n.d.), Wichita, Kansas.[8]
Oklahoma
Criterion Theater (n.d.), Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.[8]
Coleman Theater (n.d.), Miami, Oklahoma.[8]
*See Note [h]
Notes
a. The biographical sketch derives from a Mary L. Marriott interview, reference [3], given below.
b. Opened in 1924, the Lincoln was a 1600 seat theatre; R. E. Hall & Company, consulting engineers.[4]
c. The Stuart Building housing the Stuart Theater was designed by architects Davis & Wilson and built in 1927-1929, Lincoln, Nebraska.
d. Reference [5] credits Robert Boller with designing more than 1,000 theatres in nearly every state. Reference [8] credits Robert Boller with designing theaters "in the hundreds."
e. Seating capacity was 1,600, and the front exterior was of colored terra cotta.[7]
f. Robert Boller & Dietz Lusk, Jr. Associate Architects.[5]
g. Reference [8] also states, “And other theaters too numerous to mention throughout Kansas.”
h. Reference [8] also states that he designed theaters in Illinois, Arkansas, Iowa, South Dakota, New Mexico, Oregon, Mississippi, Wyoming, and British Vancouver, Canada.
i. Lincoln contractor and architect John M. Alexander built the State Theatre in 1931.[9]
j. No movie theatre named "Pioneer" is known to have been built or operated in Lincoln, Nebraska. A "new, clean, modernistically decorated" Pioneer Theatre opened in Nebraska City, Nebraska in 1940.[11]
References
1. Noelle Soren correspondence, November 17, 1980; Boller Brothers file, Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office.
2. Thomas Lee Kaspar, comp. Boller Brothers drawings, in Inventory of architectural records in the archives of Davis Fenton Stange Darling, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1996. Nebraska State Historical Society, RG3748, Box 16.
3. Mary L. Marriott, “The Boller Brothers and Their Magnificent Threatres”, from an interview with John Boller, (n.d.); transcript in Boller Brothers file, Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office.
4. Ken Roe, “Lincoln Theatre,” accessed through the Cinema Treasures website on January 22, 2013, http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/8955
5. Daily Edition Undated and Unsourced newspaper clipping in Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office, architect files.
6. “Importance of Good Equipment,” Associated Publications. Undated and Unsourced newspaper clipping in Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office, architect files.
7. Boller Brothers Architects, “A Few Recent Theatre Designs,” Kansas City, Missouri and Los Angeles, California.
8. “Robert O. Boller,” T.S. 3pp, recieved December 15, 1980. In Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office, architect files.
9. "Announcing the Grand Opening of Lincoln's New---STATE Theatre...John M. Alexander General Contractor," Lincoln (Nebraska) Evening Journal (May 5, 1931), 11 (illustrated with photo of facade).
10. "Theatre at 1415 'O' Street Lincoln, Nebraska Robert Boller, Architect...Kansas City, Mo.," elevation drawing filed with City of Lincoln Building Permit 19933, issued February 11, 1931.
11. "Pioneer Theatre," Nebraska (City, Nebraska) Daily News-Press (July 14, 1940), 10; "The Beautiful, New Pioneer Theatre Opens Wednesday, Oct. 2nd," Nebraska (City, Nebraska) Daily News-Press (September 30, 1940), 8.
Page Citation
D. Murphy and E. F. Zimmer, “Boller Brothers, Architects and Theater Designers,” in David Murphy, Edward F. Zimmer, and Lynn Meyer, comps. Place Makers of Nebraska: The Architects. Lincoln: Nebraska State Historical Society, May 29, 2023. http://www.e-nebraskahistory.org/index.php?title=Place_Makers_of_Nebraska:_The_Architects Accessed, November 22, 2024.
Contact the Nebraska State Historic Preservation Office with questions or comments concerning this page, including any problems you may have with broken links (see, however, the Disclaimers link at the bottom of this page). Please provide the URL to this page with your inquiry.
