Missouri State University Libraries
Records of the Gillioz Theatre
Volume: 2.5 linear feet
Dates: 1940-1980 (Bulk 1960s)
Provenance
Records were transferred by the Springfield Landmarks Preservation Trust from the Gillioz Theatre to Neal Moore. The collection was processed in 1999 by Jenni Boone.
Copyright
This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code).Access
The collection is unrestricted. Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be obtained from the Ozarks Labor Union Archives. Citations should be as follows: Identification of the item, box and folder number, Gillioz Theatre, Ozarks Labor Union Archives, Missouri State University.
Organizational History
The Gillioz Theatre was built in 1926 by M. E. Gillioz, a prominent contractor from Monett, Missouri. The theater included a screen, stage, orchestra pit, and pipe organ to show moving pictures, vaudeville, and live theater productions. The first manager of the theater was A. H. Bachman.
The Gillioz Theatre building was owned by Gillioz for many years, and leased by Fox Midwest Theatres in the early 1950s. Fox Midwest changed names and/or was acquired by various companies several times over the years the theatre was in operation. The bulk of this collection centers around the period that the theater was managed by Tyndall Lewis from 1950 to 1975. The collection also contains records from the last years of the theatre’s operation.
Due to lack of business and general decline of the “downtown” area of Springfield, the Gillioz was closed in February 1980. In 1982, the building was acquired by the Springfield Landmarks Preservation Trust, Inc. which proposed to preserve the building. The Gillioz was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991 and is in the process of being restored.
Scope and Content
This collection contains correspondence, general files, and financial records related to the Gillioz Theatre. Unfortunately, the collection is not complete enough to ascertain a comprehensive history of the theater, but the collection is sufficient to obtain a “snapshot” view of the local management of a small movie house under a larger corporation in the 1960s.
The collection is arranged in three series. Within each series, folders are arranged in alphabetical order, and within each folder records are generally arranged chronologically.
Series I: Correspondence, 1946-1970
Correspondence, most of it from the corporations which owned the theatre. Original folder labels were kept
when possible, and original intent was kept in mind when labeling others. It should be noted that the
contents of folders labeled “Fox Bulletins” and “Fox Office Instructions” contain very similar content, an
include bulletins and instructions from Fox and the other corporations which subsequently operated
Gillioz.
Series II: General Files, 1940-1980
Office and general files from the Gillioz. The most complete aspect of the collection is the advertising
campaigns in this series, which cover the years 1960-1969 and include virtually every movie shown at the
Gillioz during that time period.
Series III: Financial Records, 1946-1980
Records reflecting the financial concerns of the Gillioz Theatre. This is the most sketchy and sporadic
series in the collection; the most complete part of this series is the “Profit and Loss Statements” from the
concessions, which run from 1961 to 1978.
Related Materials in OLUA
Several photographs were transferred to the OLUA Photograph Collection.
Container List
| Series I: Correspondence | |||
| Box 1 | 1 | Advertising | 1960-1963, 1969 |
| 2 | Auditing Department | 1948-1969, 1975 | |
| 3 | Circulating Film | 1959-1966 | |
| 4 | Concessions | 1946-1969 | |
| 5 | Conley, Dick | 1963-1969 | |
| 6 | Employee Benefits Association | 1955-1958 | |
| 7 | Filmack Trailer Company | 1961-1961 | |
| 8 | Fox Bulletins | 1956-1958 | |
| 9 | Fox Bulletins | 1959-1969 | |
| 10 | Fox Office Instructions | 1953-1959 | |
| 11 | Hume, W.H. - Film Buyer | 1961-1967 | |
| 12 | Meinardi, John | 1960-1961 | |
| 13 | Meinardi, John | 1961-1964 | |
| 14 | Miscellaneous | 1953-1973 | |
| 15 | Pope, L.E. | 1954-1960 | |
| 16 | Pope, L.E. | 1961-1967 | |
| 17 | Selig, Robert | 1961-1964 | |
| 18 | Souttar, Fred | 1961-1962 | |
| 19 | Souttar, Fred | 1963-1965 | |
| 20 | Souttar, Fred | 1965-1969 | |
| 21 | Stump, Richard - Purchasing | 1965-1967, 1970 | |
| Series II: General Files | |||
| 22 | Accident Reports | 1952-1969 | |
| 23 | Advertising Campaigns - Buena Vista | 1960-1968 | |
| 24 | Advertising Campaigns - Columbia Pictures | 1961, 1964-1969 | |
| Box 2 | 1 | Advertising Campaigns - Miscellaneous | 1961-1969 |
| 2 | Advertising Campaigns - 20th Century Fox | 1957, 1961-1969 | |
| 3 | Advertising Campaigns - United Artists | 1963-1969 | |
| 4 | Advertising Campaigns - University Pictures | 1955-1961 | |
| 5 | Advertising Campaigns - University Pictures | 1962-1969 | |
| 6 | Advertising Campaigns - Warner Brothers | 1961-1963 | |
| 7 | Advertising Campaigns - Warner Brothers | 1963-1965 | |
| 8 | Advertising Campaigns - Warner Brothers | 1966-1969 | |
| 9 | Advertising Forms | n.d., 1954-1959 | |
| 10 | Benefit Agreements | 1940-1953 | |
| 11 | Cashier's Duties and Instructions | n.d. | |
| 12 | Catalogs and Advertisements | 1955, 1965-1966 | |
| 13 | Christmas Greetings (screen ads) | 1961-1967 | |
| 14 | Daily Box Office Reports | Jan 1979 - Apr 1979 | |
| 15 | Daily Box Office Reports | May 1979 - Aug 1979 | |
| 16 | Daily Box Office Reports | Sept 1979-1980 | |
| 17 | Electronic Payroll Procedures | 1959 | |
| 18 | Employee Records | 1955-1967 | |
| 19 | Equipment | n.d., 1961 | |
| 20 | Inspiration-Filmack | 1954-1966 | |
| 21 | Miscellaneous | 1955-1969 | |
| 22 | National Theatre Survey | 1961 | |
| 23 | Phone Numbers | 1955-1957 | |
| 24 | Post Office Department | n.d., 1958 | |
| 25 | Projection Room Weekly Reports | 1957-1961 | |
| 26 | Publications | 1966-1974 | |
| 27 | RCA Service/Inspection Reports | 1958-1966 | |
| 28 | Sample Forms | n.d., ca. 1940-1979 | |
| Series III: Financial Reports | |||
| 29 | Accounts Payable | 1978-1980 | |
| 30 | Box Office Reports - Kid Shows | 1965 | |
| 31 | Box Office Reports - Ladies Show | 1965 | |
| 32 | Concessions Financial Statements | 1946-1978 | |
| 33 | Miscellaneous | 1955-1976 | |
| 34 | Miscellaneous Revenue | 1962-1964, n.d. | |
| 35 | Payroll Account Distribution | 1968-1969, 1978-1980 | |
| 36 | Profit and Loss Statements | 1961-1965 | |
| 37 | Profit and Loss Statements | 1967-1970 | |
| 38 | Profit and Loss Statements | 1975-1978 | |
| 39 | Sample Financial Records | 1951-1970 | |
| 40 | Weekly Fixed Charges | 1965-1967 | |
| Box 3: Oversized Material | |||
| 1 | Comparison of Operating Results | 1959-1961, 1974-1977 | |
| 2 | Managers Operating Statistics Report | 1977-1978 | |
| 3 | Payroll Register | 1968-1969, 1976-1980 | |
| 4 | Sample Financial Records | Dec. 2, 1964 | |
| 5 | Time Rolls | 1968-1969, 1976-1980 | |