History Museum / Fox Theater

In 1993, the museum moved into the third floor of Old City Hall on Boonville, a few blocks north of the square, where it became the History Museum for Springfield and Greene County.

2014 brought another move, to the current location that includes the 1915 Rainey building, the Fox Theater and the Sherwood buildings. Now known as the History Museum on the Square which opened its first exhibit here in 2014.

The ornate neon History Museum sign frame has been in the same location since it was erected for the 1915 Nathan Clothing Company atop the new Rainey building. Of course the lettering within the frame has changed over the years, going from "Nathan's Clothing" (1915) to "Barth's" (1935) to "History Museum". So the frame itself with its torches on the top corners has been there for over 100 years.

The Electric Theatre opened in 1916 with 1,800 seats and became the Paramount theater in 1930. Fox Theaters bought the property in 1934 and went back to using the Electric Theater name. A 1942 fire severely damage the theater and it did not reopen until 1949, at which time it became the Fox Theater again. After the renovation the seat count went down to about 1,550. After a couple of other ownership changes it closed in 1982 and then became home to a church before being purchased by the History Museum.

Like a lot of theaters in downtown areas the front takes up very little valuable real estate on the main street with the bulk of the building tucked away behind other store fronts. It was built by M.E. Gillioz, who also built the Gillioz Theatre. A replica of the Fox Theater neon sign was relit in 2014.

On the northwest corner of the Nathan's Clothing building is a marker that commemorates the the mid-1800s Butterfield Stage Line. The Springfield station was at this location at General Smith's Tavern which burned in 1913. It's right down by the sidewalk and easy to miss.

The marker reads:

"Site of Gen. Nicholas Smith's tavern on Boonville Road, earliest outlet of Springfield, also station of Butterfield Stage Route carrying first overland mail from St. Louis to Pacific Coast. Government subsidy $600,000 yearly. First mail left St. Louis Sept. 16, 1858, by rail, arriving Tipton afternoon of same day, then by stage, reaching Springfield 3:15 p.m., Sept. 17, and San Francisco 7:30 a.m. Oct. 10. Time 23 days, 23 hours from St. Louis, 2765 miles. Longest mail stage route ever attempted. Bi-weekly service Mondays and Thursdays from St. Louis. 141 (later 167) stations en route. First eastbound stage left San Francisco early Sept. 15, arriving Springfield 3:00 p.m., Oct. 8, where hundreds welcomed its arrival as great event. Banquet; speeches; fireworks. Time eastward trip, 24 days, 18 hours to St. Louis.
University Club. (Marker Number 18 Erected Nov. 1932."

Photo(s): 2016, 2017