University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

Page 20 text:

St, M? 15. -..fx .U 1 -. lg ' 'imjlw' --4 .-1-1... FRCM ASH ES O IM MCRTALITY Liberty Hall was born ofa fire. In 1856, the of- fices of The Herald ofFree- dom, the first pro-abolition newspaper to print in Kan- sas, burned to the ground, leaving only a charred shell on the northeast corner of Seventh and Massachusetts streets. The lot remained empty until Samuel Edwin Poole built the first incar- . nation of Liberty Hall later , A that year. -ati The Hall became a lightning rod for many events in eastern Kansas and Lawrence: public ti QB' debates, speeches, as well E as town hall meetings. lt wasn't until j.D. Bowersock converted the building into '?H an opera house in 1882 that it took on the theater design it's known for today. From lr' .Ann-sf- actual opera productions to performances by famous Vaudeville acts such as Al jolson, the stage at the fre- namedl Bowersock Cpera House became home for the O8 - O9 l JAYHAWKER arts in Lawrence. It even played host to performances by notable citizens such as Forrest Phog', Allen, who partici- pated in the local Elk's Clubls fundraising minstrel shows. The biggest interruption in the Bowersock Opera Houseis 48-year run occurred in 1911 when the building burned to the ground. The building had to be completely redesigned and rebuilt. A similar setback came on Sep- tember 20, 1886, when a fire ignited on the theatre's stage. However, instead ofcompletely rebuilding the stage, contractors simply covered the remains with fresh wood. Strolling over the weathered floorboards of the current stage, Fitzgerald points to the cross-section revealed by a stairwell descending into the basement. You can still see where they built on top of the old stage, he says. After the opera house went bankrupt and ran aground in 1930, the changing faces of the building became all the more apparent: from a Dickinson movie theater to the jayhawker Theatre to a disco during the ,70s to a punk rock club and even a short stint as a storage warehouse for the Hallmark company. Eventually, the building fell into obscurity. Then, in 1985, a rebirth. More than 100 years after a Fire torched The Herald of Freedom, David Millstein, Susan Millstein and the late Charlie Oldfather bought Liberty Hall at a sheriff's sale to restore Liberty Hall to its former glory. Susan remembers walking into the building for the first time. It was a wreck, she says. MI remember walking up to where the bar is now and there was a piano sitting there with a shriveled cake on top of it. It hadn't been touched in a year. Then, the rebuilding began. Fitzgerald was there for all of it. As part of the motley renovation crew, he helped to tear Liberty Hall apart from the bottom up. The crew replaced most everything from sheetrock to pipes to floor- ing. They laid palazzo-style tiling and tore down the black panels that covered the walls. And though Millstein was not there day to day, she watched the progress for months. alt was a 'strip it down and build it back up, kind of job,', she says. 'Alt went from that total dark, void oflife, to just lighting up.', Fitzgerald says that the rebuild was a trying experi- ence, but that the team was easy to motivate. It was a labor of love, he says. But even in the rebuilding phase, the crew couldn't escape the building's history. While working to repair and update the video store bathroom, they discovered the stairwell blacks used to enter the theatre before it was fully integrated. For Susan, letting go of the Hallis storied past wasn't an option. It,s a beautiful, historical community venue, she says. It carries that history with it, but it can be anythingf' From the 30 or so weddings it hosts each year to the local events, such as the Victor Continental Show, to art house Hlms, Liberty Hall has become a focal point for Lawrence culture and changes its face with every event. This concentration has even bled into KU life. The KU Law School's Pub Night has taken place in the Hall for the past 15 years. The event, a fundraiser to support Women in Law programs, includes silent and live auctions as well as performances by students and professors. It's been a great venue,', says professor Richard Levy. Levy's band, The Moody Bluebooks, is a cover band composed of members of the law school faculty. Taking the stage under the lights at Liberty Hall, he says, is a surreal experience. We felt like rock starsf' For Fitzgerald, it's the combination of the venueis mys- tiques and the talents of musicians that really affect him.

Page 19 text:

FANS CN i WRC NG CAM PUSES eff Turek doesn't care that Jayhawk teams won the Orange Bowl and the NCAA men's basket- ball championship. He doesnlt care that Kansas plays in one of the most storied and famed arenas in all of college basket- ball. He doesn't wave the wheat or sing the alma mater in the stands. In fact, Turek couldnat care less about the Jayhawks - lie,s a Wildcat fan. Turek, Overland Park senior, faces the task of attending school at Kansas while being a lifelong fan of Kansas State. His wardrobe consists of mostly purple -- which he isn't afraid to wear around his Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house or when he goes to class. Almost everything I own is K-State stuff, 3, Turek said. I couldn't make the switch after being a K-State fan my whole life. I have like two KU shirts but that's it. The rest is K-State. .Turek attends Kansas because the school isvclose to home, but he still hates the Jayhawks. His family roots for Kansas and his parents have football season tickets, but Turek will never change his alliance. He grew up loving K-State football and watched as the Wildcats had four straight 1 1-win seasons from 1997 to 2000. He's not afraid to show his purple pride but knows he will be out- numbered come Saturday. The only time it's real hard is when K-State plays at KU, because of course Ilm all decked out in my purplef, Turek said. I'll be tailgating or walking around before the game, and everybody just .assumes that I go to K-State, so they give me crap. i' Turek remembers the KU-KSU football game two years ago in Lawrence when he sat in the student section wearing K-State purple. Students were complaining be- cause the student section appeared full, and K-State fans were taking up seats. The usher cahae up, and I gave him my KUID, Turek said. He was like, 'All right, you,re fine, but what are you doing wearing purple?',7 While Turek struggles as a K-State fan in Lawrence., Joel Campbell has the opposite problem in Manhattan. The K-State senior bleeds crimson and blue and has been a Kansas fan his entire life. He attends K-State because both of his parents work there, but he won't allow himself to become a Wildcat fan. There was no way I was ever going to change over to Kansas State, Campbell said. They are our rivals. I know we're the better team, and they know we're the bet- ' .1 -if ter team. They just don'tfwarftgtofafdniitfitf' parel my opinion right back, easy to be a 'KU fan these fansdo,n't' really But thathasnk bell saidthe K printed an airgiole about former KU basketball improper graide changes print anytliirig, about the basketball'nationalichaimpiognship, - Campbell said he found good the Wildcats are amusing., . I see everyone them drinking the purple greatest no matter how bad they are, , iCampbell ata tough keeping my mouth shut sometimes? . I . Campbell used to attend' K-Sgtategames wearing3KU gear. He was pelted with food and' trash, sQBltre,.tlecidedg'toi boycott K-State games and to watcfhthemfori J f When K-State plays, I root-against every A ' timej' Campbell said. I Sometimes it,s tough for Turek and Campbell to 'root for their teams on opposite campuses, ibut they wouldn't change a thing. I P ' xi 'a 'wRoNG CAMPUXS I If2

Page 21 text:

was there for 'Ws he helped 'P- The crew Pipes to floor. WH fhe black lillstein was 'S for months, ' UP, kind of Void of life, ing CXperi- v couldnt 0 repair covered efore it was all's storied tue, slie anything. ll year to the ow, to art int for ry event. he KU Hall for the rt Women ans as well 'hard over band Taking the 1 surreal eriuels PHYS' cthim- I've been brought to tears by many artists, he says, noting that it was a performance by punk rockers The Descendants he saw during college that tops the list ofhis favorites. Something Susan and Fitzgerald keep hearing is hon' much artists love playing in their house. After a recent concert,joan Baez approached Susan to tell her how much she enjoyed playing in such an intimate venue. lt was a reserved seating concert, Susan notes, which Liberty Hall seldom schedules. But Baez just said how much she loved playing in such a cozy place. Alternative band Guster welcomed a fan onstage that Wrote them an e-mail, requesting to play violin in homage to one of the venueis muses. Decades ago, a show by politi- cal rockers Rage Against the Machine saw concertgoers stage diving from the lip of the balcony. Though the staff never encourages such activities, the question stands: Why do people love playing here so much? l'The question's answered by standing in the spot, Fitzgerald says, looking out across the empty house from a perch on the stage. Back in her office, Susan says that, unlike musicians, she prefers to sit in the balcony completely alone, soaking in the atmosphere as much as she can. But as much as she loves sitting in the back, Susan is quick to remind herself how close it all came to never happening. It just couldn't have been done without the Old' fathers, she says. f'Thanks to Charlie, Hnancing was covered? Over the years, of course, common wear and tear necessitated fresh coats of paint or new equipment. The owners recently installed a new sound system to accom- modate the needs of moviegoers and concert attendees. Some might see these alterations as an attempt to give Liberty Hall a facelift. For Susan, however, the reasoning goes deeper. aWe brought it back into use for the whole commu- nity, Q' she says. f'Our hope is to fortify the building so that we,ll leave it better than we found it. LIBERTY HALL W I4