Missouri Western State University - Griffon Yearbook (St Joseph, MO)

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Q 5 in ,.a,, NX ig I- Qxf . .. mxXX . me at . rw-3-tsia.e4ssgf.f-,Egvrf--ff .F 7 5 1 Q., 7 Yi? R' Ss. sift Theatre, arena to revitalize downtown The Missouri Theatre is a familiar landmark in downtown St. joseph. lt has been the only concert and fine arts facility in the St. joseph area, limiting the size and caliber of the entertain- ment that comes here. The Missouri Theatre, operated by Town Hall Centre, is a member of the newly formed Allied Arts Council, which includes other groups such as the Pony Expressmen, the Sweet S 147Theatre, Civic Arena Adelines, and Missouri Western's Cul- tural Events Committee. All of these groups are partially funded through the Missouri Arts Council. Young people in St. loseph are aware of the Missouri Theatre and try to keep abreast of the activities related to their age group. Most students are aware of activities held in the theatre because the College Center Board sponsors many of them there. These have included The Tom johnson Band, Shooting'Star, Blackfoot and William Windom as Ernie Pyle. The theatre was finished in lune, 1927 and cost a whopping one million dollars to construct. The finished struc- ture resembled a Turkish Mosque with its red-and-blue tile and three-bay fa- cade towering above the 7th block of Edmond. The first show to play the newly opened theatre, starring Clara Bowe, was entitled Rough House Rosie. The Wurlitzer that was christened with the new theatre was the most modern organ of its time. It had 11 ranks of pipes, tubharps, chimes, Glockenspiel, zylophone, piano, bird and boatwhistles. The organ was sold in 1956. Before 1978's bond issue to restore it, the structure changed owners, man- agers and attempted to open as a movie theatre. The theatre, with its renovation and beautification finished, accomodates meetings, banquets and, of course, entertainment. But, because of its size it has its limits. During the spring of 1979, ground was broken for a new structure, the St. joseph Civic Arena. The new facility will be a multi-purpose building with 112,000 square feet of space for just about anything imaginable. The build- ing itself is constructed of concrete, steel, and brick, will be fully air condi- tioned and will house meeting rooms, offices, dressing rooms and an audito- rium which is capable of holding 5000 people. The new facility lies between Felix and Francis Streets and Fourth and Fifth. The Civic Arena will accomodate a wider variety of civic activities and help rejuvenate the downtown area.

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is an antiquated, unsafe, unsanitary pile that would be considered about the 'proper thing' in Spain, where they are retrogressive and cruel. -The Daily News' History of Buchanan County and St. loseph, c. 1900 Perhaps a new jail is in the future for Buchanan County as was a restored Court House a few years ago. . -MIKE HOFFMAN The restoration of the courthouse nears comple- tion fbelow leftj, but much of the interior lbelowj remains the same. The new YMCA fabove rightj was completed this year. Some of the new equipment fbelow rightj is being tried out. ew Y offers diversity The new St. joseph YMCA opened its doors to the public on December 4, 1978. The 53,600,000 structure located at 6th and Charles streets was finished. lt replaced an old and battered building at 10th and Faraon that had been in operation since 1910. Instead of cater- ing only to men, the new YMCA pro- motes the family atmosphere. The Young Men's Christian Association has become more of a generic term and there are equal facilities available for both genders. Due to this new image, the YMCA has become very popular and its membership continues to grow rapidly. The following year brought some changes to the YMCA. Missouri West- ern students were affected directly by one of these changes. The student membership rate was abolished and the annual rate was increased to 575. Fred Hoffman, the director of the YMCA, commented, The other YMCA's we talked to were doing away with the student rate. The cost of running the YMCA is very expen- sive, and cutting out the student rate is one way to help meet the increasing costs. At present, the YMCA does not of- fer any programs specifically targeted toward the students here. 'lThe YMCA is a group work agen- cy. We must direct our efforts to the community as a whole. We are inter- ested in the Missouri Western students, but we have to direct our efforts to- ward a larger group and just hope the students 'want to involve themselves, Hoffman stated. Many students do par- ticipate in the various programs that are set up for local citizens such as Y- League basketball. Even with the rate increase the YMCA is still fairly inexpensive in com- parison with other private clubs. Mark Campbell, an accounting major, relat- ed, 'll like to play racquetball. The cost to play at the YMCA is a bargain com- pared to the private club in town. There are also more facilities available to use when l don't feel like playing racquetball. Do you have an extra S75 laying around? If so, a YMCA membership might be a pretty good investment. Es- pecially during those cold winter months when one tends to be -less ac- tive and grow those extra inches around waistlines. - BRYAN DANCER YMCAX13

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Photos by Bryan Dancer Workmen put finishing touches lleftj on a concrete form at the Civic Are- na construction site. This sphinx-like relief is lfar lefti one of the many ornate aspects of the Missouri Theatre. The facade of the Missouri Theatre ftop leftj shows the intricate workmanship of the 53-year-old structure. The view of the stage itop centerj from the balcony was not always the best, but the cozy quiet was a spot where many a guy took his girl. The cold, winter weather slows construction the arena fabovej, but work was reported on schedule for an August 1980 opening. Theatre, Civic Arena!15