Southern Theatre

After fire destroyed five downtown theatres between 1889 and 1893, an assembly of businessmen decided to enhance the city’s south side with a new-and-improved, fashionable hotel. Designed by the prominent local architectural firm of Dauben, Krumm, and Riebel, construction on the Great Southern Fireproof Hotel and Opera House began in 1894.

The Southern Theatre opened on September 21, 1896, and the hotel the following summer. Constructed of "fireproof" tile, brick, iron, steel, and concrete, the theatre -- which originally seated 1,723 on three levels -- was praised for its plush seats, stylish boxes, excellent sight lines, and absence of posts or other obstructions. Its ample stage dimensions proved more than up to the challenge of the 1903 touring production of Ben-Hur, which featured a cast of 350 and a chariot race in which two teams of horses galloped on treadmills for a mile!

The Southern Theatre departed from the classical opera house by incorporating features considered very "modern" for its day. Most notable was the design of the audience chamber ceiling. From the proscenium opening, a series of concentric arches radiate into the house, creating an acoustic system that is still nearly perfect today.

The Southern Theatre was also one of the first commercial facilities in Columbus to use electricity. The six arches that fanned out over the orchestra were lined with light bulbs—204 lamps in all! Tinted globes shaded the bulbs, giving the effect of warm, diffused light over the entire theatre. Ahead of its time, the building had to generate its own electricity and also produce its own water supply from three wells in the basement.

The Southern's grand opening entertainment was the Broadway touring production of In Gay New York, followed by An American Beauty starring Lillian Russell. During its early years, the greatest names of the theatrical world played the Southern, including Ethel and Lionel Barrymore, John Philip Sousa, Sarah Bernhardt, Al Jolson, and W.C. Fields. Actress Maude Adams flew from the stage to the balcony in an early production of Peter Pan,and dancer Isadora Duncan refused to play Columbus unless she could play the Southern!