Riverside Studio facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Riverside Studio
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 Location in Oklahoma
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1381 Riverside Dr., Tulsa, Oklahoma |
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| Built | 1928 |
| Architect | Goff, Bruce |
| Architectural style | International Style |
| MPS | Bruce Goff Designed Resources in Oklahoma MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 01000656 |
| Added to NRHP | June 14, 2001 |
The Riverside Studio in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is also known as the Tulsa Spotlight Theater. It was built in 1928 and designed by architect Bruce Goff. The building shows the International Style of architecture. It was first built as a home with a special studio area for a music teacher named Patti Adams Shriner. The Riverside Studio was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in 2001. This means it is an important historical building.
Contents
History of Riverside Studio
Early Days as a Music Studio
The Riverside Studio had many special artistic touches. It featured a large, round front window. There was also a fountain created by the Italian sculptor, Alfonso Iannelli. Inside, you could find fireplaces made with black glass and green marble. The walls had unique Japanese coverings made from wood.
Nine murals were painted by Oklahoma artist Olinka Hrdy. Sadly, during the Great Depression, Ms. Shriner lost the building in 1933. It was empty for a while. Then, in 1941, an actor named Richard Mansfield Dickinson bought it for only $2,500.
The Spotlight Club Theater
Since 1953, Richard Mansfield Dickinson's Tulsa Spotlight Club has used the building. They perform a play called The Drunkard. This play is a classic 19th-century melodrama. It teaches about the importance of making good choices.
In 2008, Charles Conrad, who was in charge of the Spotlighters, wanted to fix up the building. He hoped to make it look like it did originally. He also wanted to update the electricity and other systems. However, this work would cost about $700,000. This was much more money than the club had.
By 2012, the club had fixed the leaky roof. They also updated the bathrooms. An upstairs bedroom was changed into a library.
In 2013, actor-director Joe Sears became the new director of the play. He is famous for creating the Greater Tuna stage plays. The play The Drunkard has been performed almost every Saturday night for over 60 years. The club says it is the longest-running stage show in America.
Building Design Features
The Riverside Studio is a two-story building. It is built into a hillside. The front of the building faces west toward the Arkansas River. The building has a flat roof and a stucco outside.
The entrance hall is very important to the building's look. Two sets of outside stairs lead to a shared landing. This landing opens into a foyer. The large, round window at the front of the foyer is a main decoration. Other windows on the front are stepped. They have black glass parts that create a diagonal pattern.
Behind the foyer is an auditorium, which is like a recital hall. The audience would sit facing east toward the stage. This auditorium is one story tall. It has three sets of double doors on both the north and south sides. The auditorium connects the entrance hall to the living areas. Its shape creates partially enclosed patio spaces on both sides of the building.
The stage is in the wing east of the auditorium. A small service area and kitchen are at the north end of the stage. A living room, garage, and servant quarters are at the south end. This part of the building is two stories high. A small section even goes up to three stories.
Changes Over Time
The original living room walls were covered with wood from Japan. The ceiling had aluminum leaf decorations. The room also had a fireplace with green marble and black glass. The recital hall once had four murals painted by Olinka Hrdy.
However, these original features were not there when the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The fountain designed by Iannelli had been taken apart. Air-conditioning ducts were added later. These ducts blocked the side doors of the recital hall. Even with these changes, the building was still considered important enough for the historic places list.
Images for kids
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Riverside Studio
