Primetime Wisconsin; 429; Mabel Tainter Memorial Theater

Presentation of prime time Wisconsin is made possible in part by the Secura insurance companies Appleton providing a broad range of services property casualty and life insurance products mutual funds and other related financial services. This special presentation of primetime Wisconsin commemorates the one hundredth anniversary of Menominee's Mabel Tainter Memorial. It's time for a celebration in Menominee Wisconsin a time for community members to gather together and strike up the band to commemorate a landmark in this city's history. The Mabel Tainter Memorial is 100 years old and the citizens of Menominee have come out to express their pride and appreciation for the contributions the memorial has made over the last century. Despite its unassuming Midwestern location the Mabel Tainter Memorial holds a special place in American theater and architectural history its aging

weathered exterior belies the sublime beauty that lies within a beauty which has inspired theater historians and aficionados to regard this remnant from the gaslight era of the 1890s as a truly unique national treasure. Mackintosh of England. Who was a theatre expert in this country now he does a lot of restoration work claimed that this is the number one theater. In the country. as far as historical beauty and significance. The. Calibre of the Mabel Tainter is really unique in that country. Every little community in the nation had a theater a town hall or some venue where production could be made. But this is by far the most elegant that I've ever seen. We are nationally recognized by national Preservation Trust for the historical significance the building does have also received recognition from the State Historical Society for preservation efforts. And we are listed on the national register. Of Historic Places. And we're involved

in all sorts of theater and history groups. We're a charter member of the League of historic American theatres. Visitors to the Mabel Tainter memorial often wonder why a magnificent structure like this was built in a modest Midwestern college town like Menominee. A look back in time reveals that Menominee played a very different role in the last century than it does today. Menominee was a hub of economic activity in the region during the mid to late 1800s. America had an insatiable demand for lumber. In northern Wisconsin a seemingly endless supply. Menominee had become home to what would eventually be one of the largest lumber companies in the world. The Knapp, Stout and Co. company. Knapp Stout at its peak turned out a staggering two hundred fifty thousand board feet of lumber a day and an estimated 2 billion board feet over the course of its operation. Andrew Tainter was a founding partner and one third interest holder in the firm originally named Knapp Tainter

and Company. Henry L. Stout joined the business in 1853 and the name was changed. Andrew's title was that of vice president. A remarkable achievement for this man with little formal education and a rather gruff unrefined presence. Yet he appears to have been a born leader a man who commanded the respect of all those he encountered. His role in the company was to oversee the lumber camps owned and operated by Knapp Stout and to supervise the transport of white pine and huge rafts down river. When the company purchased its first river boat in 1859 Andrew Tainter became its captain. And was referred to as Captain Tainter for the remainder of his years. Details of his early personal life are sketchy but he is known to have taken a Native American woman named Mary Paskin Goose as his common law wife in 1850. He had been married to an Ojibwa Indian woman and had six children with her and then decided to move back.

To more white man's area and took his Indian children and lived in Reed's Landing for a while and hired a nanny for them. This was Bertha Lucas and. Then he married her and they moved to Menominee and that was when they began their family. Bertha Lucas was a schoolteacher prior to becoming governess to Andrew Tainter's children in 1861. She became his wife. Her interests in education and the arts seem an unlikely complement to Captain Tainter's less than genteel demeanor. However her influence on Andrew and their family was substantial reflected most strongly through their gift of the memorial to the citizens of Dunn County. The second Tainter family consisted of five children Lewis Smith Tainter the only son became a successful businessman. Their first daughter Ruth born in 1865 only lived to the age of eight. Fannie the youngest child was born in 1867 and was a constant companion to

Mabel. Mabel the third Tainter child had a twin sister who died at birth in 1867. It was Mabel's own untimely death. Nineteen years later which inspired the construction of the memorial that stands on Menominee's main street. Christine Clad who is now one hundred and one was born the year construction of the memorial began. Her grandfather actually supervised construction crews on the project. Her strong ties to the memorial inspired her to investigate many locally published accounts about the building and the Tainter family I didn't get too much about Mabel. She was educated in the school here and then she went to the finishing school called St. Mary's over in Minnesota And she was a very generous woman. Little else is known about Mabel other than the fact that she loved music and the arts.

I was looking at a stack of Mabel Tainter's music that's in the museum here and it looks like she was probably a very accomplished pianist. She has lots of. Music by Mendelssohn and Liszt which is very difficult music. She has a lot of parlor songs which in the 1880s were very very popular. There is no doubt that the piano played an important role in Mabel's life and the instrument she used is on display at the memorial building. One account even depicts Mabel practicing her piano when she was first stricken with the illness that led to her death on June 10th 1886. I went to the court house. And I have the death certificate and it says the cancer of the side The exact details surrounding the circumstances of Mabel's death remains sketchy. Historians surmise that cancer of the side probably described appendicitis.

Whatever the cause. Andrew and Bertha were left with the pain of losing their beloved daughter at the tender age of 19. Her obituaries describe the sentiments of the family and community. The Menominee times stated. It seems doubly hard to see one so young so full of hope and promise. Thus cut down. And from the Dunn County News. The blandishments of wealth did not mar nor detract from her simplicity of manner and kindness of heart toward those less favored. Two years had passed and the Tainter's grief had been given time to heal before serious thought was directed toward erecting a fitting memorial to honor their daughter's memory. The founding of Menominee's first Unitarian Society which the Tainter's join was instrumental in convincing them to undertake building the memorial. Upon her death which was a very sad moment in the family life. They see some way to. Memorialize that. Their pastor. Henry Dodie Maxson suggest they build a church in her honor. But more than that it would be a

community center where they would also have a library. Community rooms for activities meeting rooms and a theater. The architectural firm of Le Roy S. Buffington of Minneapolis one of the most prestigious in the Midwest at the time was commissioned by Andrew Tainter to begin planning the memorial. The actual design was created by Harvey Ellis an exceptionally talented somewhat eccentric and greatly underrated architect draftsman working for Buffington. It was Ellis's award winning work that had helped establish the firm's reputation. Ellis after being dismissed from West Point studied architectural drawing in Paris and spent some time painting in New York. Explaining perhaps his preference for a relaxed freehand style of rendering. Architectural critic Francis Swails described Ellis as an architectural artist par excellence. Others spoke of him as a poet architect. And an irresponsible genius whose escapist tendencies led him to create medieval

architectural fantasies. The Tainter memorial exterior is designed in the Romanesque tradition whose chief proponent in this country during the 19th century was Henry Hobson Richardson. The revival of this style characterized by rough cut stone faced exteriors is now referred to as Richardsonian Romanesque. This type of architecture engender's a sense of gravity stateliness and permanence characteristics that symbolize the noble intent of the structure. There is no public record documenting the commencement of construction on the memorial. It is surmised that ground was broken in mid 1889. Only one photograph is known to exist depicting the building's construction. However Christine Clad recalls her family's account of their involvement in the project especially that of her grandfather Thomas K. Wilkey. My grandfather. Was a supervisor of the

construction of the Mabel Tainter building and of the Lewis Smith Tainter house my grandfather was a stone cutter and he was a master stone cutter He earned that degree in Scotland before coming over to the United States. The building's exterior is constructed of Dunville sandstone. Quarried 10 to 15 miles south of Menominee and transported by rail to the building site. When Christine's father started working in this quarry in 1906 the same methods were being used as when the memorial stone was cut. She recalls visiting him at work and witnessing the stone cutting process. They were blasting the big blocks from the hillside. Sometimes I saw them put the big blocks by a derrick onto a little flat car and saw them Push the flat

car into the house where the block was to be sawed they had no teeth but they were called saws The sandstone slabs were taken in rough form to the building site where they were chiseled by hand to the exact dimensions required. Over the course of one year. Ellis's romantic vision had taken form with the assistance of dozens of laborers artisans and craftsmen. And of course with the financial resources of a wealthy lumber baron. The total cost of the memorial was one hundred five thousand dollars. A tidy sum in an era when mill workers earned little more than one dollar per day. The warm cream color of the fresh cut sandstone darkened after only a few short years presumably from the smoke of coal burning furnaces in Menominee homes and the continual firing of brick at the local brick yards. Ironically beneath this massive sandstone exterior lies an interior structural wall built

entirely of Menominee Brickyard brick. The completed building's exterior exhibits many qualities that characterize the Richardsonian Romanesque tradition. Circular Turits with conical roofs contain curved arches that form the window openings. A feature unlikely to be found in any other style of architecture. The main archway forming the entrance to the building is also constructed in a manner common to other Richardsonian Romanesque structures. The intricate leaf patterned low relief carving was executed after the sandstone arch had been constructed. And under the shade of a tarpaulin in order to eliminate any unwanted shadows. The overall effect of this broad band of decorative ornamentation is to lighten the fortress like mass of the rest of the exterior. The words Mabel Tainter memorial carved high above the arched entryway way now intermittently blend into the buildings darkened surface. They are often overlooked without one's attention being directed toward the inscription. The

liberty Ellis took with the Romanesque style is most evident in his fanciful carving of a ship's prowl cutting through a cresting wave. With a bit of imagination. One can conjure up a vision of the building as a steamboat its turret smokestacks. Forging its way down river with Captain Tainter at the helm. In striking contrast to the buildings massive sandstone exterior the lobby is lined with elegant finally surfaced marble. Perhaps in designing the memorial. Ellis had unwittingly erected an architectural metaphor of Captain Tainter himself. Whose unrefined demeanor masked the warm heart of a generous benefactor. Because of Andrew Tainter's concern that the citizens of Menominee be afforded as many educational opportunities as possible. He stipulated that one function of the memorial would be to establish and maintain a circulating library. When it opened its doors to the public. It held over 3000 volumes during the next 97 years. It continued to grow and serve the community until a new

library was built. Today it serves as a public reading room and houses many historical documents. The upper Southwest turret was designated as the pastor's study. In keeping with Tainter's desires and the Unitarian tradition many sermons promoting rational and liberal religious instruction were very likely composed in this room. It was for the building's theater that Ellis had reserved his most extravagant and imaginative vision. A single glance immediately reveals that no expense was spared to insure that the architect's adventurous dream would become a reality. The overwhelming glow of golden color from every direction reflects the values of an age in which nothing could possibly be considered overly extravagant. Not one inch of exposed surface appears to have escaped the enhancement of some form of ornamentation. Yet this splendor cannot help but be admired.

Hand. Carved wooden scrollwork enhances the repetitive archways set within rectangular frames perhaps the only motif that relates to the building's exterior. Reclining theater seats purchased in New York City varied in size to accommodate the portly and the petite. And were reported to be absolutely the finest available at the time. Charles Boozleman who has done an exhaustive study on the memorial describes the architectural style as Moorish. The extensive use of repetitive geometric patterning is more reminiscent of a middle eastern mosque than a Unitarian Church. In response to the building's dedication on July 3rd 1890 the Dunn County News aptly expressed the gratitude and astonishment of the local population regarding Tater's gift and Ellis's design. A full comprehension of the almost

perfect symmetry of its proportions and the meticulous blending of form and color into one harmonious whole can only be gained by personal view. No mere casual glance will reveal the grand and perfect work of the artist. We have seen many auditoriums in our day and generation. I recall none that seemed so near perfection in all its parts as does this exquisite temple. One can only imagine the emotions that were felt by the members of this rural community when they attended their first performance in the memorial. Thinking about what people did in an 1890s. it was a rural community. They were farmers they were not wealthy people to have an opportunity to come to this kind of facility. It gives me goosebumps everytime i think about it because we have people today that walk in here we have visitors here from all over the world. You can look at our guestbook and its China. And its and its New

Zealand and its Ireland and its. Every state and country and these people walk in and their eyes get big and their jaw drops and they're saying wow this is beautiful. How did this come to be entertainment. In those days in the 1890s was quite a rare ingredient to the lives of the citizens because even though they had three opera houses there was a problem. Of finding the money and the time. The men worked six days a week. Sundays were the only day of really relaxation and rest and but it was a special treat to go to the Mabel Tainter to go to a place that had all the glory and the. the charm the softness and the warm tones. A

Performance of music popular in the late 19th century recreated here by singer Juliana Schmidt typifies one style of entertainment. Audiences were likely to experience in the theatre. There were plenty of touring artists who were who were billed as refined entertainers. And you see the pictures of them on their evening dress and very sort of conservative high collars very frilly clothing so that they were bringing the higher culture to the masses when they were touring the country and theatres like this. And it was all very proper. Mostly in European influence. Despite the fact that many were renowned in their day the reputations of the musical groups that graced the stage of the Memorial Theatre have faded along with the playbills that promoted their performances. Among these groups where the fellow singers. The Decolvin's and the Boston Lyrics. And surprisingly all female performing groups like the Vassar girls the Chicago ladies orchestra.

And the multi-talented Le Grand sisters Menominee was also a popular stop for lectures on the Chautauqua circuit on route from Chicago to St. Paul. Among them were Booker T Washington and at least one other well-noted speaker. I believe it was in 1914 Helen Keller did come to the Mabel Tainter and when I was in the audience and Miss Sullivan was up with of course other lecturers whose fame has not endured. Our poet humorist Fred Emerson Brooks DeWitt Miller. And Ralph Parlette who was in his day often compared to Mark Twain the most consistent feature of the entertainment coming to the memorial theatre was its variety. The Floyds presented music magic and telepathy. Frederick Ward the eminent tragedian performed serious drama and acts like the New

Zealanders satisfied audiences insatiable desire for the novel and exotic. Among the most popular acts to perform at the Mabel Tainter theater. Time and again was the Winninger theatrical stock company. John and Frank Winninger were two brothers out of. Wausau. Brother another brother Charles went on to greater fame in the motion picture business at that time over 400 traveling stock companies in the United States all looking for venues Winninger traveled extensively through. Iowa Minnesota and Wisconsin really were the cream of the crop. I was a common procedure in those early days to take place from Broadway. And so they would pay the royalty they just changed the name and the cast members and put on the play. Winningers were very. Careful about not doing that. The memorial theater hosted nearly 300 productions by more than 90 theatrical companies between 1890 and 1939. However as

early as 1909 the frequency of performances began to wane. A result of the competition for motion pictures shown in nearby movie houses throughout its history. The Mabel Tainter memorial only once succumb to the temptation of becoming a movie theater. The only movie ever shown. Professionally. was the birth of the nation in 1816. Where they brought to trainloads two carloads with a sound effects people. full orchestra. Movie projection equipment. And moved into the Mabel Taintor and presented the song of the birth of the nation. That was really the first. And last. Commercial motion picture from 1939 until 1958. The theater was not used for professional performances. Basically got dirty and thread worn and the theater was just old. I don't think people realized anymore how beautiful it was. The thing that really saved the building the theatre especially was

total neglect of it. It was so comfortable to go in there and the aging process again was so slow. That it was always imperceptible that people assumed it always was that dark in there the paint was always that low color and the stencils were all that subdued. Until they realized that the accumulation of dirt over seventy years. Of use had diminished its brightness and brilliance. Then in 1958 the city approached the board of directors and was interested in making it into. The police department. Luckily about that same time a gentleman in the community Larry Richardson started tinkering with the old organ. and Got that to working. And. Invited a few community people in and. got a woman on a community Margaret Harem who still plays the organ for us. To come in and do a concert.

And within six weeks. They had. Two groups started. One was our Preservation Association which began the. Actual restoration work that actually the fundraising first for it and the Menominee theater Guild began doing performances putting life back. There were many people in the community that had an interest in seeing that building preserved. They came from all walks of life and many of them unheralded to this day who had just. Put time and effort into restoring that building. And so people looked at that seriously about let's get it back the way it was. And back to a performance hall Over the last 30 years. The Mabel Tainter memorial has slowly been restored to a state that approaches or even exceeds its original splendor. At the same time the sound of laughter music and applause that had become so faint is being heard once more

Performances occurring with increasing regularity are as varied as they were in the theater's glory days and are greeted with continually growing enthusiasm throughout the region. For 100 years. The memorial has faithfully fulfilled the purposes intended by Andrew and Bertha Tainter. There is no reason to doubt that it will continue to serve the community for at least another century. Presentation of prime time Wisconsin is made possible in part by the Secura

insurance companies Appleton providing a broad range of services property casualty and life insurance products mutual funds and other related financial services.