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Location
Midland Theater
Coffeville Kansas
Date
June 2007
History
The Midland Theater was built in
1928 by architect Clare Henderson in the Mission/Spanish Revival
architectural style for $80,000.00. It was originally named the New
Tackett Theater but was changed to the Midland Theater a year after it
opened. The original proprietors of the theater were John Tackett and
Glen Dickenson. We found interesting background information on John
Tackett. he was not only at the scene of the Dalton Gang raid in
Coffeyville, but caught the infamous picture of the fouf of the bandits
lined up after their death. Mr. Tackett also convinced Emmett Dalton to
return to Coffeyville and star in a movie about him and the Dalton
raid. This was the first time a man played himself in a movie as a
criminal. It is even said that John Tackett taught Will Rogers how to
dance. In 1953 the United States Supreme Court put a stop to fil
company monopolies. The Fox Corporation then sold the Midland Theater
to the National General Theater Corporation. In 1960 the Midland was
again sold to Tal & Pearl Richardson. Tal Richardson died in 1976
and Pearl Richardson continued operating the theater until 1998 when
she passed away. We actually found records of the ambulance dispatched
to the Theater. The theater was bought by the City of Coffeyville. It
was inducted by the National Register of Historic Places in Feb. 2005.
It is current under the care of the Midland Theater Foundation. They
are striving to refurbish the theater to its former glory.
It seems that anyone over the age of 30 and from Coffeyville has a memory of the theater and the Richardson's, primarily Pearl. Apparently both of them were unforgettable. A general description of Tal centered around quiet. The discriptions of Pearl were much more candid. With each description given it solidified a visual image in everyone of our minds. We were told that Pearl had wanted to be in the movies herself. She had jet black hair, pale white face and wore bright red lipstick, high-heals and outlandishly vibrant clothing. Pearl also had a reputation for kicking kids out of the theater if they weren't quiet. Ticket Booth- From what we have been told Pearl was always sitting in the ticket booth, even when there wasn’t a movie playing. The investigators from the Coffeyville area said the ticket booth still had the same chair. We even saw there were still tickets in there Entry Way - The framed areas on the walls in the front entrance at one time held posters the likes of John Wayne and Clark Gable or whoever’s movie just happened to be playing at the theater at that time. Concession - The concession stand was not an original part of the 1928 architecture. It was estimated that it was added in the 1940’s. Pearls Rooms - Originally there had been a ball room on the 2nd floor. However, the ball room was divided into 3 small rooms. Its been said that after Tal’s death Pearl lived in the midland and these three rooms were her personal living space. Theater - Originally built to hold 700 but that number was decreased when they took out the box seating on the balcony. The theater is the same as the day it opened except that the original orchestra pit has been filled in with concrete and the pipe organ is gone. The original chanderlier in the main theater is now missing. From what we were told it was not only huge but beautiful.
Paranormal Accounts
The only report of paranormal
activity that we could find on the theater revolves around the
stairs. Apparently Pearl was seen standing there.
Personal Experiences
The average temperature of the
theater ranged between 78 degree on the upper floors and 74 degrees on
the lower floors. However, in a particular hallway an investigator had
a temperature registering at 64 degress. This wasn't the only incident
in this area. While further investigating this area two more
investigators walked up the hallway and heard a man sigh. It was
described as sounding impatient or agitated.
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Evidence
