最新杏吧原创

鈥淓very time I鈥檓 here, I stop to look at it,鈥� said Kevin Carr, of Glendale, while shopping at a hardware store across the street. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a cool old building. It should be put to good use.鈥�

The theater at 103 East Lockwood Avenue, one of the oldest theaters in the 最新杏吧原创 region, screened its last film 45 years ago. It has since been converted into offices, nearly demolished to make way for a condominium, and then saved by voters and a tenacious owner who renovated its historic fa莽ade. But after it closed again two years ago, it鈥檚 future has been uncertain. And it鈥檚 in need of costly repairs.

Now it has a new owner, who says he plans to restore it to its 鈥渇ormer glory.鈥�

Jim Onder, a prominent attorney whose firm鈥檚 headquarters is across the street, plans to open some additional office space in the Ozark building. But he says he wants to dedicate much of the building to the arts 鈥� as a theater, a public arts facility or some other event space.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking for creative ideas, but I want this to be something for the community,鈥� Onder said. 鈥淥ur vision is to restore it to its original grandeur.鈥�

Today, the theater鈥檚 9,000-square-foot interior is partitioned into several rooms. Little is left of the historic theater鈥檚 original details, and the front entrance is walled off. The building has no central heating or cooling. The plumbing and electrical wiring are outdated.

Throughout the theater are stacks of dusty memorabilia: old popcorn and gumball machines; file cabinets and cardboard boxes and old office supplies; display cases with old newspapers, posters and books about 最新杏吧原创 history; stage lights, sound mixers and a metal safe full of sheet music.

The single-screen theater opened in 1921, before the Hi-Pointe and The Fox theaters in 最新杏吧原创 and before The Tivoli in University City. The Ozark had 1,000 seats indoors and 1,500 seats in an outdoor air dome used until the late 1950s as a way to escape the sweltering 最新杏吧原创 heat inside, before the advent of air conditioning.

Growing competition

Marilyn Katzenstein-Baker remembers seeing 鈥淏utch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid鈥� about 鈥渘ine times鈥� in 1969 and taking dates up to a second-floor room where they could have their own private view of the screen. Her grandfather, John Siepker had managed the theater since 1922 and after he died in 1957, her grandmother, Marian Mathis, became a co-owner and manager.

鈥淚t was the place to be on Friday and Saturday nights when we were old enough to go to the theater by ourselves,鈥� said Katzenstein-Baker, a Chicago resident who grew up in Webster Groves. 鈥淭here weren鈥檛 a lot of places where young people, especially, could gather and do something together.鈥�

But the theater soon faced growing competition from new, multi-screen 鈥� and air-conditioned 鈥� theaters. Mathis remodeled the Ozark in 1970 to try to compete. She renamed it the Webster Groves Cinema, renovated the interior and added modern fixtures that covered up the historic arched entrance and tile ceiling.

She retired and sold the theater in 1979. A dentistry school occupied the Ozark the next year. In 1988, the owners of Sterling Pen, a local office supply company, bought the building and used it for their offices until the early 2000s.

The company owners鈥� son, Dan Stevens, launched a multi-year project to restore the theater. But it was upended when the city council approved a developer鈥檚 plan to redo the block with new condos, shops and apartments. Residents concerned about traffic and other impacts petitioned and voted to rescind the project in 2004. The city designated the Ozark a historic landmark in 2007.

Seven years later, Stevens finished renovating the fa莽ade. Local artisans recreated the tile ceiling, arches and doors and added stained glass windows celebrating music.

Stevens, who majored in music at Webster University, planned to turn the theater into a concert hall with banquet facilities, or a recording studio and outdoor concert venue. But he fought with the city over requirements to install a modern sprinkler system and meet noise restrictions meant to protect surrounding residences.

鈥淲e never had a meeting of the minds,鈥� Stevens told the Post-Dispatch in 2010. 鈥淲e have different interpretations about the codes for historic buildings.鈥�

Antique mall, concert hall, private events

For a few months, the theater was converted into the Webster Groves Antique Mall. Then it became the Webster Groves Concert Hall, and hosted small concerts and private events until 2022. Stevens died in 2023 of cancer.

His wife, Margaret Stevens, said they had updated the theater鈥檚 interior enough to host the events.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 beautiful like some other halls, but it worked for little things,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was sort of a work in progress, I guess you could say.鈥�

Margaret Stevens, who grew up in Webster Groves, went to the Ozark in the 1960s, when it cost less than a dollar for a ticket and snacks. She was thrilled when her in-laws bought the theater two decades later.

Her husband devoted years of his energy and money to restoring the theater, turning down prospective buyers. After he died, she felt she didn鈥檛 have the experience to keep the theater going. Onder鈥檚 plan to keep the theater would fulfill her husband鈥檚 legacy, she said.

鈥淚 think Dan would be very happy,鈥� she said.

Onder and Margaret Stevens declined to confirm the price of the theater鈥檚 sale. A caf茅 next door was also part of the purchase.

Onder, the brother of St. Charles Congressman Bob Onder, moved his law firm鈥檚 headquarters into Webster Groves in 2005. He didn鈥檛 experience the Ozark when it was a movie theater, and thought the building 鈥渓ooked liked it needed to be torn down鈥� until Stevens renovated part of it.

鈥淥nce Dan and his wife had the vision to fix the front of it, then it鈥檚 like, 鈥極h, wow, this is cool,鈥欌�� he said.

He says he wants input from former owners and visitors about what the Ozark used to look like, including its air dome outside, to see what can be recreated. A working movie theater is unfeasible, but it鈥檚 clear residents want to return the space to another type of performing arts venue, he said.

鈥淚f I can create a theater in conjunction with office space for my firm, I鈥檒l be happy, and I think it鈥檒l make a lot of people in the community happy,鈥� he said.

Across the street at Schnarr鈥檚 Hardware on a recent day, owner Frank Blair said he used to tell customers how to get the store by telling them it was located across from the old theater.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a local landmark,鈥� Blair said. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad it鈥檚 been bought by someone with the wherewithal and intention to keep it as a community asset.鈥�