The Gillioz Theatre was built by M. E. Gillioz of Monett, Missouri. Mr. Gillioz was in the business of building bridges, and the theater was built with steel and concrete. Wood was only used for handrails, doors, and doorframes. The original cost of the building was only $300,000. Renovation was about $1.9 million.
The theater opened on October 11, 1926, in Springfield, Missouri. Gillioz managed to secure a 100-year lease on one 16-foot (4.9 m) wide piece of property which bordered on U.S. Route 66, so that the theater could garner patrons who traveled on that historic highway. After many prosperous years, and many not-so-prosperous years, the "Gillioz, Theatre Beautiful" finally offered its last show in the summer of 1980, an opera.
The theater was originally a transition theater, with a pipe organ for silent movies and a stage for live performances, such as vaudeville acts. With the advent of talkies, a sound system was eventually installed in 1928.
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The Gillioz hosted the premieres of three movies:
Elvis Presley passed an afternoon watching a movie at the Gillioz after performing sound checks for an evening show at the nearby Shrine Mosque.
There are rumors of a ghost, and the walls of the theater literally gave up tales of sordid love affairs as the theater was being remodeled.
The Gillioz is now operated by the Springfield Landmarks Preservation Trust. Restoration began in 1990, and was completed n 2006. The lobby and auditorium were restored to the original 1926 appearance. It is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Eighty years after first opening its doors, the Gillioz had a grand reopening in October of 2006Encore 2006.
With a seating capacity of 1130, the Gillioz currently offers movies and plays with local talent. Behind-the-scenes tours may also be scheduled.
The Gillioz Theatre and the Jim D. Morris Building together are known as the Ronald and Nancy Reagan Center. The Gillioz Theatre was chosen due to Ronald Reagan’s theatrical contributions.
Baumlin, James S., ed. (October 2006). The Gillioz "Theatre Beautiful": Remembering Springfield's Theatre History, 1926-2006.. Moon City Press. ISBN 0-913785-05-9.