HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
+ 2 further entries on record
Springfield's oldest operating theater, open since 1909 — a 1920 fire gutted the stage, and the building has accumulated decades of unexplained reports.
311 E Walnut St, Springfield, MO 65806
Research updated October 2026
Age
Not specified; confirm requirements for the selected performance.
Cost
$$
Theater tickets required for performances; check Springfield Little Theatre website for current schedule and pricing. No standalone paranormal tours currently offered.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic theater interior; no-stair accessible entrance west of the main entrance. Wheelchair and companion seating is on the orchestra level; most seating requires an incline or stairs. Accessible restrooms are on the orchestra level only.
Equipment
No Photos
Est. 1909 · Second-oldest and largest civic theater in Missouri · 1920 fire gutted stage; no fatalities · 35th facility worldwide to acquire sound film (1928) · First network color TV series outside NYC/Hollywood broadcast from here (1961) · National Register of Historic Places, listed August 12 1977
D.J. Landers, a Springfield lumber merchant, built his theater in 1909 using wood-heavy construction reflective of his trade background. Architects Carl Boller and Brother, with local firm Hickenlively and Mark, designed the exterior in French-influenced neoclassical style with Missouri limestone and terra cotta detailing. The building opened September 18, 1909.
On December 18, 1920, fire broke out in the basement starting at 12:45 pm, believed to have originated in a boiler explosion that ignited nearby coal. The fire completely gutted the stage area. No one was killed. A fireproof asbestos curtain preserved the main house, and subsequent renovations reconfigured the orchestra pit and removed the segregation-era separate ticketing facilities that had been part of the original design. In 1928, the Landers became the 35th facility in the world to acquire sound film technology.
From 1961, the theater broadcast NBC's Five Star Jubilee — the first network color television series to originate outside of New York City or Hollywood. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 12, 1977. Today it serves as the home of the Springfield Little Theatre, the city's primary community theater organization, and operates as a working performance venue year-round.
Sources
The Landers Theatre has accumulated paranormal accounts over more than a century of continuous operation. KSMU's 2014 investigation found a consistent cluster of reports: a figure in period dress described as Shakespearean appearing on the fourth floor, green orbs observed floating through the balcony areas, the sound of babies crying from empty portions of the building, high-heeled footsteps in the lobby with no visible source, doors shaking in closed hallways, and at least one account of jewelry moving without contact.
The most widely circulated story — that a janitor named 'Ned' died in the December 1920 fire — is not supported by the historical record. KSMU's reporting found no documentation of a fire fatality at Landers. Historical accounts confirm the 1920 fire caused no deaths; the janitor story appears to have originated from a Ouija board session and accumulated fictional detail over subsequent retellings until it became treated as established fact in local paranormal circles.
The theater has been investigated by local and regional paranormal groups over the decades, with activity reports concentrated in the balcony, fourth floor, and backstage areas. As a working theater, access for investigation is not regularly offered to the public.
Attend a Springfield Little Theatre production at the 1909 venue. The theater is the second-oldest and largest civic theater operation in Missouri. For paranormal interest, the balcony and fourth floor are the areas most associated with reported activity.
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Springfield, MO
Maurice Earnest Gillioz built the theater in 1926 using steel and concrete construction in Spanish Colonial Revival style, securing a lease on a piece of Route 66 frontage to draw travelers. The $300,000 structure introduced talking pictures in 1928 and Technicolor in 1936, hosted a Ronald and Nancy Reagan premiere in 1952, and closed in 1980 before a $1.9 million restoration returned it to operation in 2006.
St. Louis, MO
Powell Hall opened on October 18, 1925 as the St. Louis Theatre, an Orpheum-circuit vaudeville and movie palace designed by Rapp & Rapp. The St. Louis Symphony Society purchased the building in 1966 and reopened it on January 24, 1968 as Powell Symphony Hall, named for benefactor Walter S. Powell. A major renovation was completed in 2025, and the hall reopened in September 2025 as the heart of the new Jack C. Taylor Music Center.
Springfield, MO
The building opened on October 8, 1916 as the Electric Theatre on a block that had been almost entirely destroyed by a major fire in 1913. It operated as the Fox Theatre from 1928 until 1982 and now houses the History Museum on the Square.