Collection is open for research.
Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by Helen Gray Christopher on June 13, 2005. The accession number associated with this donation is retro-0209.
The Keylor Grand Opera House was built by Howard R. Keylor in 1905. Its large stage made it a big stop for touring companies in the west. It housed a live theater until around 1930, and later reopened as a movie house. After that it became a venue for wrestling matches and other live events. In 1954 the auditorium was demolished, but the stage house was converted to a garage. The stage house still stands today.
The Keylor Grand Theatre Records consists of a scrapbook of newspaper clippings related to the theatre, assorted cast photographs, and programs from theatrical productions. These records, which date from 1905 through 1982, also contain ephemera from concerts and films that took place at the Keylor Grand from 1906 to 1935. These included a touring production of Ben Huras a play (1909), D. W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation (1916), numerous additional touring concerts and plays (many by the Moroni Olsen Players), Whitman College productions included Dramatic Club and Sophomore Class Plays, College Revues, and Whitman Conservatory concerts. The collection also contains materials related to research for a 1983 Whitman senior honors thesis on the Keylor Grand by Lucile Peckham.