Great Western Stage Equipment Company Records (0783kc)

Established in 1925, in Kansas City, Missouri, the Great Western Stage Equipment Company was a theater interior design firm which decorated theaters throughout the Midwest.  The company was founded by T.L. Greening, L.J. Adler, and Samuel F. Hann, after Greening resigned as a salesman from the Twin City Scenic Company.  Adler served as president, Hann as vice-president while Greening was manager and treasurer. Later as business grew, George G. Wing was hired as an assistant manager for the Dramatic field and Mrs. Samuel Hann controlled the drapery department.

Company’s market reached beyond it core area of Missouri and Kansas to include nearly all the states in the Midwest and West, and some in the south and east such as Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.  They provided equipment, scenery, curtains and drapery, and decorations to any facility with a stage, including legitimate and motion picture theaters, schools, social clubs and organizations, and other businesses with auditoriums.

This collection consists of job files including work orders, design plans, invoices, correspondence, and occasionally fabric samples, for the variety of clients served by the company.  The collection is accessed by a card index, arranged geographically and by client name, which indicates a job number keyed to the year of the contract.  An additional batch of material includes catalogs, financial records, photographs, and drawings. 1925 - 1976.

114 cubic foot

© State Historical Society of Missouri

updated: Monday, February 07, 2011
State Historical Society of Missouri Research Center-Kansas City
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