Deb Sheals, a historic preservation consultant, said it best: Saving a historic building requires putting it to work.

Now, the Missouri Theatre will be put to work by the University of Missouri. This article by the Columbia Daily Tribune notes that the manager of MU’s Jesse Hall plans to put the Missouri Theatre to work. He notes in the article that he often turns away performances and now MU will have another venue.

This is great news, as the Missouri Theatre has struggled under the cloud of debt, federal tax credits and changing management.

The theatre began life in 1928. In 1953, it was leased to Commonwealth and operated as a movie theater until 1987. It was then purchased by the Missouri Symphony Society and renovated in 2006. For more information on the history of theaters in Columbia, see this June 25, 2010 article published in the Columbia Business Times.