Chi Omega Greek Theatre was completed in the summer of 1930. This outdoor theater was part of the ambitious campus plan designed by the architectural firm of Jamieson and Spearl of St. Louis in 1925. Plans for the theater were completed by Jamieson and Spearl and this structure became the only portion of that master plan followed in both location and design. The idea for the theater and its site were conceived many years earlier by Mary Love and Dr. Charles Richardson, one of the Chi Omega founders, and this information was evidently passed on to the architects.
The manner of funding this facility, from the national Chi Omega sorority, was unique. It marked the first time in the history of Greek letter social organizations that a national sorority had presented a memorial of its foundation to the institution where it was founded. Chi Omega was organized on April 5, 1895, at the University of Arkansas and is the mother (Psi) chapter of the national organization.
The construction contract was awarded in February 1930 to the Young-Bryan Construction Co. of Fort Smith, Ark., on a bid of $31,225. Seating 2,750, the theater is modeled after on the 2,400-year-old Theatre of Dionysus in Athens, Greece.
Five large stones in the face of the stage carry the names of the founders of Chi Omega–Simonds, Boles, Richardson, Holcombe, and Vincenheller.
Members of the national sorority from across the nation gathered for the dedication of the theater on June 28, 1930. Principal speaker was U.S. Senator Joe T. Robinson of Arkansas. Mrs. Ida Pace Pardue, an early member of Chi Omega, made the formal presentation of the theater to the University, and President John C. Futrall accepted the gift. A pageant, "The Earth Mother," was presented before the dedication.
Since then, the theater has been used for commencements, convocations, concerts, dramas, and pep rallies. The largest crowd ever assembled here–upwards of 6,000, according to professor Walter J. Lemke–was for a concert by the Army Air Corps Band during World War II.
From 1934 to 1991, the space under the stage was used for a rifle range by the Army ROTC.
In 1977 Chi Omega and the University entered into an agreement in which both parties are to share in the maintenance and renovation of the theater. On two previous occasions, Chi Omega paid for all of the renovations. A rededication of the theater was held June 23, 1980, on the 50th anniversary of its completion. Restoration work was completed just prior to that for which Chi Omega contributed $35,000. In 1995, extensive maintenance and renovation were completed at a cost of $186,250, shared by both Chi Omega and the University of Arkansas.
The Chi Omega Greek Theatre was accepted for listing in the National Register of Historic Places in September 1992.
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