Pythian Temple And James Pythian Theater
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The Martin Luther King Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex is a historic building in the King-Lincoln Bronzeville neighborhood of
Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
. It was built in 1925 as the Pythian Temple and James Pythian Theater, and was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
and Columbus Register of Historic Properties in 1983. The building was renovated into the King Arts Complex in 1987, and was vacated in 2019. Community leaders restored the building's use as an arts center in 2021.


History

The Pythian Temple was designed in the
Colonial Revival The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the arch ...
architectural style by Samuel Plato, an African-American architect, and is his only work in Columbus. It was financed by the
Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an Act of Co ...
, a Black fraternal organization, and opened in 1926 and could accommodate roughly 1,000 people with a theatre, retail, offices, and lodge rooms. It quickly became the center of entertainment in the neighborhood, hosting performers including
Cab Calloway Cabell "Cab" Calloway III (December 25, 1907 – November 18, 1994) was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was a regular performer at the Cotton Club in Harlem, where he became a popular vocalist of the Swing music, swing era. His niche ...
,
Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
,
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...
and the Cotton Club Dancers. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on November 25, 1983. In 1987, the temple was renovated by African-American owned architecture firm Moody Nolan to combine with Garfield Elementary School. The complex was renamed as the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing and Cultural Arts Complex, in memory of Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
The building was listed as one of the most endangered sites in the city, in Columbus Landmarks' 2021 list. The King Arts Complex vacated the building in 2019, and a portion of it was listed for sale in 2020. In July 2021, the temple was entered a purchase agreement with the owners by Maroon Arts Group, a Black-led nonprofit based in the neighborhood. The group entered the agreement after the community expressed a desire to save the building.


See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Columbus, Ohio


References


External links

* {{Columbus Register of Historic Properties Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Colonial Revival architecture in Ohio Theatres completed in 1925 Knights of Pythias buildings Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Columbus, Ohio Columbus Register properties Endangered buildings in Columbus, Ohio King-Lincoln Bronzeville Theatres in Columbus, Ohio Memorials to Martin Luther King Jr.