Our History

The Blair Theatre, the Blair, is a recently renovated, theatre in downtown Belleville, KS. It was built in the Spanish Colonial style and when the Blair first opened on December 24th, 1928, it was a vaudeville theatre that had 720 seats. Talking pictures came to the Blair in April of 1929. The Blair stopped showing movies and closed its doors in the late 1990s.

The Blair Center for the Arts Foundation was formed in 2000 by a group of concerned citizens and through donations from the community, the theatre has been renovated to what it is today, a jewel of Republic County. On November 8, 2008, the Blair reopened and currently has a total of 369 seats. The Blair houses a state-of-the-art digital projector and DTS sound making it one of the premier theatres in Kansas when it opened. It also hosts a wide variety of live performances, theatrical productions, concerts, meetings, and many other types of events.

 

Tours of The Blair Theatre are available upon request and schedule permitting.

 

The Blair is overseen by a board of directors from members of our local communities. Those people are currently:

  • Greg McGuire – President
  • Skylar Tuxhorn – Vice President
  • Shannon Short – Treasurer
  • Marlea James – Secretary
  • Merle Hadachek
  • Steve Breeden
  • Amy McGuire
  • Lynn Ridder