Jewish couple preserve Lawrence landmark

LAWRENCE, Kan. — It’s been almost 24 years since David and Susan Millstein bought Liberty Hall. The Lawrence landmark at 642 Massachusetts St. was in pretty bad shape when they took it over.

“This place was at its nadir; it was ready for the wrecking ball,” Susan Millstein said.

Now, it’s once again a hot spot for performing musicians of all genres in addition to hosting a small movie theater and a video-rental store.

Of course, that’s just the latest incarnation. In its 153-year history, Liberty Hall has been home to an abolitionist newspaper, an opera house, vaudeville shows and the first “talkie” film in Lawrence. It has also burned down twice — though not recently.

After buying the place, the Jewish couple took a year to refurbish it with their business partner, Charley Oldfather. They re-opened the building in October 1986.

The Millsteins have lived in Lawrence since they were students at the University of Kansas in the 1960s. David came from Kansas City; Susan from Chicago. They also ran the Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop in Lawrence for 10 years.

“In my case, it was a combination of opportunity and altruism,” said David Millstein. “In Charley’s case, it was just altruism.”

Oldfather was an actor and staged many classic plays there as part of a dinner theater. Millstein said Oldfather did it for his love of theater, but the dinner-theater shows never broke even.

Artistic license
Old photos of the building’s facade still exist, and the owners restored that part. But there were no architectural plans or photos of the inside. Without such a guide, they had some artistic license in redoing the inside of the theater.

In the main theater at Liberty Hall, where music acts such as Ani DeFranco, Muddy Waters and Willie Nelson have played, celestial-themed murals painted by local artists dominate the walls.

“The idea was that we would go from heaven to Earth,” David Millstein said.

There is a balcony with fixed seating, but on the orchestra level of the theater, the Millsteins decided to use tables and chairs that can be removed or rearranged, depending on the event. The floor is divided into three staggered levels.

The whole room seats 1,080 people, and David Millstein says he’s heard from many performers how much they like the intimacy of the theater. A bonus for audiences is the theater’s full liquor license.

Self-sustaining design
Next to the theater, there’s a video rental store that has its own entrance from the street. That store, plus the 120-seat art-house movie theater and a coffee shop, help keep the larger theater afloat financially. The Millsteins also own and rent the space next to Liberty Hall to the popular Free State Brewery restaurant, which also brings customers to their door.

They showed “Slumdog Millionaire” at the movie theater for 14 weeks this year, which was a real boon for them, Susan Millstein said. The couple also noted that people enjoy the option of having a beer at their movie theater.

“Our philosophy was to design it so it could sustain itself,” said David Millstein.

He says the live performances alone do not make enough of a profit to keep them in business, but with the other enterprises under their roof, Liberty Hall is doing well.

David Millstein has long been a fan of old buildings, and both he and Susan take pride in the building’s long history. They sell T-shirts that list some of the theater’s more famous guest performers, from Counting Crows to Wu-Tang Clan. Millstein said Oscar Wilde even performed there at the dawn of the 20th century. In the 1960s, the building was known as the Red Dog Inn and hosted regional and national rock acts. In the 1970s and early ’80s, as the Lawrence Opera House, it did the same.

The more recent live acts have run the gamut of musical styles, attracting both University of Kansas student and townies. Country-western acts have been particularly popular, said Susan Millstein.

“Quality is what we’re after,” David Millstein said.

‘A lot has happened here’
Liberty Hall is also a popular spot for wedding receptions. The Millsteins attribute this both to the elegance of the building and to the sheer number of people who have grown up with Liberty Hall and hold a particular fondness for the place.

“These places build up a patina — you can feel that a lot has happened here,” David Millstein said. “People will come back and show it to their kids.”
He also attributes the Hall’s popularity to his staff.

“It’s certainly more than the sum of Susan and myself,” he said.

The Millsteins have stepped back from day-to-day operations, relying on their staff to keep the place running smoothly. They also are part owners of Central Soy Foods, which produces tofu locally. Susan Millstein does the books for both Liberty Hall and Central Soy Foods, and David Millstein manages Central Soy.

They’re also involved with the Lawrence Jewish Community Center.

Though they’re not at Liberty Hall every day, the Millsteins are still proud of what they’ve accomplished with the place. David Millstein recalled that in the 1960s, Liberty Hall was almost torn down, but the land owners didn’t have the money to do it.

“You think of the loss to the town (it would have been) — that was a motivating factor,” he said.

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