Theatre Architects

Born: 1892 (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Died: 1950 (Webb City, Missouri)

Lawrence “Larry” Peter Larsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on May 25, 1892. He studied art at the the city’s Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts.

At age 10, Larsen’s family moved to the United States where they first settled in Hancock, Michigan for two years, before moving to Oshkosh, Wisconsin in 1904.

Larsen ran away to Chicago around 1910, where he studied by night and was employed as a scenic artist by day.

In 1913, Larsen married Marguerite Pottinger Muir. In 1915 they moved to New York.

In 1920, Larsen formed his own company: United Studios, Inc., “designing theatres from steel and stone to the finished product completely equipped ready to present entertainment and receive patronage”.

Larsen claimed to have built the first Atmospheric Theatre east of the Mississippi, erected in Worcester, Massachusetts, said to have been considered one of the outstanding showplaces of the East.

Larsen would go on to become extremely well-known as an architect and contractor, building more than 100 theatres across the United States. His last name was commonly mis-reported as “Larson”.

Larsen passed away, due to a cerebral hemorrhage, in 1950.

Theatres on this website in which this architect was involved:

Kenosha Theatre, Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA