Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts

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Visit our Tour Destination: Illinois page to see the entire tour of the state’s
Save America’s Treasures sites.

Exterior of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts,
formerly the Scottish Rites Temple for the
Valley of Bloomington.
Photo courtesy of the Bloomington Center
for the Performing Arts.

Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts

600 North East Street

Bloomington, IL

Website:  Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts

The Treasure:  Thanks to the vision of Delmar D. Darrah, Bloomington has enjoyed one of the greatest theaters in the country for nearly a century.

Accessibility:  Visit their website to see what’s playing at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts the next time you’re in the neighborhood. Docent-led Behind the Curtain tours of the historic theater are offered.

Background:  The Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts is referred to in much of the Save America’s Treasures literature as the Scottish Rites Temple for the Valley of Bloomington. The name change occurred only within the past decade, although the building and its Freemason leaders have been celebrating the performing arts since its inception. In fact, ever since the region was first settled in the mid-19th century, the Freemasons have played a significant role in the Bloomington-Normal metropolitan area.

The stage at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
Photo courtesy of the Bloomington Center for the
Performing Arts.

The visionary behind Bloomington’s unique theater was Delmar Duane Darrah (1868-1945), known for his contributions to the Freemasons on a regional, state, and national level. He spent most of his life in Bloomington, serving as a professor of oratory and drama at Illinois Wesleyan University. A theater enthusiast, Darrah spent nearly ten years writing and refining The American Passion Play, an extraordinarily ambitious telling of the story of Jesus, from the beheading of John the Baptist to the Ascension. This big story needed a big stage.

Darrah promoted the idea of building a new temple for Bloomington that would have the stage and auditorium resources needed for a full-fledged mounting of The American Passion Play. Completed in 1921, the Scottish Rites Temple for the Valley of Bloomington boasted the largest stage in the country west of New York. The theater accommodated 1,320 people and was complemented by a ballroom that could seat up to 1,000. This magnificent building became the center of Bloomington’s social and cultural life.

Starting in 1924, the Masons staged The American Passion Play annually on the stage of the Temple. Over three hours in length, the full 56-scene production included 230 character parts. Presented every year since 1924, thousands make the pilgrimage to Bloomington to experience The American Passion Play, the longest continuously performed passion play in the country (there are a few older, with the first being a passion play performance in Union City, New Jersey in 1915, but they can’t claim continuous performances).

Thanks in part to support from Save America’s Treasures, the Scottish Rites Temple for the Valley of Bloomington was restored and transformed into the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts in 2006. The revitalized theater hosts numerous theatrical and musical performances, as well as the continued annual productions of Darrah’s The American Passion Play in March and April.

The auditorium at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
Photo courtesy of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

Other Recommended Sites:  The Bloomington area offers several historic sites that are open to the public. The David Davis Mansion was the home of Abraham Lincoln’s campaign manager and friend, the McLean County Museum of History explores the roots of life in Central Illinois, and the Ewing Cultural Center preserves a historic manor house and gardens.

The historic Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.
Photo courtesy of the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts.

Tour America's History Itinerary

Thursday’s (1/17) destination:  Frederick C. Robie House

© 2012 Lee Price