From Warehouses to Arts Center: The Story of Orr Street Studios from 2006 to 2024
At the 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23 meeting, we’ll hear how Orr Street Studios grew from a dilapidated warehouse into a community art center – and how it was almost lost in a fire in July.
The meeting will be in the Children’s Program Room of the Columbia Public Library.
Donna Checkett and Chris Teeter will give a presentation highlighting photographs from Orr Street's start as roofing company buildings and docks to its present role as a community arts center with studios and events center.
Orr Street sees roughly 5,000 visitors annually and hosts dozens of events, including the monthly First Fridays and Second Saturdays for Kids and Hearing Voices Seeing Visions. It hosts events as a part of the True/False Film Fest, the Unbound Book Festival, and more.
A fire on July 21 damaged a section of Orr Street Studios, destroying eight studios adjacent to the main studio area and art supplies. Donna said repairs to the area should be completed by the middle of October.
Chris is a well-known sculptor and painter best known locally for designing and creating the iconic 16 doors at Orr Street Studios.
Donna, Chris’s wife of 46 years, is a healthcare policy and programs expert who is now using her leadership and management expertise as a board member at Orr Street. She’s been part of the process since the start. Donna recalls standing in the weeds, looking at the tumble-down buildings, and trying to see the vision her husband Chris described.
The Phoenix-like development of the Orr Street buildings started in 2006 when Mark Timberlake bought the former roofing company buildings. Orr Street opened in 2007 with Chris’s iconic doors. The opening of Orr Street Studios contributed to the development of the North Village Arts District.
Long before it was known as the NVAD, that section of Columbia was an industrial area. By 1895, it included the train depot and associated freight operations, stables and the Columbia Gas & Light Co.
Text by Dianna Borsi O’Brien
Photographs by Chris Teeter
SOURCES
City of Columbia. Orr Street Park. https://www.como.gov/parks/orr-street-park/ Accessed Aug. 26, 2024.
Barker, Jacob (July 2, 2011) The arts head north. Columbia, Missouri: Columbia Daily Tribune. Accessed Aug. 26, 2024. https://www.columbiatribune.com/story/business/2011/07/02/the-arts-head-north/21423199007/
Danielsen, Aarik (April 8, 2012) Five years of open doors at Orr. Columbia, Missouri: Columbia Daily Tribune. Accessed Aug. 26, 2024.
Danielsen, Aarik (July 22, 2014) Weekend fire at Orr Street Studios damages artwork, displaces artists. Accessed Aug. 27, 2024
Kohnle, Sarah (June 30, 2007) Orr Street Studios expanding into adjacent warehouses. Columbia, Missouri: COMO Magazine. Accessed Aug. 26, 2024.
https://comomag.com/2007/06/30/orr-street-studios-expanding-into-adjacent-warehouses/
Puckett, Lauren (June 29, 2017) Once a roofing company, Orr Street Studios flourishes as an artist hub. Columbia, Missouri: Vox Magazine. Accessed Aug. 26, 2024.
https://www.voxmagazine.com/arts/once-a-roofing-company-orr-street-studios-flourishes-as-an-artist-hub/article_da181a0c-bb49-5d80-a16b-d20fd5818011.html
Orr Street Studios. History. https://www.orrstreetstudios.com/history Accessed Aug. 26, 2024
Puckett, Lauren (June 29, 2017) Once a roofing company, Orr Street Studios flourishes as an artist hub. Columbia, Missouri: Vox Magazine. Accessed Aug. 26, 2024.
Ramesh, Sruthi (July 21, 2024) Fire damages Orr Street Studios early Sunday morning. Columbia, Missouri: KOMU 8 Digital. Accessed Aug. 27, 2024.
https://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/fire-damages-orr-street-studios-early-sunday-morning/article_ede892fa-9b5c-5ce5-ab5d-8b4b7dd81503.html
Bell was hired after Academic Hall burned in January of 1892 to create an area modeled after the University of Virginia’s quadrangle, a vast lawn surrounded by grand buildings we can still see today at Mizzou. The Quad remains one of the most photographed areas in Columbia.
In 1892—the same year Academic Hall burned—Bell oversaw the planning and construction of half a dozen iconic buildings. These buildings included Jesse Hall, completed in 1895, Pickard Hall, Swallow Hall, and the Law Building, which later became the Sociology Building and is now incorporated into the School of Journalism’s Reynolds Journalism Institute.
A prolific and notable architect, Bell, a Maryland native, lived in Fulton, Missouri. He designed prominent buildings throughout the state, including the Missouri State Penitentiary and another Columbia landmark—the Stephens Building at the corner of Htt and Broadway. Despite his lack of formal training in architecture, in 1881 he was admitted to the prestigious American Institute of Architects.
Fetterly is an eighth-generation Boone Countian, and an alumnus of Hickman High School and the University of Missouri. A lifelong love of Columbia inspired him to preserve a growing collection of over 170 books about Columbia and Boone County. Matt specializes in Columbia, Boone County, and Missouri history: particularly natural history, black history, indigenous history, LGBT history, and cultural history (especially architecture, music, art, theater, and cemeteries).
SOURCES:
Historic Missourians. https://historicmissourians.shsmo.org/bell-morris-frederick/. Columbia, Missouri: State Historic Society of Missouri Research Center-Columbia. Accessed July 19, 2024.
Matt Fetterly presentation on Unique Architecture of Columbia at CoMo Preservation meeting on June 20, 2023.
Breme, Nancy B. (July 20, 1973). National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Francis Quadrangle Historic District (Red Campus). Accessed July 19, 2024.
CoMo Preservation is devoted to helping homeowners, landlords, and institutions prevent the destruction of historic architecture. Original period styles might be replicated, but will forever lack the social history of authentic structures. The preservation of historic places and spaces gives people a sense of place and boosts Columbia’s economy. You can get involved by volunteering, signing up for our mailing list, attending an event, becoming a member or donating.
Questions? Suggestions for speakers or events? Email CoMoPreservation@gmail.com
