Craig Morrison receives the President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement and Service

Mr. Andrew (Craig) Morrison, AIA, received the President’s Award, which recognizes an individual’s lifetime achievement and service to the Theatre Historical Society of America (THS), at the organization’s annual conference reception on June 30, 2017.  

A founding member of THS and a friend of author and THS founder, Ben Hall, Morrison’s involvement with THS began before the organization existed.  In 1970, he was instrumental in ensuring that Ben Hall’s personal theatre collections were secured for THS.  Most recently Morrison has been a board member for nearly a decade and may very well be one of the last founding members to lead the organization as president.

Prior to working in and with historical theatres for more than 30 years, Morrison loved going to theatres while growing up in Detroit, Michigan, but found himself at a crossroads when entering college, as he could not decide between majoring in history or English.  After meeting several architecture students and reviewing the program at the University of Michigan, he decided to pursue an undergraduate degree in architecture.  Professionally, he was able to combine all three interests as he became an architect who specializing in historic preservation and special building type consultation and an accomplished scholar and author.

Morrison became involved in historic buildings, and theatres specifically, because everything about the architecture industry at the time was about “steel and glass boxes,” and little was discussed about preserving the existing treasures of this country’s towns and cities.  He opened his first office in Philadelphia and later moved to New York City to continue his work.

He has taught and lectured at several colleges and universities, including Wayne State University, Eastern Michigan University, and the University of Michigan.  He has written many studies and reports on historical theatres, and served as a historian and delineator for the US government’s Historic American Buildings Survey.  His book, Theatres, a Library of Congress Visual Sourcebook, offers “a richly illustrated history of a revered cultural artifact and a technological challenge, following its progression from the eighteenth-century opera house to the modern movie multiplex,” as cited from Amazon’s website.

Now retired, Morrison and his wife, Deborah Kinzer, reside in Chicago.

If you find this story fascinating, we have a treasure trove of information about the history of your favorite theatres.  Sign up for an account on historictheatres.org and enter through the STAGE DOOR!