From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for April 3, 1911:

“Within a few weeks the new ‘Bowersock,’ a severely simple substantial building constructed for safety, convenience and comfort, rather than display, will rise out of the ruins of the old opera house on Massachusetts and Winthrop. Mr. Bowersock is awarding contracts for the new building this week, and when the theater season opens next fall, Lawrence will have one of the most substantial, comfortable and at the same time, cozy playhouses in the state. The new play house will have a frontage of 75 feet, the main entrance being on Massachusetts. The stage will be changed from the north to the east side of the property, it having been found that the natural slope of Winthrop towards the east affords a perfect incline for the first floor parquet seats. The stage will be but a floor or two above the alley. It will be six feet wider and nine feet deeper than the stage of the old theater, thus affording an adequate area for staging even the largest musical comedies which tour the west. Perhaps the most valuable feature of the new ‘Bowersock’ aside from its artistic architectural simplicity, is its absolutely fire proof character. It is the first wholly fire-proof building to be erected in Lawrence. Constructed entirely of reinforced concrete and terra cotta, with asbestos curtains, the building will be absolutely impervious to fire.”