Mock bank robbery coming to Downtown Lawrence / LJWorld.com

Teller's restaurant sits at 746 Mass. The downtown business may be the site of a bank robbery reenactment at the end of September.

A bank robbery’s pending in downtown Lawrence.

The Eldridge Hotel and Teller’s restaurant are planning an event this month to re-enact the 1932 robbery of the First National Bank. Clyde Barrow of Bonnie-and-Clyde fame led the stickup, and, of course, Teller’s, 746 Mass., occupies the building that used to house First National Bank.

Several accounts say that Barrow and two of his buddies stayed at The Eldridge Hotel, 701 Mass., for three days to stake out the First National Bank building. And The Eldridge and Teller’s are teaming up to retell the story. The Eldridge will host a cocktail party before the event. Then the re-enactment will begin.

Actors with fake guns will walk from The Eldridge to Teller’s, enter the building, give the crowd the what-for, take the fake loot, get into a 1930s vehicle and make their escape. Police will stop traffic in all directions to allow the car to pull out and leave, but the car will obey all traffic laws after that point.

If you haven’t heard much about this heist, apparently it isn’t a well-known part of Lawrence history. Folks who have researched it for The Eldridge say that police were never called to the scene because the bank was embarrassed about the robbery, and it was never mentioned in the media, either. But The Eldridge folks say the robbery is mentioned in a couple of books: “Running with Bonnie and Clyde” by John Neal Phillips and “My Life with Bonnie & Clyde” by Blanche Caldwell Barrow. In today’s terms, about $550,000 was stolen.

City commissioners have to approve a permit for the re-enactment. Commissioners are scheduled to discuss it at their Tuesday meeting. If successful, The Eldridge hopes the reenactment will become an annual event. The event is scheduled for about 6:30 p.m. Sept. 30.

lunacydetector 1 year, 8 months ago

a mock bank robbery,....50 feet from a real bank......brilliant

cato_the_elder 1 year, 8 months ago

You said it. For that and other reasons, this is simply one more stupid idea hatched by would-be thespians with nothing else to do.

trishlovesdolphins 1 year, 8 months ago

That's really awesome! definitely something I'd like to watch. :)

somemisfits 1 year, 8 months ago

Totally going to rob a bank here in town so the event can be re-enacted in 80 years!

FlintlockRifle 1 year, 8 months ago

Half of town probably never heard of this happening in Lawrence, will be good time by all, maybe they will spill some of the lute (play) , anyway looking foreword to this event

snap_pop_no_crackle 1 year, 8 months ago

All the participants should be toting flowers instead of guns to avoid alarming the sensitive disappointed progressives in Lawrence.

beaujackson 1 year, 8 months ago

George Docking knew how to keep a secret!

stephenj 1 year, 8 months ago

With all the morons packing heat in this town, we'll be lucky not to have any real-life casualties.

Funny how legal concealed carry hasn't resulted in frequent wild west shootouts between Kansas permit holders like the hysterical anti-gun folks were predicting....

beatrice 1 year, 8 months ago

... yet.

Perhaps all it will take is a mock bank robbery to thwart.

I'm speaking, of course, of the "morons." The regular folks "packing heat" will catch on and not bother. Oh, and funny how those who are registered and trained don't break out into Wild West shootouts. Maybe there is something to that whole registering and training thing after all ...

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Mock bank robbery coming to Downtown Lawrence