photo by: Contributed Photo

David Millstein, right, and Charles Oldfather, left, stand in the newly renovated Liberty Hall building, which reopened in 1986.

Old buildings can sometimes feel as though they have a soul, and in the case of Liberty Hall, part of what gave the building life was David Millstein.

The building seems a mix of grandeur and playfulness, with double staircases, red velvet balcony seats and intricate chandeliers, but also celestial murals on the walls, a cartoonish smiling sun on the ceiling and carpet printed with the planet Saturn. In a way, the building seems to say “everyone is welcome here.” And perhaps that is exactly as Millstein wanted it.

Millstein, who died this week at 75, helped revive the building from a sticky, frat-house boxing ring to what it is today — an offbeat art-house theater, coffee shop, video rental store and event space. The stage at Liberty Hall has hosted hip-hop and bluegrass, best-selling authors and niche podcasters, jazz orchestras and charity drag shows. Other times, the venue has functioned as a sort of communal living room, projecting University of Kansas basketball games, presidential debates or old movies while selling popcorn and beer from its concession stand.

photo by: Mike Yoder/Journal-World File Photo

Liberty Hall, 642 Massachusetts St., is pictured in this file photo from 2008.

Liberty Hall Manager Dean Edington said that Millstein was the “rudder” of the hall and that the mission under him has been for the building to serve as a community gathering space for anything that could spread love or knowledge and “keep art alive.”

“The spirit of the building and Dave are one and the same,” Edington said. “The ideals of the building and the business are his — the soul of the machine, if you will.”

In 1985, Millstein partnered with the late Charles and Hortense “Tensie” Oldfather to purchase what was then the vacant and dilapidated Lawrence Opera House. Millstein told the Journal-World in 2006 that what they found upon entering was an interior painted black and reeking of beer and sweat. The main feature was the ring, which had been used for hosting fraternity boxing matches. After rehabilitation — which included the commissioning of local artists to paint the murals on the walls and ceilings — the building was reopened in 1986 as Liberty Hall, reclaiming its original name from 1856 when it served as a town meeting center.

photo by: Submitted by Daniel W. Coburn

The interior of Liberty Hall is pictured in this submitted photo from May 10, 2007.

In addition to the theater, coffee shop and video store along Massachusetts Street, the building’s south side has additional storefronts along Seventh Street, including the Raven Book Store, 6 E. Seventh St. Pat Kehde, who founded the store in 1988 with fellow Lawrencian Mary Lou Wright, said that they came to Millstein with the idea when a space opened up in the building. Kehde said Millstein suggested a rent of $850 and told her he didn’t do leases because “things change in people’s lives.” He then got her in touch with a carpenter friend of his who made all the bookcases and wooden fixtures in the store for a good price.

“That was our first introduction to David’s way of doing business, and it continued the whole time,” said Kehde, who retired from the store in 2016. “He only raised our rent $100 the whole time we were in there.”

photo by: Nick Gerik

The Raven Book Store, 6 E. Seventh St., is pictured Tuesday, July 16, 2019.

When Borders moved in down the street in the 1990s, Kehde said Millstein even offered to lower the rent if they needed it, but in the end, it was the Raven that prevailed over the big chain store. Kehde said that Millstein was part of a group of “hippie entrepreneurs” from the late ’60s and ’70s who opened stores — Mass Street Music Store, Sarah’s Fabrics, Waxman Candles and more — that she said helped give downtown the character it is known for today.

“These were all kids who were disaffected, certainly they didn’t want to go to war, and didn’t want to be in a gray flannel suit, didn’t want to do any of that,” Kehde said. “They just started their own business.”

Kehde said that while Millstein’s wife, Susan, had a head for business, Millstein was better known for designing and fixing things. She described him as not a businessman per se, but a creator.

The Millsteins got their start in the downtown with Sunflower Surplus, which grew from a small surplus and camping store to Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop, 804 Massachusetts St., and is now owned by Dan Hughes. They also started The Casbah, 803 Massachusetts St., a collective of local artisans that operated in the ’70s and ’80s, and along with the Oldfathers rehabilitated an abandoned city bus station into what is now Free State Brewing Company, 636 Massachusetts St.

photo by: Photo courtesy of the Watkins Community Museum of History

Sunflower Surplus, now Sunflower Outdoor & Bike, 804 Massachusetts St., is pictured in April 1984.

photo by: Richard Gwin/Journal-World File Photo

In this file photo from May 2009, patrons gather around the porch in front of Free State Brewing Company, 636 Massachusetts St.

Free State founder Chuck Magerl said that at the time the 600 block was neglected. While others proposed leveling it and building something new, such as a shopping mall or convention center, Magerl said that Millstein and Oldfather stepped in and said “there are things of value here.” In addition to the Liberty Hall building, Magerl said that Millstein was integral in creating the Free State building and was very involved in the design and construction of it from the beginning. Without Millstein’s efforts, Magerl said the view down Mass. Street would be completely different.

“He was a behind-the-scenes person, but somebody that should be recognized as a big part of the character of Lawrence, Kansas,” Magerl said.

In describing what stood out about Millstein, Magerl said he was a wonderful combination of attentive, observant and irreverent, and that came through in the projects he was involved in.

“He didn’t feel like he needed to answer to someone else and really have to please someone,” Magerl said. “He could look to his ideas and his commitments and his values and build around those — and count on others finding value there as well.”

photo by: Photo courtesy of Douglas County Historical Society

The Bowersock Opera House building, which is Liberty Hall today, is pictured under construction in 1912 after a fire destroyed a previous building at the site.

photo by: Photo courtesy of Spencer Research Library, University of Kansas

The interior of the Dickinson Theatre, which operated from the 1920s to 1940 in the building now called Liberty Hall, is pictured. The same chandeliers still hang in the theater.

photo by: Nick Krug/Journal-World File Photo

The restored stained glass window above the entrance to Liberty Hall is pictured in this file photo from June 2012.

In all their downtown endeavors, the Millsteins were known for their reverence for history, and in 2015 the Lawrence Preservation Alliance presented them with the Preservation Achievement Award.

Outside of downtown, the Millsteins formerly operated a local tofu and tempeh company and helped lead an effort to revive the former Sunrise Garden Center property at 1501 Learnard Ave., which is now home to the nonprofit Sunrise Project. The Millsteins’ own “earthship” home in Baldwin City was also noteworthy and was featured in shows and magazines. Millstein himself helped build the home, which was made of salvaged materials, including walls made with hundreds of old tires, flooring from wood salvaged from handball courts at KU’s Robinson Gymnasium, and mosaics made of marble acquired from a condemned hospital.

photo by: Lark Smothermon/Mother Earth News

David and Susan Millstein’s “earthship” home in Baldwin City is pictured in this photo from 2004.

The earthship also shared one whimsical touch with Liberty Hall: the use of porthole windows. The ones at Liberty Hall are placed in the top corners of the balcony, with one opening up onto the roof and a view that goes right down the 600 block of Massachusetts Street. On the 20th anniversary of Liberty Hall, celebrated in 2006, Millstein reflected on not just the building, but the feeling of it.

“The hall resonates with the patina of who has been here, and I think that’s cumulative,” Millstein said. “Each band, each event leaves a certain bit of energy. Usually, in this place, it’s a positive thing.”

photo by: Mike Yoder/Journal-World File Photo

In this file photo from June 22, 2012, an explosion of light, balloons and confetti fell on a full house at Liberty Hall as The Flaming Lips kicked off the Liberty Hall 100-year anniversary celebration concert.

Millstein also seems to have left his own energy within the place. When asked to describe Millstein, Edington said he was almost a kind of Santa Claus of the hall. He said that when well, Millstein would drop in once or twice a week. Edington said it was always clear he cared about the place and its people.

“He exuded an energy that would kind of brighten the space,” Edington said.

Millstein died Monday from complications of leukemia, according to his obituary. He is survived by his wife, Susan, and their three children, among others. His obituary states that a memorial will be planned for friends and family once people can safely get together.