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From Musical Theatre to Health Clinic, Changes Underway at Branson Venue

Oak Ridge Boys Theatre
Branson Chamber
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Twitter

Demolition has begun on Branson’s historic Oak Ridge Boys Theatre to make way for a new Mercy clinic.

Built in 1994 and originally the Glen Campbell Goodtime Theatre, the 80,000 square-foot venue has also played host to Tony Orlando, the Acrobats of China and more.  The theatre attracted over half a million visitors during that span.

Demolition of the facility began this morning to make way for Mercy’s new $19 million multi-purpose clinic.

The 32,400 square-foot clinic, which intersects Highways 65 and 248, will serve as a primary and urgent care facility. In addition, patients will have access to healthcare practitioners who specialize in autism therapy, family and internal medicine, cardiac rehabilitation, oncology, optometry and more.

Kristy Merritt is director of sales and marketing for the Mansion Theatre, whose owners held the rights to the Oak Ridge Boys Theatre for the past decade before selling the property to Mercy.  

“Basically it’s costly to have two theatres doing the same thing. So it made sense to sell it to the hospital who were looking to expand in that area,” she said.

Merritt feels it’s a win-win for both sides.  

“The additional hospital space there will be a benefit to the community and having the entertainers still coming over here to the Mansion is going to continue to grow that concert series and benefit our area.”

Mercy broke ground at the new venue in May. After demolition is complete and the lot cleared, construction is expected to begin in the fall. See video of the demolition from the Branson chamber below:

Demolition of the Oak @oakridgeboys Theatre. Future site of @MercySGF .@BransonChamber pic.twitter.com/3ROWLNrFLm — BransonChamber (@BransonChamber) July 5, 2016

The hospital said it has worked to ensure that the theatre’s decades-old legacy will live on, but not just through musical memories.

“We wanted to donate as much as we could after purchasing the property,” Cheryl Doran, director of planning, design and construction at Mercy said in a news release. “So we partnered with Springfield Public School and Springfield Catholic Schools to donate hundreds of chairs. We also donated items like fencing, lighting and seating to the community for restoration.”

The venue was also used as a training ground earlier this year for the Taney County Sheriff’s Department and Branson Police Department.

You can learn more about the new Mercy clinic here.

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