A Guide to the Thomas P. Parkinson Collection, 1825-1939, [1955-1995]

Biographical Sketch

Thomas P. Parkinson held impressive careers as a journalist, editor, arena manager, circus historian, and public facilities consultant. In his early life he joined the army and became an Operations Sergeant, in the 80th infantry division, third army, in Europe. He received his bachelor degree in political science and history from the University of Illinois in 1943 and was senior editor of the Daily Illini, the campus newspaper. In 1947 he received his masters degree in journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, married and began his career as a city hall reporter for The Shreveport Times in Shreveport, LA.

In 1950, he began his career in the entertainment industry in Chicago as an associate editor with Billboard, which was later renamed Amusement Business magazine. He edited several departments concerned with trade news of live show business, including weekly columns on the management of arenas, exhibition halls and auditoriums. He wrote trade news of ice shows, touring theatrical companies, circuses, exhibitions and conventions and he reviewed night clubs and hotel shows in Chicago. Additionally, he edited the annual Auditorium-Arena Guide, published by Billboard, from 1960-1961. During his time in the journalism field, he contacted the University of Illinois to write a news story about their plans to build an arena called Assembly Hall. After seeing the blue prints, he wrote the university with his critiques of the structure and even recommended a few directors for the new arena. However, it was he who was offered the position of director.

Parkinson went on to manage Assembly Hall, a 17,000 seat multi-purpose facility, for 24 years at the University of Illinois. President David D. Henry appointed Parkinson Director of Assembly Hall in Auxillary Services and in the Physical Plant Department beginning August 1, 1961. Parkinson acted as the owner in the university relations with the contractors and architects during the construction of Assembly Hall. By March 2, 1963 Assembly Hall was open to the public, the first university multi-purpose arena with seating for sixteen to eighteen thousand and the first arena featuring a portable proscenium stage configuration. Parkinson is credited as an innovator in university facility design, for creating a multi-purpose facility that can accommodate an ice skating show one night and a basketball game the next night. Throughout his term as manager, he was in charge of the overall operation, policies, physical plant, procedures, budgeting, staffing, and all other aspects. He was a promoter/co-promoter of every entertainment event held at Assembly Hall, and of Assembly Hall. He worked with principal agencies and major promoters, such as Jam Productions. Assembly Hall was one of the first university venues to put an emphasis on commercial shows. Parkinson was able to book big name acts such as Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley, Steve Martin and Stevie Wonder who normally would not consider playing in Champaign-Urbana. During his career, he created his own show, called Fanfare, in 1984 at the University of Illinois, which featured military, circus, and college band music elements. It was an "illini spectacular of bands." Parkinson considered the organization of the Farm Aid concert in September of 1985 the "high point" of his career at the University of Illinois. He retired at 66 years of age in 1987 to further another one of his passions: facility consulting.

Parkinson was a consultant to owners and architects on management, operation, and design of arenas, auditoriums, and exhibition halls for municipalities, and universities. He also consulted on programming, including the full process, from the contracting and booking of attractions to the final financial settlement with show managements. He worked for Ogden Allied Leisure Services, a leading private facility management firm, as a consultant. He also worked with C/A architects (Crain and Anderson), a Houston firm as a consultant on independent agreements. His areas of specialty in consulting included feasibility, program development, schematic design, furnishings and equipment, staff organization, university arena management, and electronic theater gridirons in arenas.

Parkinson consulted on many projects around the country including: Cleveland State University Convocation Center; George Mason University; Fred Bramlage Coliseum; Mankato Civic Center and Arena in Minnesota; Michigan State University, Jack Breslin Student Events Center; Peoria Civic Center; Sioux Falls, South Dakota Convention Center and Performing Arts Theatre; University of Massachusetts at Amherst, William D. Mullins Memorial Center; University of Nevada-Reno.

Throughout his career, Parkinson was actively involved in professional organizations. His most involved position occurred when he became the first university facility manager to serve as president of the International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM) from 1971-1972. Other contributions to the organization included a five year term as chairman of the New Building Consulting Board and serving as chairman of the education committee, music licensing, performing arts, university arenas, and other IAAM committees. He was also a member of the board of directors for twelve years. Parkinson was IAAM’s first representative on the Convention Liaison Committee, which included eight organizations serving the convention business nationally. He became a Certified Facility Executive through IAAM and received the prestigious McElravy Award in 1975, which is the highest award bestowed by IAAM. He was largely responsible for the reorganization of the IAAM national office. He regularly attended IAAM conventions and meetings beginning in 1952.

Parkinson contributed to the history of the circus though research, authorship, and professional involvement. He took leadership roles in circus organizations including serving on the board of the Circus World Museums and serving as president of the Circus Historical Society, 1978-1981. He was also a member of the Showmen’s League of America. In connection with the Circus World Museum, he narrated two editions of the Milwaukee Circus Parade on public television. Parkinson worked with Charles Philip Fox to document the history of the circus, in the books, The Circus in America published in 1969; The Circus Moves by Rail, published in 1978; and Billers, Banners, and Bombast: The Story of Circus Advertising published in 1985. Another work the duo co-authored, Circus: Mighty Monarch of All Amusements, was never published.

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Scope and Contents

Promotional materials, reel to reel film, correspondence, financial records, legal records, printed material, case files, blueprints, architectural drawings, posters, flyers, window cards, photographs, artifacts, scrapbooks, audiocassettes, slides, negatives, and newspaper clippings, 1910-1993, document Thomas P. Parkinson’s career in the entertainment business and are arranged into five series: Arena Manager, Public Assembly Facility Consultant, Author, Editor, and Personal records. The first series Assembly Hall Arena Manager comprises the bulk of the collection and includes the subseries: Booking, Promotion, Ticketing, Events, Administration, and Construction.

The traveling show promotional mailings in the booking subseries includes form letters, brochures, and tear sheets from various artist management companies, institutions, and individuals to advertise available shows for booking and solicit engagements. A few represented, including prominent management companies from the United States and Canada are Thea Dispeker, Columbia Artists Management, Bruce Michael-Neil Fleckman Associates (BMNF), Colbert Artists Management, Shaw Attractions, National Artists Management Co., Ozark Attractions, Kolmar-Luth Entertainment, Sheldon Soffer, Haber Artists in Canada, Lordly & Dame Inc., Kazuko Hillyer International, Inc. Numerous dance companies are also represented.. Correspondence provides insight into scheduling and contract affairs between Assembly Hall and artists.

The promotion subseries includes tear sheets of events, some of which were held at Assembly Hall, while others were mailed to Assembly Hall for promotional reasons. The process of developing advertisements for print media are documented with ad slicks, some including marks of changes to be made, embossed plates made of cardstock, and metal printing plates in artifact collection. Television and radio commercial advertisements are included as well on reel-to-reel tape.

The ticketing subseries includes correspondence, promotional materials for new ticketing systems, new technology in electronic ticketing systems, coverage of the lottery ticket system at Assembly Hall, and sample tickets and ticket stubs from shows held at Assembly Hall and events Parkinson attended. The promotional material includes material from Globe Information Systems, Quicktick, Softix, Ticketron, and Weldon, Williams and Lick.

The events documented include Farm Aid, Ice Shows, sporting events, Fanfare, and Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The Farm Aid records include newspaper clippings and the files of both Thomas Parkinson and Wayne Hecht (assistant director for 25 years with Parkinson), among many others which, document the financial expenses of the event, legal agreements with performers, and the technical demands for the stage. Ice Capades records includes programs, press kits, flyers, radio commercial scripts, and behind the scene material including box office statements and technical manuals. Other ice shows represented include Holiday on Ice, Ice Follies, Jubilee on Ice, and Walt Disney on Ice, which comprise a small portion of the ice show material. The sporting events records includes programs of events and documents the sometimes-tumultuous relationship between the Athletic Association, located in the arena, and Assembly Hall administration. Legal documentation includes performance agreements, contracts, and contract riders. Many photographs of live performances and scene set-ups complement the collection.

Administration records document the policies, regulations, and organization of Assembly Hall’s operation. Included are box office statements, account books, and financial statements, 1962 –1987; and legal documentation, including agreements and contracts between stagehand labor and the arena, and suits over bootleg merchandise and access to financial information. Student criticism over the alleged misuse of student fees and under representation of students in decision-making and events planning in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s and staff is also documented.

The construction of Assembly Hall is documented with diagrams, photos, technical specifications, case files, and contracts. Media surrounding the construction completion includes articles, a press kit, and a script for a film about Assembly Hall. Also included are maintenance files, maintained over several years, regarding work on the parking lot, sidewalks, fire alarm system, air conditioning, lighting system, and concession stands.

The Public Facility Consultant series includes facility records for buildings Parkinson consulted on, which are arranged alphabetically by institution. Records reflect construction of newly designed buildings, renovation of existing structures, and consultation on new products such as the stardrive grid lift. Photographs of arenas document construction progress. Ogden Allied files include proposals, surveys and insight into the company’s infrastructure via newsletters, annual reports, and policies. General facility consultant reference files include files on a wide range of topics addressed in reports Parkinson wrote for clients, from concessions and crowd management to equipment and facility types. Promotional material includes brochures and advertisements from a variety of equipment vendors for items such as flooring, furniture, concession equipment, removable walls, and lighting and sound systems. Buyers guides reflect the top equipment available for arenas in the 1970s and 1980s, and brochures promote the architectural and programming highlights of facilities from around the country.

The author series documents Parkinson’s work as an author of circus history and arena management topics. The bulk of the series focuses on his circus writings. Research files of circus history are included along with professional organizations, which supported his writing career. His research files focus primarily on the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus with listings of towns played, routes, and elephant herd lists. Correspondence includes Parkinson’s rave review of David Hammarstrom’s Big Top Boss: John Ringling North and the Circus, which was published by the University of Illinois Press in 1992. Other correspondence documents Parkinson’s attempts to have his treatise Mighty Monarch of All Amusements published by Nelson-Hall. The arena management correspondence documents the publication process through Random House.

Parkinson’s involvement in professional organizations is highlighted with material from fourteen organizations of which he was a member. Most material concerns Parkinson's involvement as president of the International Association of Assembly Managers (IAAM). Committee records are organized alphabetically among the twenty-seven identified committees, and conference material covers the 38th (1963) through the 64th (1989) conference.

Forms part of The Professional Touring Entertainment Industry Archives.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Portions of this collection are stored remotely at the Library Storage Facility; at least 72 hours notice is required.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Thomas P. Parkinson Collection, 1825-1939, [1955-1995], Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.

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Detailed Description of the Collection