​Bruce Goff was one of the greatest American architects of the 20th century, a prodigy and architectural genius of the Art Deco period. Riverside Studio was one of Goff’s first commissions. In his 66-year career, he designed over 500 projects, 147 of which were built. Most were in Oklahoma, and many of those in Tulsa.

 

Patti Adams Shriner, a piano prodigy, studied in Europe as well as Oklahoma in the 1920s. Bruce Goff was one of her students.​

 

Riverside Studio was designed for Patti Adams Shriner, by her friend Bruce Goff. Goff studied piano with Shriner and in 1928, at the age of 24, he designed a residence/piano recital hall for her. On Easter Sunday, March 31, 1929, Patti Adams School of Music opened its doors. Students of Shriner's included Patti Johnson Wilson, Rosalie Talbott, Elwyn Ratliff, various McBirneys, Lortons, Prices, and other progeny of oil barons and captains of industry. On September 8, 1933, as a result of the 1932 stock market crash, the bank foreclosed on Shriner's property, only 1,987 days after its opening. Goff's Riverside Studio was bought by actor Richard Mansfield Dickinson on April 12, 1941.

 

Holland Hall students occupied Riverside Studio from 1932-1938 during construction of their first permanent schoolhouse (located at 21st St & Boulder Ave).​

 

Richard Mansfield Dickinson bought Riverside Studio on April 12, 1941, founding Tulsa Spotlighters. Dickinson, a notable actor from Chicago, moved into Riverside Studio with his family, and became an acting coach and speech teacher. After WWII he coached veterans who came home with vocal infirmities or disorders. He became a featured actor at the newly organized Tulsa Little Theatre (now known as Tulsa Theatre) in the 1940s and 1950s.​

 

The Drunkard, condensed from the melodrama Ten Nights in a Barroom, was written and directed by Richard Mansfield Dickinson. On November 14th, 1953 Dickinson and fellow thespians performed The Drunkard for the first time in his studio/home, planning only a few performances. The play was an instant success, playing to a full-capacity house every time. Due to the phenomenal public reaction, the show continued to play each week, and has continued EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT since then.​

 

Tulsa Spotlighters, Inc, a non-profit charitable endeavor, was created in 1962 when Tulsa Spotlighters, Inc purchased the theater from Dickinson.