Leonard Brecher Louisville theater history collection

Leonard C. Brecher (1900-1976) was a noted preservationist and board chairman of the Columbia Manufacturing Company, originally a manufacturer of mantels, and later a furniture manufacturer in Louisville. The year before his death, Brecher received the American Motors Conservation Award, one of twenty-four given to that date. The award honored a lifetime of work in preserving the fossil beds at the Falls of the Ohio, the wilderness area of Mammoth Cave National Park, and the Indiana Dunes. Brecher had been president of the Beckham Bird Club, the Louisville Audubon Society, and the Kentucky Ornithological Society. He was also a member of the Downtown Lions Club and several other civic organizations.

He pursued a life-long interest in the theater and served as board member and president of the Louisville Little Theatre Company in the 1950s playing a major role in its successful merger in 1961 with U of L Players to create the Belknap Theatre Playhouse. Brecher was also active in keeping the Belknap Playhouse from demolition. He had also researched the history of the Macauley Theatre, and served as chairman of the project to restore the Macauley Theatrical Photographs in 1970-1973. During that same period, he served as chairman of the Loan Committee of U of L's Woodcock Society.

He was married to Mary Lou Brecher, who designed costumes for productions of the Louisville Little Theatre in the 1930-1950 period. They had one daughter, Mrs. Charles W. Lewis, and three grandchildren. Leonard Brecher died on April 16, 1976. A Brecher Scholarship Fund was established at the University of Louisville.