Historic theatre operation in Milwaukee panel discussion

posted by Michael Zoldessy on January 14, 2011 at 9:45 am

MILWAUKEE, WI — There’s an exciting panel discussion in a couple weeks hosted by Historic Milwaukee about what locals can do to save Milwaukee’s classic theaters.

Prior to World War II, there were 90 single-screen movie theaters in Milwaukee. By 1960, that number had been reduced by half. With the arrival of television for the home market, the golden age of the movie theater in Milwaukee was dead. Yet their ghosts continue to haunt the old neighborhoods. Churches, warehouses, stores, nightspots, and other businesses now occupy the former Tivoli, Paris, Roosevelt, and Savoy Buildings. Others are simply vacant hulks, decaying from the inside out. The Elite, Regent, Lincoln, and Warner are but a few of the many silent sentinels from the days when Milwaukee was in love with the movies.

But the Show Must Go On!

Please join us on January 26th at the Times Cinema (blt.1935) where we will ask our panel of seasoned theatre managers, owners and revivers, what is the future of moviegoing in America? What exactly does it take to continue to revitalize and readapt these theatres in Milwaukee? What types of unique programming are necessary to sustain a historic theatre business such as this? And finally, what exactly is the future of Bay View’s beloved Avalon Theatre anyway?

Read more at Historic Milwaukee.