Times Cinema

William on November 19, 2003 at 2:24 pm

The Times Theatre seated 525 people.

CoryJacobson on January 25, 2004 at 5:37 pm

The theatre was opened in 1935 on the site of a former a Pontiac dealership. The original owner also operated the Tosa Theatre (opened in 1932) located at 68th & North Avenue. With the booming business at the Tosa, the second theatre project was developed. The Times is a very unique theatre building and actually the auditorium
was built into an exhisisting garage building formally known as “The Vliet Street Garage.” The garage portion of the building starts at about the edge of the screen area and extends to the back of the building. This can be seen by examining the bricks on the west wall.
The Times was Milwaukee’s first and only Translux Theatre (projecting the film from behind the screen) The projection booth was later moved to the back 4 to 5 aisles of the theatre when Cinema Scope was introduced in the 1950’s. The Translux rear-projection system utilized a mirror system that could not be used for Cinema Scope. The seating was also replaced at this time (1957) and the new capacity was 448. The Times Theatre was also the first theatre I Managed and during that time (1981-1986) we were able to do some major cleaning up of the facility. We painted everything in sight (with the help of the staff of 7 people) and replaced the Box-office, Concession stand, and carpeting.

The Times Theatre and the Tosa Theatre were also the first Marcus Theatres in Milwaukee and were originally owned by Ben Marcus and if memory serves a man named Smirnoff. These tow theatres were known as S & M Theatres and the this name appeared on some of the theatre records as late as the 1980’s. Smirnoff was an early business partner of Marcus and had interest in several other theatres in out-state Wisconsin. As a side note, Smirnoff’s widow lived in Florida until her death in 1983 or 1984 and she still maintained ownership of the Tosa building. Marcus purchased the Tosa Theatre from her estate for approximately $75,000 at the time of her death.

The Times was and I suspect is unique in that it is the perfect neighborhood theatre. The street was always busy and the merchants in the area always added a great deal of atmosphere. I can recall the thick smell of pine burning at Stienhoff’s Garden Center(they flocked Christmas Trees and Wreaths)and Eric Dobke’s Bakery Doughnuts combining to create an unforgetable combination of smells. Patrons would stand in lines that extended down the block and around the drug store ending well past the alley to see films. “The Big Chill” played at the theatre for 18 weeks and customers would come from every community in Milwaukee for our many exclusive shows.

I currently own two theatres in Detroit and have operated 10 theatres in my lifetime and the Times Theatre will always be my favorite! This was a great experience that not many people have in their life and I wish I could turn back the clock! Glad to see it is still going strong.

Cory A. Jacobson
Former Manager
Times Theatre

JimRankin on June 25, 2004 at 2:36 pm

This place should be relabeled as the TIMES CINEMA/TANS-LUX THEATER so that it appears in the Tranx-Lux list, even though there are no more true Trans-Lux rear projection cinemas in existance. It was once a true Trans-Lux franchise as the excellent history by Cory Jacbson makes clear. More information is on the HISTORY page of the TIMES CINEMA at: www.TimesCinema.com

lostmemory on March 30, 2007 at 4:15 pm

This is a recent photo of the Times Cinema and here is a close-up view.

kencmcintyre on April 25, 2009 at 6:31 pm

Here is a 1983 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/c23wpy