Whitehouse Theatre

739 N. Third Street,
Milwaukee, WI 53201

Unfavorite No one has favorited this theater yet

Showing 8 comments

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on February 14, 2016 at 6:45 am

Address was 185-189 Third St. in Milwuakee.

Gerald A. DeLuca
Gerald A. DeLuca on June 22, 2010 at 11:27 am

This theatre appeared in a photo on the cover of Boxoffice magazine, January 3, 1953:
View link

JimRankin
JimRankin on December 8, 2004 at 7:42 am

Naomi is confusing the EMPRESS on Plankinton Ave. with the EMPRESS once on Third St., as DavidH brings out. Of course, they were not both holding the same name at the same time, but at different times. The structure once at 748 N. Plankinton Ave. (which is the parking lot Naomi refers to) actually opened as the CLUB in 1909 and was designed by Lee DeCamp of Chicago according to the “Free Press” newspaper of Dec. 16th, 1909, Page 3. This 1100-seater continued as the EMPRESS and closed as the EMBASSY in 1929 when an office bldg. was built on the site, now demolished. It is shown on page 80 of “Milwaukee Movie Palaces.”

The theatre on the Southwest corner of Third St. at Wells St. was built in 1906 as the NEW STAR, the former STAR vaudeville theatre having been demolished when the former Gimbel’s department store on Wisconsin Ave. at the river expanded westward to Plankinton (then called West Water St.) to the space that is now the courtyard of the new office complex there. There is a photo of the STAR/GARRICK in the “Milwaukee Sentinel” of May 20, 1907, including a story about the NEW STAR, which was designed by noted Milw. architects Kirchoff & Rose. The NEW STAR was built by the Schlitz brewery and had three seating levels with eight box seats, and a five pointed star of light bulbs over its proscenium. The most notable feature of that 1500-seat burlesque theatre, however, was the giant beer bar (serving only Schlitz, of course) located in a mezzanine lobby that one had to pass through to get to the mezzanine or gallery seats, but one concludes that most patrons were happy to visit the bar! It continued with this order of names through the years: NEW STAR, SAXE, ORPHEUM, GAYETY, EMPRESS until it was closed in 1955, but a fragment of the building remained as a Thom McAn shoe store for years, though the Rathskeller that was below it in the basement was also closed. Now, the parking structure of the New Federal Office Bldg. stands where one of our more notorious EMPRESSES reigned so many years ago. See the photo of it on page 97 of Larry Widen’s “Milwaukee Movie Palaces” (which is to be released as a new enlarged edition titled “Silver Screens” in about a year.)

The name GARRICK had been applied at different times to another theatre as well: the BIJOU which once stood where the 2nd St. entrance to the Shops At Grand Avenue now stands on the Western side, south of Wis. Ave.

The theatre on the Southwest corner of Third St. at Wells St. was built in 1906 as the NEW STAR, the former STAR vaudeville theatre having been demolished when the former Gimbel’s department store on Wisconsin Ave. at the river expanded westward to Plankinton (then called West Water St.) to the space that is now the courtyard of the new office complex there. There is a photo of the STAR/GARRICK in the “Milwaukee Sentinel” of May 20, 1907, including a story about the NEW STAR, which was designed by noted Milw. architects Kirchoff & Rose. The NEW STAR was built by the Schlitz brewery and had three seating levels with eight box seats, and a five pointed star of light bulbs over its proscenium. The most notable feature of that 1500-seat burlesque theatre, however, was the giant beer bar (serving only Schlitz, of course) located in a mezzanine lobby that one had to pass through to get to the mezzanine or gallery seats, but one concludes that most patrons were happy to visit the bar! It continued with this order of names through the years: NEW STAR, SAXE, ORPHEUM, GAYETY, EMPRESS until it was closed in 1955, but a fragment of the building remained as a Thom McAn shoe store for years, though the Rathskeller that was below it in the basement was also closed. Now, the parking structure of the New Federal Office Bldg. stands where one of our more notorious EMPRESSES reigned so many years ago. See the photo of it on page 97 of Larry Widen’s “Milwaukee Movie Palaces” (which is to be released as a new enlarged edition titled “Silver Screens” in about a year.)

DavidHurlbutt
DavidHurlbutt on December 8, 2004 at 4:44 am

The Empress Burlesque Theater of the 1940s was located two doors north of the Whitehouse at 755 North 3rd Stree. There had been an earlier Empress on Plankinton Ave, 2 blocks east.
A trip downtown did afford both an opportunity to look at the many lobby cards and pictures outside of the Whitehouse and a more risque peek at the many pictures outside of the Empress Burlesque.

naomimoan
naomimoan on December 7, 2004 at 8:28 pm

I believe that the Empress/Gayety/Garrick Theater was on Plankinton Ave in the spot that is now the Rock Bottom Brewery parking lot. (at least that’s what the Digital Sanbourn maps indicates)

DavidHurlbutt
DavidHurlbutt on July 8, 2004 at 9:50 am

In the 1940s the Whitehouse changed its program daily. Each day it would feature a new double feature. It also opened at 9:30 A.M., being the only theater in Milwaukee to do so. The Princess which was just across the stree opened at 11:00. Both theaters featured a fast action policy showing many westerns. The Whitehouse also had no marquee. It had more posters and pictures on display than any other theaters. It was one of the few theaters that did not advertise in the local newspapers. For me a trip downtown meant going to third street to see what was playing today and would be playing tomorrow at the Whitehouse. Of all the movie theaters in the Milwaukee area, the Whitehouse was Milwaukee most rugged individual.

JimRankin
JimRankin on July 8, 2004 at 6:33 am

REVERSE THEATRE
This is one of the few “Reverse” or ‘backwards’ theatres in the world, of which 9 were in the USA and 2 in England, of those that are known. This unusual format had the audience entering the front as usual, but the screen was at their backs as they entered, and the projection room/booth faced them! In some cases it was a construction demanded by the topography, as when the land at the rear sloped up sharply at the rear of the building (as with the DARRESS ( /theaters/1645/ ) and the little LINCOLN in Limon Colorado), but for others as with the WHITEHOUSE in Milwaukee ( /theaters/2642/ ), it was purely a gimmick to make the place memorable in competition with the dozens of other show houses in most communities in the ‘golden days!’ The known Reverse Theatres are:

Existing in the USA, if not also operating:
1) The SEBASTIAN, Ft. Smith, AR ( /theaters/257/ )
2) The DARRESS, Boonton, NJ ( /theaters/1645/ )
3) The LINCOLN, Limon, CO ( /theaters/7595/ )

No longer existing as a theatre, if still standing at all (USA):
4) The PHIEL, St. Petersburg, FL
5) The METROPOLITAN, 3308 W. Lawrence, Chicago, IL (later TERMINAL, METRO)
6) The E.A.R. (for Earl A. Reisden), Chicago, IL ( /theaters/7597/ )
7) The FAMILY, Quincy, IL
8) The HAPPY HOUR, New Orleans, LA
9) The WHITEHOUSE, Milwaukee, WI ( /theaters/2642/ )

These two are known of in England, but status unknown (courtesy of Louis Barfe):
10) The CINEMA ROYAL, Epsom, Surrey (1910—1938)
11) The CINEMA LUXE, Lake, Isle of Wight (1989—?)

And then there is the FOX Theatre, Taft, CA, ( /theaters/7564/ )where one “entered on the side, the back corner, actually,” to round out our little list of eccentric theatres.

JimRankin
JimRankin on April 13, 2004 at 8:25 am

Please let me know if you learn anything more about this theatre. Thank You. Jim Rankin =