Century Theatre
38 S. Seventh Street,
Minneapolis,
MN
55402
38 S. Seventh Street,
Minneapolis,
MN
55402
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It’s been nearly half a century since the Century screened its last film, “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”, but it hasn’t been forgotten. During those five decades, the theatre burned down, an office building rose and was later razed to make way for City Centre, a downtown shopping mall which never really took off. But now the Hennepin Ave Theatre Trust, the folks who run the State, Orpheum and Pantages in downtown Minneapolis, are opeing the “New Century”. Located in inside City Centre, it will be a 300 seat, black box theatre. Although smaller and less grand than the old cinema, it’s good that the memory of the Century will live on in Minneapolis.
The photos linked in the previous comment show that elements of the original facade of the Miles Theatre survived through both of the major remodelings of the building.
A photo of the Miles Theatre from the trade journal The Western Architect, issue of December, 1908, attributes the design of the Miles to the architectural firm of Kees & Colburn, also architects of the Loring, Orpheum, and Pantages theaters in Minneapolis.
A later page of the magazine displays the original floor plan of the Miles Tehatre.
Future home of the Miles Theatre (about 1908):
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The Miles Hippodrome (about 1910):
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The New Garrick Theatre (1925):
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The Century Theatre (about 1948):
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The September 28, 1929, issue of the trade publication Movie Age said that the Century Theatre had been opened by the Publix circuit the previous Saturday.
The article said that the plans for the rebuilding of the former Garrick Theatre had been done by the architectural firm of Lieberman & Kaplan, but they must have meant Liebenberg & Kaplan.
The Century was built next to the Strand theatre.
Interesting
The year given for this photo of the Garrick Theater is 1925 although the movie title on the marquee was released in 1919.
According to Wikipedia:
The Forum Cafeteria was a chain of economical cafeteria-style restaurants across America, founded around 1918. The Minneapolis site was at 36 South 7th Street. The owners of the Art Deco Strand Theater sold that property to Forum Cafeterias of America, Inc. in 1929. The building was extensively remodeled by removing the stage and making changes necessary to bring it in line with the needs of a cafeteria. When the Forum closed in the 1970’s, the space was used as a nightclub, Scotties on Seventh. After that enterprise closed, many of the furnishings were placed into storage when the building was demolished. The interior furnishings were rebuilt within the City Center complex and the space was used by Goodfellows restaurant.
Raises a question. Was the Century Theater built on the site of the former Strand Theater, or was it built next to the former Strand Theater building?
Anyone know what “the Forum” next to the Century was? Looks like an interesting building.
Cinerama matchbook cover
A Kilgen theater organ opus 1627 was installed in the Garrick Theater in 1915. Note: Removed in 1925.
1960 photo here:
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