Erwin Theater
1225 Superior Avenue,
Tomah,
WI
54660
1225 Superior Avenue,
Tomah,
WI
54660
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The Erwin Theater operated from at least 1950 and into the 1980’s or later.
Contributed by
Lost Memory
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
This was the Erwin Theater in 1987.
The entire block is now Band Box Linen Supply, they have incorporated the theatre into their operation. There was another theatre in Tomah that was across the street from the Erwin at the beginning of Gasoline Alley, anyone have information on that theatre?
Chuck….The other theater operating in Tomah was the 441 seat Tomah Theater. The Tomah dates back to at least 1930. I don’t have an address for it but if it was located across the street from the Erwin, you could use Superior Avenue as a location.
LM the address was 1301 Gasoline Alley. Superior Ave.. ends at the cross street and changes names to Gasoline Alley. I am sure there is a story behind the new street name but it is a strange street name. The Tomah is still standing and the last time I checked it was being retrofitted for a new use, the front has been redone with an all new modern corner entrnce.
You have more than enough information to add the Tomah Theater. I’ve seen theaters added to CT with alot less information. LOL
S&M Theatres, operators of the Tomah Theatre, opened the Erwin Theatre in 1947, according to Boxoffice of May 27 that year. Construction of the house had begun in 1945 but suffered delays. The original seating capacity was 632. The caption of a photo of the front of the Erwin described the building: “…concrete sidewalls, and ornamental brick front, designed along highly modern lines inside and out…. Elaborately decorated, the lobby displays rich pile carpets, as well as notable lighting effects.”
S&M Theatres, earlier called Marcus & Swirnoff Theatres Inc., had been planning a new theater in Tomah since at least 1942, when Boxoffice of April 18 announced the chain’s intention to build an 800-seat house there, tentatively called the Camp Theatre.
The S&M chain, headed by Ben Marcus, became Marcus Theatres, which is now one of the larger theater chains in the U.S., operating more than 600 screens in the Midwest, including a theater in Tomah, the six-screen Ho-Chunk Cinema, opened in 2004.
The Tomah Theatre was mentioned in Movie Age as early as 1929, when Vitaphone sound equipment was installed in the house.
The name Gasoline Alley was given to Superior Avenue in honor of Tomah native Frank King, whose comic strip of that name ran in some 300 American newspapers for several decades. This is noted on this page at the city’s official web site.