Varsity Theater
1308 Fourth Street SE,
Minneapolis,
MN
55414
1308 Fourth Street SE,
Minneapolis,
MN
55414
4 people
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The theater is located in Dinkytown, the neighborhood commercial district surrounding the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus. It opened in 1915 as the University Theater. In 1939, it was remodeled by Liebenberg & Kaplan in Art Moderne style and renamed the Varsity Theater. It operated until sometime in the 1980s.
After it closed, a fierce battle raged over whether to turn it into a club or music venue. Those plans didn’t go through and the Varsity Theater housed a photo studio for some time. The auditorium was gutted to make way for lighting, backdrops, props, etc. The lobby and exterior elements such as the marquee and vertical were completely restored.
The theater reopened in January 2005 as a concert hall.
Contributed by
Sean Ryan
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Recent comments (view all 30 comments)
Here is a 2007 night view of the Varsity Theater.
This is a more recent photo of the Varsity Theater.
Here is another 2007 view.
A more recent photo can be seen here.
This is an August 2008 photo.
Here is the Varsity at night.
1982 photo of the Varsity Theatre.
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Another 1982 photo of the Varsity Theatre.
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And one more 1982 photo of the Varsity Theatre.
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A 2009 photo is here.
2008 photo fo the Varsity Theatre.
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I was manager of the Varsity and the Campus theatres during the 1970’s, a great time to work in that area. I still have the original blueprints from 1915 and the remodeling prints from 1939. In the early 1970’s, General Cinema remodeled it to their company style