Comments from LouRugani

EXCESSIVE SNOW CAUSES COLLAPSE OF WASHINGTON - Crash Comes Without Warning, Burying Scores In Wreckage - Police UnableTo Estimate Number of Victims - Give First Aid To Injured In Emergency Hospital (By Associated Press) WASHINGTON, Jan. 28. Seventeen persons at least are believed to have.been killed and scores injured tonight in the collapse under the weight of two feet of snow of the roof of the Knickerbocker theater, a motion picture house, located in the heart of Washington’s fashionable northwest section. Two hours and a half after the crash, which occurred about 9 o'clock, definite information as to the number of dead and injured was wholly lacking as well as estimates of the number of those in the theater at the time, these estimates ranging from 150 to 500, although the theater, one of the finest motion picture houses in the city, had accommodations for more than 2,000 spectators. All was confusion for hours after the crash while police, firemen, marines from the nearby barracks and soldiers from Walter Reed Military Hospital strove to burrow beneath the mass of debris and bring forth those buried thereunder. Scores had been removed from the edges of the debris and hurried to hospitals but police engaged for hours in battling the worst snow storm to visit Washington in a decade were unable to check up on the number of those taken to hospitals or on whether, or how many, had died after reaching the hospitals. Every fire station in the city was called upon to send Its crew to the scene. With the arrival of the marines, however, order began to be restored. Emergency hospitals were set up in the neighborhood; some in the home of high officials of the government. Finding the tons of concrete and steel of the roof were almost immovable and impenetrable, the street railway company of the city and the Washington navy .yard was called upon to supply acetylene-torches; with these more rapid progress was made and it was hoped that within a few hours it might be possible to reach those buried beneath the debris. Among the injured were Representative Smithwyck of Florida, who was painfully cut about the head and chest but not seriously hurt; and Nobile Toniasso Asserto, third secretary of the Italian embassy. The management of the theater, which was owned add operated by the Harry M. Crandali company; owner of a number of theaters in the city, declared that the building only recently had' been Inspected and approved and that the collapse of the roof only could have been caused by the tremendous weight imposed upon it by the heaviest snowfall that has visited Washington since 1889. The roof fell with such force as to drive three pillars through the orchestra floor. Near the stage, however, its force was arrested, so that the platform successfully acted as a buffer. For this reason, it was said, several of the musicians escaped. One case was-observed of a small boy crawling through a small aperture in the tangled mass of concrete, steel and wood to a man, woman and child who were “pinned” down and giving them water. As the night wore on the work of rescue continued feverishly, but some officials expressed doubt that the debris could be completely removed for several days. No warning was given as the walls crashed, the roof breaking in on the heads of the audience with a noise like thunder and crashing seats and occupants as it fell. It was more than an hour before the rescuers, using gas torches to cut through the accumulated mass of steel and concrete, reached the section where it was believed most of the dead and injured were. The theater, situated in the center of Washington’s fashionable northwest section, presented a scene of horror an hour after the roof fell neath a weight of snow heavier than to which it had been subjected since. The roof, to those able to .push through police lines, seemed to rest on the floor, scarcely a foot and a half separating the lowermost debris and the floor level. Standing up through the debris, however, stark and ragged, were the pillars that had supported the balconies and the roof. The same snowfall which caused the collapse of the theater’s roof also worked to lessen the number of those in the crash, for the theater, being the only one in that section, usually is filled even to standing room on week-nights.

(Joshua Skinner, WANF:) For more than 80 years, the Plaza Theatre has churned out reliable entertainment, complete with popcorn, soda, and, of course, movies. But it was during a November bathroom renovation that owner Chris Escobar discovered a different kind of story. “Once we started taking off the old tile, we discovered a little piece of the wall fell out here in this corner,” Escobar told WANF, showing where the discovery was initially made. “And then we see this space behind the wall that no one knew was there.” That space was a small closet attached to what used to be a manager’s office, now a separate bathroom. “That’s when we discovered this incredible, little historic find,” Escobar said. An item buried under brick and dust. “If you follow my shadow,” Escobar said, pointing to the far corner of the small closet. “It was back here under this pipe.” That little bit of history: a wallet from 1958, likely lost and stored in the manager’s office but never claimed by the owner. “I mean, this is a treasure trove of 1958,” Escobar said. Complete with credit cards for Davison’s and Rich’s Department Stores, family photos, gas receipts (10 gallons for $3.26), and a name: Floy Culbreth. But could Floy possibly be located 65 years later? Escobar enlisted his wife, who he calls an “internet sleuth” for the task. Within hours, Escobar had his answer. “Floy Culbreth was actually started as Floy Porter,” said Thea Chamberlain. Chamberlain is Culbreth’s daughter. The Escobars were to reach the family using social media. To their giddy surprise, Chamberlain lives less than 20 minutes from the theatre. What’s less of a surprise was learning her mother lost her wallet in the late summer of 1958. “To be honest, mother losing stuff would not have been a surprise,” Chamberlain laughed. Floy died over a decade ago. The Escobars and Chamberlains scheduled a gathering at the Plaza Theatre to exchange the wallet and pore through its contents. Escobar can’t be sure what film was showing at the Plaza that day (the theatre was just one screen at the time). However, newspapers from the summer of 1958 show 1956 Best Picture Winner “Around the World in 80 Days” playing at the Plaza. For Chamberlain, seeing receipts, library cards, and family photos she didn’t know existed brought her to the emotional edge. “It’s meant more to me than I realized it would,” she said. Adding another story for a theatre with a bit of history on the screen and in the walls. “Yeah, this theatre still has a number of stories to tell,” Escobar said. “It still surprises us.”

A.W. Hodge abd Merl Reynolds outside the BONN Theatre in about 1955, judging from the poster.

Urban spelunking: The Garfield Theater (Bobby Tanzilo, OnMKE) Like most cities, Milwaukee was once dotted with movie palaces - stunningly ornate structures that served to entertain a hard-working public with moving pictures and live performers during the vaudeville era. Here’s a look at the most recent to fall. Very few of these survive today – the Oriental, the Avalon, the MSO’s Bradley Symphony Center. But, somewhat amazingly, until now, all three of the movie palaces designed by local architects Gustave Dick and Alex Bauer in 1926-27, have remained on the landscape. While the Oriental, which opened in July 1927, is still up and running, surviving for a variety of reasons, including its division into a triplex, and the empty Tower Theater (1926) awaits redevelopment, the last of the bunch to be built – The Garfield Theater, 2933 N. King Dr – which opened in November 1927, has reached the end of its life, although not entirely. While the auditorium and lobby of the theater is coming down as part of an ambitious residential and library development on King Drive and Locust Street, the facade and foyer of the theater, as well as the long row of retail spaces with offices above, will remain. They will be converted to townhouse-style residences. The site occupied by the auditorium will become parking for the library and residents. The Garfield was built by the Saxe Brothers Amusement Enterprises and developer Oscar Brachman, who had also built Walter Schroeder’s Astor Hotel in 1920. Among his other theater projects were the now-demolished Uptown Theater (1927) and the Downer Theater (1915). Saxe was a local theater chain founded in 1902 by two brothers, mechanics Jack and Tom Saxe. By the time the Garfield opened, the Saxe Brothers possessed an empire of 44 cinemas, a number that would grow to nearly 60 within another year or so. In 1927 (a busy year for theater construction; 16 went up in Milwaukee that year), Saxe controlled a baker’s dozen Brew City venues, including the Uptown, the Modjeska, the Savoy, the Tivoli, the Tower, the Oriental, the Strand, the Miller, the Princess, the Merrill, the Mirth, the Plaza and its local flagship, the Wisconsin on 6th and Wisconsin. Construction on the theater and its row of retail and office buildings along King Drive began at the start of 1927 and there was a steel frame rising by March. By April, the retail portion was taking shape and the following month, more of the auditorium began to rise. By June, the exterior of the theater box was veneered in brick. Early in July, the Oriental opened, and soon after, the Uptown followed. By October, the retail and office spaces were ready for tenants and work proceeded inside the theater, where National Theater Supply Co. was installing the rigging and stage lighting, Heywood-Wakefield was installing the seats and Chicago’s Albert Pick & Co. was painting, decorating and installing drapery. On Nov. 5, the million-dollar theater opened to great fanfare. “The attendant throng of thousands of persons from all parts of Milwaukee who attended the opening performances gave the rapidly growing upper Third Street a holiday appearance,” wrote the Sentinel the following morning. Predictions were made that the new theater will be a leading factor in the development of of real estate values in the community. “The event marked the completion of the 45th theater in the chain of playhouses throughout the state of the Saxe Amusement Enterprises. Those immediately connected with the new theater believe that the Garfield is one of the most beautiful and modern theaters in the midwest and that it will be the forerunner of even greater strides in building and other developments in that section of the city", it was stated. The theater, the Sentinel added, “exemplifies a decidedly French architecture of the early 18th century, which is characterized by its elegance and piquant motifs.” Patrons were treated to screenings of “Adam and Evil,” starring Lew Cody and Aileen Pringle, as well as vaudeville performances by Betty Ouimet, dancer Olga Mishka, and Ford & Harrison. (Ouimet was the daughter of Frances J. Ouimet, who in 1913 was the first amateur to win the U.S. Open golf tournament. Her son John Zielinski would go on to become a big league prospect with the St. Louis Cardinals. Mishka – despite her exotic name – was an American dancer and vaudevillian whose real name was Gladys Buckley. Ford & Harrison may have a connection to the somewhat eponymous actor Harrison Ford, who has a family link to vaudeville.) During its first week, the Garfield would screen a number of films, including “Shanghai Bound” Sunday and Monday with Mary Brian and Richard Dix, followed Tuesday-Thursday by “What Price Glory” with Victor MacLaglen, and then Richard Barthelmess in “The Drop Kick” Friday and Saturday. Arriving at the theater, patrons would surely have noticed the gorgeous terra cotta decoration on the facade above the marquee and entrance. In the foyer – the 50x50-foot area where the ticket booth was located – and in the lobby beyond there were lavish decorations, including mirrors, terrazzo floors, a regal staircase up to the balcony level and even a white marble fireplace. The 50x70-foot lobby was illuminated by a trio of large chandeliers, made by Milwaukee’s Charles Polacheck & Bro. Five sets of double doors each opened to an aisle inside the 1,800-seat auditorium. Patrons entered beneath the low ceiling of the balcony above, which created a feeling of compression. Walking forward, one was then hit by an awe-inspiring sense of release provided by the soaring expanse of the theater. There were murals on the side walls and, as was common, ornate painted plaster details everywhere: on the ceiling, on the proscenium around the 40x30-foot stage opening, on the walls. Thanks to a series of colonnades on either side that mimicked opera boxes, offered the look and feel of a European opera house. Carytids stood sentry between these openings. There were damask, velvet and satin drapery and other elements. Described later as “Milwaukee’s most elegant neighborhood theater; a miniature Viennese Opera house,” admission was 40 cents on Saturday evenings – less at other days and times – which got you a feature film, several short films, three vaudeville acts and musical accompaniment by an orchestra and organist. “If the eyes were pleased, so were the ears as the house orchestra, the ‘Saxonians,’ appeared complete with tympani, at evening performances,” notes CinemaTreasures.org. “At other times it was the job of the organist to ‘perfume the air with music’ (as famed 1920s organist Gaylord Carter so well put it in the video: ‘The Movie Palaces’ by the Smithsonian Institution in 1988) and accompany the silent movies. The Garfield was well equipped for this with its Barton theatre pipe organ of three manuals and eleven ranks (voices) which was opened by organist Jack Martin. It rose into view from the orchestra pit upon its four-post Barton lift every time it started the overture.” However, by the time the Garfield swung open its doors, Saxe was feeling pressure from the big Hollywood studios like Loew’s, Warner Brothers, Fox and Paramount, who were swallowing up indie theater chains. In December, Saxe sold its theaters to the California-based Midwesco Theaters Inc., which already owned a couple hundred theaters. Soon after, Fox Film Corp., in turn, gulped down that chain and Fox-Midwesco became the big kid on the block in Wisconsin theaters for a quarter-century, and it put veteran theater manager Milton Harman in charge of the Garfield. Meanwhile, the Saxe clan busied itself with businesses like the White Tower fast food chain and later, Thomas Saxe got back into the theater game during the Depression, buying back his theaters and running them until his death in 1938. As the movie business and entertainment landscape changed, so did the theater. By the 1940s, the Saxonians were gone. The marquee was changed and the large arched window in the facade was covered. Sometimes movies weren’t earning enough and other events were held, including concerts, fashion shows, union meetings, teen dances and conventions. With TV taking over, the Garfield closed in 1965. After some changes in 1967 – including the removal of the seats – the building was occupied in 1968 by The Opportunities Industrialization Center, an apparently windowless vocational school. The OIC was founded in Philadelphia and opened its first Milwaukee site in the old Rosenberg’s department store on King Drive at North Avenue in March 1967. Some of its lavishness was sold off, including the Polacheck lobby chandeliers, which ultimately ended up in the Barrington, Illinois mansion of the Sanfilippo family. “The once fashionable Garfield Theater, a flashy but fading dame on Milwaukee’s near north side, is trying to recapture her youth,” wrote Barbara H. Kuehn in the Sentinel in January 1968. “She’s likely to pass her new lease on life to people in the neighborhood. But she’ll have to part with her frills first.” An OIC counselor told Kuehn that the goal was to “motivate self-renewal, so we start by trying to get the trainee to think for himself” in terms of selecting an area of study. “The theater was once a hub of community entertainment as people flocked to its movies, vaudeville shows and musical programs,” Kuehn wrote. “OIC hopes to transform it into a center where people in the surrounding inner city can get a new start in life.” After OIC closed in a swirl of controversy in the early 2000s, the Philadelphia Church of God in Christ purchased the building and converted it into a church in 2006. While the lobby and foyer maintained some of their grandeur, if dulled, a dropped ceiling that ran from the edge of the balcony all the way to the stage killed that sense of release, leaving only the feeling of compression. In order to suspend the ceiling, hundreds of holes were popped through the ornate plaster ceiling. Upstairs, the balcony was enclosed and diced up into a series of classrooms (likely by the vocational school). Before work to demolish the lobby and auditorium began, I was invited over for a full-on, Indiana Jones-style “spelunk,” as Jackson Lindsay II of General Capital, architect Keith Stachowiak – who, thankfully, brought a really powerful light source – and I climbed to the catwalks, opened a locked door via a convenient hole in the wall to access a bit of remaining balcony, explored the basement, nosed around the dressing rooms below the stage, peered through the openings in the projection booth, stuck our heads up into the upper level fan room and did our best to photograph what we could see from our limited vantage points. Alas, we never could find a navigable route onto those colonnades that looked like European opera house boxes. I’d been trying for years to get inside to see what remained and had heard that there wasn’t much to see, but as is often the case, this was not true at all. The exterior terra cotta is lovely and there for all passersby to see and enjoy. Just next to the main entrance, workers uncovered a vintage sign, reading “First run on the North Side,” which was removed and saved. While the elaborate ticket booth and chandeliers are long gone, the foyer decor is largely intact and quite beautiful. Fortunately, this space – as well as that terra cotta facade – will survive as a lobby for the new apartment building. Through the doors into the much larger lobby space, with its higher ceiling and grand staircase feels a bit like a revelation. Perhaps not on the scale of the former Warner Grand Theater Downtown – now the MSO’s Bradley Symphony Center – but still awe-inspiring with its marble fireplace and extant decor. While climbing the grand staircase is rewarding, entering the balcony at the top and the auditorium below are disappointing. There’s nothing to see in the balcony and in the former church sanctuary below there are only some hints (admittedly lovely) of what could be seen during the Garfield Theater days. The real excitement comes when we visit the backstage rooms (sadly stripped of their original wall finishes and any old performer graffiti that may have existed), the catwalks (creepy and alluring as any) and, especially, what little remains of the balcony, the projection booth and the organ loft. From these latter spaces, the awesome – if dark and crumbly – scene of that “European opera house” reveals itself. We can see the proscenium – though the top half or more of the stage opening is blocked up – and the ceiling with their elaborate painted plaster motifs. We can see the colonnades with their decorative railings. We spy the carytids standing tall and proud. We can see the project booth, tacked onto the back wall as if an afterthought. Later, looking at Dick & Bauer’s original plans, Stachowiak notices that they don’t match the built theater. The carytids, for example, are nowhere to be seen. In fact, neither are the colonnades. “I can’t find those caryatids in the interior sections / elevations – (it) seems like the design was changed,” he says. “They were never a part of the original plan – as a matter of fact neither were the side aisles/corridors, upper or lower. These plans had to have changed significantly during construction. Not all that surprising for the time – I also love how they reference ‘murals by decorator.’ Like the architects had no care about what was applied after the fact by someone else because it was ‘decoration’.” Stachowiak also sees later plans and notes changes that took place long after the original construction. “It was so poorly altered by two notable architects,” he says. “First the sloped theater floor was covered and the fly loft infilled in 1967 by Fitzhugh Scott for the Opportunities Industrialization Center. Then in 1983 Alonzo Robinson added this monstrosity of a floor plan to the theater along with the drop ceiling and fluorescent lights. Imagine going to a vocational school for the disabled and having no access to natural daylight.” While we’re there we see all those holes popped into the ceiling and we see that time has taken its toll on much of the splendor. While, perhaps, someone with absolutely unlimited funding MIGHT be able to return the Garfield Theater to its original splendor, what then? Few are looking to open new movie theaters, even if it were to be divided like the Oriental into a triplex, and the city, if anything, is reaching a glut of concert and event venues. Movie palaces were very specialized buildings that are difficult to convert. I’m sad to think that it will be gone forever, one more vintage movie palace condemned to history, but what Milwaukee does need now is housing, and especially affordable housing, and that’s what this site will provide. Fortunately, some of that will occupy the retail/office space, which will allow the street-facing aspect of the old Garfield Theater to not only remain intact, but to get a much needed restoration. The project will provide a new 18,000-square-foot library with flexible-use community rooms, a makerspace, improved access to technology, new furnishings and an updated and refreshed presentation of library materials and resources. The library building will also have 42 affordable apartments. There will be another eight in the former storefronts and 43 more in the building to the north. As Barbara Kuehn wrote of the Garfield in the Sentinel in 1968: “Sad, in a way, to see the old lady lose her ruffles. But she was past her prime in both beauty and usefulness. The face lifting may well put her back in touch with the neighborhood.” (Bobby Tanzilo, Senior Editor/Writer, OnMKE)

“Preservation Chicago is working closely with Craig Loftis, leadership of the Great Lakes Elks Club, their architect and lawyers, and other stakeholders to prevent the demolition of the Lodge. Urgency steps are being taken to resolve and correct deferred maintenance issues that have been identified by city inspectors. Additinally, we have attended Building Court to stand alongside preservation partners to formally request a delay in any movement towards emergency demolition and to request additinoal time to raise funds and hire contractors to resolve specific code related issues. Significant progress is being made. Additionally, we are working to help resolve contradictory directives from the City of Chicago regarding the Elks Lodge status as a theater or a dance club. The 86-year-old space–once a cinema and meeting point for the Chicago Suffragists–was opened as a private house music members club in 2015 by local artist Craig Loftis. He told Resident Advisor that he’s been battling with the City Council over “minor issues” to do with the building for several years. Since 1937, the building has been under the ownership of African-American fraternity group The Elks. Members of the group have been throwing music and dance events for the local community for decades. Loftis, who is also a member of the group, told RA that without the means to stay open for business, raising the target amount has become a catch-22 situation. For this reason, Loftis has launched a fundraiser to help the cause. While he’s confident that he can make the necessary repairs by the chosen date, he said shutting the building down was ‘unwarranted when one branch of the city government said we were operating in complete compliance and the other decided we weren’t.’ Preservation Chicago, a local architectural conservation group, has joined forces with Loftis to help protect the venue from any possible future demolition threats, should it ever change hands. If granted, this would give the venue the chance to apply for city funding to help with restoration and renovation. The group’s spokesperson, Max Chavez, told RA that an application to get the building landmark status was submitted to the local authority last week and achieving this will mean the building ‘would be well-positioned’ to receive the funds. He continued: ‘Preservation Chicago is proud to partner with Craig Loftis on this important effort to save this significant historic site. This building is too important to lose and deserves to be honored as an official Chicago landmark.‘ (Resident Advisor, 9/27/23) The venue will go into receivership and shut for good without the necessary funding. (Resident Advisor, 9/27/23) (© Preservation Chicago | All rights reserved)

The reopened Ramova Theatre will also be home to Other Half Brewing, which will open a brewery and taproom inside the Ramova Theatre that will be a 1,500-capacity concert venue and dining destination in the coming months. Developer Tyler Nevius is spearheading the Ramova redevelopment with Emily Nevius, his wife. “This idea of creating a music venue and a brewery was really developed organically with them to a great extent.”

Other Half chose to join the Ramova project for one primary reason: music. Other Half’s founder Matt Mohanan said “It just seems like a natural evolution for what we’re doing. Adding a music component to what we do, we’re just lucky to be here and excited.”

Other Half Ramova will include a taproom along Halsted Street. Behind that will be a glass wall where visitors can check out the on-site brewery production floor below with around 20 draft lines available in the taproom.

Other Half Ramova will adjoin the 20-seat Ramova Grill, itself reopening after an 82-year run in 2012. Kevin Hickey and Brandon Phillips will oversee the culinary and beverage programs at the grill respectively, with a full menu available to OHR patrons.

The city bought the Ramova Theatre, closed since 1985, in 2001 to preserve it for development, but officials struggled for years to find developers willing to invest in rehabilitating it. In 2020, the Ramova was sold to a venture led by Nevius’ Our Revival Chicago LLC. The $30 million project broke ground in 2021.

The Majestic Theater was established in 1909 by the partnership of Italian immigrants Ciali (Charles) Pacini, Joseph Unti and Dominic Lencioni of Kenosha. The Majestic was located in a building owned by the estate of Rasmus O. Gottfredson. Though a lease agreement would have been approved, it was not recorded with the Register of Deeds. Prior to their lease agreement, the building had been occupied by the Oscar Robbel Laundry. The grand opening of the Majestic was held on Saturday, December 4, 1909 following the conversion of the building into a moving picture and music playhouse. The Majestic closed around April 27, 1912 when its last advertisement appeared in the Kenosha Evening News. When it re-opened on Saturday, August 17, 1912, it was called the New Majestic Theater. The Monday, August 19, 1912 issue of the Kenosha Evening News gave rave reviews about the New Majestic Theater, reporting eight shows on Saturday attracted 2100 patrons. The theater had been renovated with soft concrete floors and expanded seating. Most noticeable was the installation of the first “daylight pictures” system in Kenosha, where films were shown on a mirror screen 110 feet from the projector. The article said the picture on the screen was of such clarity that the theater was lighted at all times.

At the re-opening, Charles Pacini was the sole proprietor, Unti and Lencioni having left the partnership. Dominic Lencioni started his own business, a confectionery store. at 69 N. Main Street (5030 6th Avenue) in Kenosha. Joseph Unti left the theatrical business to work as a clerk for Dominic Unti at his confectionery at 317 Main Street (5824 6th Avenue) in Kenosha.

On July 21, 1913, the Majestic closed again for four days for the installation of new leather seats and other interior and exterior improvements. Pacini assured the public the Majestic would continue with the best in pictures, music and general features. On April 25, 1919, Catherine Gottfredson became sole owner of the property and building as the beneficiary of a last will & testament, and by then, Pacini had established the Charles Pacini Amusements pmanagement company, with the motto “Go where the crowd goes.”

On December 29, 1919, the Kenosha Evening News reported on an ambitious expansion of the New Majestic Theater by Charles Pacini Amusements. Pacini had secured possession of the Matt D. Schmidt Building just to the north of the theater. The addition would have doubled the seating capacity to about 1,000, and the project was expected to begin in March, 1920 and be finished by early summer. On June 10, the Kenosha Evening News reported that builder George Lindemann of Kenosha was awarded the contract by Charles Pacini Amusements to enlarge the New Majestic, and the architect chosen was Kenoshan Charles Augustine (who would later design Kenosha’s 1927 Roosevelt Theatre). The cost of rebuilding the theater was estimated at $85,000. There would be two foyers opening into the enlarged auditorium, a right and left balcony with special exits for safety, a large organ and enlarged orchestra pit, a smoking room for the gentlemen and a lounge for the ladies. Pacini anticipated completion around November 1. But those hopes abruptly ended with the murder of Charles Pacini on August 15, 1920, shot by a lone assailant a block east at his car after he’d closed the Majestic for the evening. Though the expansion was cancelled, his estate under Charles Pacini Amusements continued with the operation of the Majestic and his other theaters. But on March 17, 1921, the Telegraph Courier reported the sale of all of Pacini’s theatrical properties and interests including the leases for the Strand, New Majestic and Butterfly Theaters to the Saxe-Dayton Orpheum Theatre Company for $100,000. The Saxe-Dayton Company was a merger of the interests of John E. and Thomas E. Saxe of Milwaukee and Edward and Fred L. Dayton of Kenosha. Willard C. Welch of Saxe Amusement Enterprises was installed as manager of the Majestic Theater, Saxe-Dayton dropping the “New” from its title to call it Saxe’s Majestic. By early 1924, Edward Dayton took over its management. But by that December, the theater stopped advertising its listings in local newspapers, and it was not until October 1925 when advertisements resumed, and during all of 1926 the Majestic’s programs were overwhelmingly dominated by a Westerns. Then on February 2, 1927, building owner Catherine Gottfredson entered into a lease agreement with the Kenosha Orpheum Theater Company calling for a monthly payment of $400 for a period of 15 years. The manager was James L. Morrissey. Still, it appears the Majestic theater may have closed that summer, as its last advertisement in a local newspaper was on July 9, 1927. On the following December 20, the Kenosha Orpheum Theater Company subleased the theater to Midwesco Theaters Inc. at the same rates as its then-current lease with Catherine Gottfredson. It is unknown if the Majestic re-opened following the sublease, as no advertisements were placed in the local newspapers during all of 1928. On December 11 of that year the Kenosha Evening News reported that Cunningham’s Clothing Store had leased the Majestic Theater from Fox-Midwesco Enterprises for a period of 14 years, the final curtain after nineteen years at Kenosha’s Majestic Theatre.

We just want to let our followers know that the Keno Drive-In movie theater will not reopen. Our company has operated the Drive-In for 9 years. Our current lease was terminated and we were advised that the owners of the property made a business decision to find another use for the property and we would not be permitted to open the Drive-In. Every attempt was made by our company to continue the operation of the theater which included participation in the conversion to digital. My family has operated Drive-In movie theaters for over 60 years and we have a passion for the continuation of this American icon. We operate another Drive-In in Illinois, Cascade Drive-In which continues to operate successfully with top grossing movies usually in the top ten of all theaters in the country. Today Drive-In movie theaters are more popular then ever thanks to people like the Kenosha residents and beyond. Our hearts go out to every person that visited the Keno Drive-In for we really appreciated your business. We would like to extend an invitation to everyone of the Kenosha residents to visit our Cascade Drive-In in Illinois free of charge for a limited time to give thanks for all the years you supported the Keno Drive-In. Thank you! Management

I always noticed the theatre as well in the opening segments of Bowery Boys pictures. I clipped the scene and posted it here today.

Across the street was the Rex Theatre at 51 South Main Street which I’ve submitted several times to New Theatres here but have been unable to get it listed. For years it’s been a Sherwin-Williams paint store. I’ll post an original photo once the listing is accepted.

aint store

May 7,1955.

As Congress Theater Crumbles, Developer Wants $27 Million From City To Revive Logan Square Gem (Credit: Block Club Chicago - By Mina Bloom, February 8, 2023)
The price tag on the long-stalled project keeps going up, and the delays are getting longer — but developers say they’re still committed to overhauling and reopening the beloved venue.
LOGAN SQUARE — Closed for a decade, the Congress Theater is a shell of the gleaming movie palace and music venue it once was. Water is seeping into the 1920s venue, badly damaging the original structure and its ornate details. The plaster walls are crumbling, and parts of the ceiling have collapsed, scattering debris.
The theater’s worsening condition, combined with sky-high construction prices and other mounting costs, is complicating a local developer’s ambitious — and much-anticipated — plans to revive the Logan Square gem.
Baum Revision, a developer with a reputation for restoring historical buildings, was winding its way through the city approval process last year, but the Congress rehab project stalled as costs increased and negotiations around labor and other issues persisted, said David Baum, one of the managing principals. “It’s been a bit of a game of whack-a-mole. Every time we think we’ve figured it out, pricing goes up,” Baum said. “Construction pricing has not been going in the right direction, interest rates continue to go up, getting loans is more difficult and general costs — energy or anything else — has been going up. … Pricing continues to go up while the condition of the building is not getting better.”
The project itself hasn’t changed: Baum still plans to fully restore the 2,900-seat music venue at 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave. and surrounding retail shops and apartments.
But the renovation is now estimated to cost $88 million, up from $70.4 million last year, Baum said. The development company is seeking $27 million in tax-increment finance dollars to cover a gap in funding. That’s $7 million more than developers asked for last year and $17 million more than the previous developer secured for a similar project. Baum’s team is working closely with city officials to nail down a redevelopment agreement and secure financing as theater operator AEG Presents and local labor union UNITE HERE Local 1 battle over a “good jobs commitment.”
If everything goes according to plan, the redevelopment project could be introduced in City Council next month, setting the stage for subsequent approval, said Baum and other players, including Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), whose ward includes the Congress. “Trying to get this thing to work is a Rubik’s Cube,” Baum said. “We feel like we’re there, we hope that the powers that be will want to get this thing passed.”
The project is delicate, partly because there’s a lot at stake. A restored Congress will transform the abandoned Milwaukee Avenue stretch and give the broader neighborhood an economic and cultural jolt, neighbors and local leaders said.
Even though Baum is inching toward construction, some are worried the project is doomed after a series of setbacks. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t concerned like everyone else is,” Baum said.
Baum’s project includes a rehabbed theater, roughly 5,400 square feet of retail and restaurant space along Milwaukee Avenue and Rockwell Street, 16 apartments and affordable offices and work space on the second and third floors. Fourteen of the apartments will be reserved as affordable housing.
The city’s Community Development Commission approved allocating $20 million in tax-increment financing toward the project last year, but the proposal never advanced to City Council.
After some adjustments, it seemed the revised proposal was finally headed for City Council in January with the support of Mayor Lori Lightfoot. But city officials pulled the proposal off the agenda at the last minute, La Spata said.
It also was yanked from the agenda of February’s council meeting, La Spata said.
One key issue holding up the project is the labor agreement between AEG, the theater operator, and UNITE HERE Local 1, La Spata said. Hospitality workers with the labor union are pushing AEG and the city to put a “good jobs commitment” in writing.
“UNITE HERE Local 1 opposes the use of TIF or any public subsidy for the Congress Theater redevelopment because there is no commitment from AEG that all hospitality jobs created by the redevelopment will be good jobs,” union spokesperson Elliott Mallen said in an email.
AEG didn’t respond to requests for comment. Baum said his company is not involved in labor negotiations.
La Spata, who’s involved in negotiations, said the two sides are “very, very close” to striking a deal. If the agreement is finalized, the redevelopment proposal — and the $27 million tax-increment financing allocation — will be introduced into City Council, then voted on by the finance committee and all 50 alderpeople.
La Spata and Baum hope the project will finally hit City Council in March. “We’re working on something that’s going to have a generational impact in Logan Square, and if that means it takes a few more months to get it right, I think that’s worthwhile,” La Spata said. In Chicago, using tax-increment financing to support large projects is often controversial. Tax-increment financing districts capture all growth in the property tax base in a designated area for a set period of time, usually 20 years or more, and divert it into a special fund for projects designed to spur economic development and eradicate blight. City Council’s approval of $2 billion in tax-increment financing for megadevelopments Lincoln Yards and The 78 sparked protests and lawsuits.
Proponents of Baum’s Congress proposal said the $27 million the company wants is justifiable given the project’s large scale, the poor condition of the theater and rising development costs during the pandemic.
Aside from the lobby, which is in reasonably good shape, the entire theater is a “gut job,” Baum said. It needs a new roof, new electrical and plumbing systems and extensive preservation work, he said. “We’re talking about a project that is practically a city block long, multiple buildings, a 3,000-person theater. It does not surprise me that we’re facing a really substantial rehab,” La Spata said. “I 100 percent would not be supporting this [redevelopment] process if I didn’t feel like it came with robust and generous benefits for our community and that it was going to also have a truly catalytic effect in terms of activating some of the spaces around the Congress that we want to see get going.”
La Spata has represented the 1st Ward since 2019 and is running for reelection against three challengers, including former 1st Ward Ald. Proco Joe Moreno. . The Congress Theater was built in 1926 by Fridstein & Co. as an ornate movie palace. One of the last remaining theaters associated with famous “moving picture theater” operators Lubliner & Trinz, the venue hosted vaudeville acts and “first-run photoplays” for years, then screened movies through the ’80s. The Congress later was refashioned into a music venue, drawing famous musicians and performers such as Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis. It was designated a city landmark in 2002. The city ordered the theater closed in 2013 following a string of code violations and years of negligence from embattled former owner Eddie Carranza.
The move also came after a series of crimes that occurred in and around the theater during shows, including the rape of a 14-year-old girl. The city banned electronic dance music — the theater’s former music genre of choice — for all current and future owners.
Developer Michael Moyer stepped in to reopen the Congress in 2015. After years of community meetings and a multi-layered city approval process, Los Angeles-based lender and promoter AEG sued Moyer in 2020, alleging the developer defaulted on $14 million in loans. The legal trouble left the theater in the control of a court-appointed receiver.
Baum took the reins of the project in 2021. The development firm is known for restoring the Green Exchange and Margies Candies buildings, among other historical buildings.
The Congress has “been a hole in the community for a long time, but it used to be the center of the community for a long time. That’s what we enjoy doing — reimagining and bringing back things from the dead,” Baum said.
The price tag on the long-stalled project keeps going up, and the delays are getting longer — but developers say they’re still committed to overhauling and reopening the beloved venue. (Block Club Chicago)