Around 1980 Marcus Theaters quietly remodeled the balconies into office space and used it as it’s Fox Cities regional offices for its Appleton-Neenah-Little Chute area theaters and drive ins.
I’m in search of information about this theater’s days when it was known as the Varsity. Who owned it? When did it open, and why was it shuttered for a while in 1968.
The Varsity became the Cinema 1 in December 1968. The theater had been purchased by the Marcus Theaters group and underwent some remodeling. It became a $1.50 discount theater circa 1982 and closed in 1986. The Cinema 1 in later years was known for its sticky floors (candy, spilled soda).
Around the time Cinema 1 closed Marcus used it’s parking lot to build a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant (Marcus' restaurant division at the time had the franchise rights for Wisconsin). A few years later the Cinema 1 was demolished.
I grew up in Appleton Kimberly in the 70s, and I am active on a “You Know You Grew Up in Appleton If, …” Facebook group.
The Rio was perhaps the best example of a late 1920s era movie palace in the Fox Cities.
The Rio Theater was purchased by the H.C. Prange Co., a now-defunct Wisconsin-based department chain. About 1960 Prange’s built a huge new 6-story plus basement store near the Rio. After the sale, the Rio was renamed the Prange’s Anex for a few years. Prange’s then demolished the Rio for their customer and employee parking ramp. Some office and retail space was available in an attached building along Washington Street.
Interestingly from old photos I’ve seen it appears the Rio was one of very few old movie palaces to not have “modernized” its marquee in the late 40s or 1950s. It appears the Rio kept the old wooden letters style marquee right up to its closing.
The Appleton Theater was located about a half block to the north on the other side of Appleton Street. This would be across Oneida Street from the Appleton Public Library. The Appleton Theater was torn down in 1972 to make way for a parking lot for a savings & loan.
From what I have been able research on line, the Elite Theater likely closed due it being sold to what was then Aid Associations for Lutherans (a life insurance fraternal benefits company) to make way for a new 10-story addition to its home office.
The Viking was a basic late 40s-style move theater with no balcony. It’s greatest claim is Star Wars played there for nearly six straight months in 1977. Also Marcus occasionally ran soft-core porn flicks at the Viking from time to time in the 70s and early 80s.
There actually were two Valley Fair theaters. The first was a twin screen operation which opened circa March/April 1978 located approximately where what was later the parking lot for Kohl’s Department store.
This was a typical Marcus twin theater set up with a box office and concession stand set up to serve two auditoriums. A railing between the box office and concession stand was designed to stop patrons from making their visit a double feature. Each side had its own set of restrooms.
The Valley Fair Theaters I-II were barely a year old when a major remodeling of the Valley Fair Mall was announced. By 1978 the mall, which was the nation’s first enclosed mall in its 1954 opening, was a near ghost town and was very dated with a polished concrete floor and glassed windows and doors at each store. The remodeling was to demolish the long-vacant former W T Grant store and construct a new Kohl’s Department Store and a Kohl’s Food Store at the east end and add additional space for more smaller stores. An independent grocery store was to remain the mall’s west-end anchor.
In addition a new 3-screen Marcus Theater would become the mall’s new third anchor on the south end of what had been the main section of the mall. This was the first 3-screen Theater in the Appleton/Fox Cities market. The box office was set up as an island and so was the concession stand in the middle of the lobby. The seating and projection/sound equipment was moved from the twin theater (building demolished to make way for the parking lot). The Valley Fair Cinemas I-II-III opened just in time for 1979 Christmas movie season.
Around 1980 Marcus Theaters quietly remodeled the balconies into office space and used it as it’s Fox Cities regional offices for its Appleton-Neenah-Little Chute area theaters and drive ins.
I’m in search of information about this theater’s days when it was known as the Varsity. Who owned it? When did it open, and why was it shuttered for a while in 1968.
The Varsity became the Cinema 1 in December 1968. The theater had been purchased by the Marcus Theaters group and underwent some remodeling. It became a $1.50 discount theater circa 1982 and closed in 1986. The Cinema 1 in later years was known for its sticky floors (candy, spilled soda).
Around the time Cinema 1 closed Marcus used it’s parking lot to build a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant (Marcus' restaurant division at the time had the franchise rights for Wisconsin). A few years later the Cinema 1 was demolished.
I grew up in Appleton Kimberly in the 70s, and I am active on a “You Know You Grew Up in Appleton If, …” Facebook group.
The Rio was perhaps the best example of a late 1920s era movie palace in the Fox Cities.
The Rio Theater was purchased by the H.C. Prange Co., a now-defunct Wisconsin-based department chain. About 1960 Prange’s built a huge new 6-story plus basement store near the Rio. After the sale, the Rio was renamed the Prange’s Anex for a few years. Prange’s then demolished the Rio for their customer and employee parking ramp. Some office and retail space was available in an attached building along Washington Street.
Interestingly from old photos I’ve seen it appears the Rio was one of very few old movie palaces to not have “modernized” its marquee in the late 40s or 1950s. It appears the Rio kept the old wooden letters style marquee right up to its closing.
The Appleton Theater was located about a half block to the north on the other side of Appleton Street. This would be across Oneida Street from the Appleton Public Library. The Appleton Theater was torn down in 1972 to make way for a parking lot for a savings & loan.
From what I have been able research on line, the Elite Theater likely closed due it being sold to what was then Aid Associations for Lutherans (a life insurance fraternal benefits company) to make way for a new 10-story addition to its home office.
The Viking was a basic late 40s-style move theater with no balcony. It’s greatest claim is Star Wars played there for nearly six straight months in 1977. Also Marcus occasionally ran soft-core porn flicks at the Viking from time to time in the 70s and early 80s.
There actually were two Valley Fair theaters. The first was a twin screen operation which opened circa March/April 1978 located approximately where what was later the parking lot for Kohl’s Department store.
This was a typical Marcus twin theater set up with a box office and concession stand set up to serve two auditoriums. A railing between the box office and concession stand was designed to stop patrons from making their visit a double feature. Each side had its own set of restrooms.
The Valley Fair Theaters I-II were barely a year old when a major remodeling of the Valley Fair Mall was announced. By 1978 the mall, which was the nation’s first enclosed mall in its 1954 opening, was a near ghost town and was very dated with a polished concrete floor and glassed windows and doors at each store. The remodeling was to demolish the long-vacant former W T Grant store and construct a new Kohl’s Department Store and a Kohl’s Food Store at the east end and add additional space for more smaller stores. An independent grocery store was to remain the mall’s west-end anchor.
In addition a new 3-screen Marcus Theater would become the mall’s new third anchor on the south end of what had been the main section of the mall. This was the first 3-screen Theater in the Appleton/Fox Cities market. The box office was set up as an island and so was the concession stand in the middle of the lobby. The seating and projection/sound equipment was moved from the twin theater (building demolished to make way for the parking lot). The Valley Fair Cinemas I-II-III opened just in time for 1979 Christmas movie season.