Granada Theatre
1924 Charles Street,
Racine,
WI
53402
1924 Charles Street,
Racine,
WI
53402
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Architects: J. Mandor Matson
Functions: Storage
Styles: Spanish Renaissance
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Sep 27, 2006 — Westgate Cinema closes
The Granada Theatre opened on Saturday, April 7, 1928 with “The Life of Riley” starring Charlie Riley and George Sidney. The initial chain was the S & M Amusement Company. There was a Kilgen Wonder Organ with 2 manuals 3 ranks, now removed but still existant. The locally-famous architect J. Mandor Matson, who also designed the Racine City Hall and a number of Racine churches (including St. Edwards) and schools (including Horlick High and Roosevelt). There is an innovative “crying room” and an owners' private box in the upper level.
By the 1950’s the Granada Theatre was managed by M. J. Krofta Theatres and was operating on weekend-only schedules, and it was closed on March 5, 1961. The owners sold to the Peter Beck Company which used it for storage and office space. More recently an auto dealer used the auditorium for storage. But the theatre remains largely intact and complete, even with a leveled floor.
In 2005 an inspired investor purchased the Granada Theatre for $150,000 and planned a correct restoration but with adaptive reuse in mind. This never materialised and the theatre is still used for storage.
Contributed by
Louis Rugani
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Note:
The Life of Riley was released Septemer 3, 1927 and starred Charley Murray (former Keystone comedian) and George Sidney. Granada usually got films a few months after its release (as did most neighborhood theaters), which would explain its playing there upon the theater’s grand opening. It was released by First National Pictures, a division of Warner Brothers. As nearly 90 percent of all films made before 1930 are considered lost, it is unknown if a print of The Life of Riley survives today (if so, it would likely be in the Turner library and perhaps even a print at the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research, as that has extensive holdings from Warner Brothers).
Recent photos of this theatre are HERE
The Granada’s original Kilgen theatre organ is for sale! It was originally a 2/3 and though apparently mostly original, has some additional ranks added. It would be nice if the theatre could buy back their original organ to re-install!
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The Granada Theatre provided the 700-pound switchboard for the Racine Playhouse at 601 High Street in 1961. It was installed
under the stage.
It’s still a beautiful building today. Does anyone know what happened to that huge marquee? Or an update on the restoration progress… is this theatre open again?
The item is two and a half years old, but here is a photo gallery with two historic and five modern photos of the Granada Theatre. As the auditorium floor has been leveled with concrete, it’s unlikely that this house will be returned to use as a theater. The owner as of October, 2010, intended to use the space as a banquet hall and events center.
This web page has four small photos of the facade by the construction company that did the restoration work.
I’ve been unable to find any recent reports on this project, and I can’t find a banquet hall or events center listed it its address. The project might have been stalled by the sluggish economy.
Jim and Mike Krekling of Krekling Painting helped on 2010 exterior facade restorations at the GRANADA. Rossi Construction as general contractor did tuckpointing and in the process, five previously-covered decorative bottle-glass windows were discovered above the entrance, and are now visible. Two of the five had been damaged, but were replicated. It’s true that the auditorium floor was leveled during its warehouseing years, but the stage and proscenium still stand intact above the new floor. I think the city is being unfair by demanding six dozen parking spaces before granting an occupancy permit, as a shuttle bus could easily carry visitors to other available nearby parking areas.
Grand opening ad in the photo section and below.
Found on Newspapers.com
Update: In 2005, local businessman David Naumowicz purchased the Granada Theatre with the intention of restoring it and turning it into a banquet hall or events center, but because there was no nearby parking lot, the idea was considered unfeasible and was subsequently abandoned. Larry Vail, owner of Jim’s Garage Door Service, bought the Granada in 2015 and returned its use to a warehouse. Vail has kept some things intact, such as the fireplace in the lobby, one of the box seats, the proscenium arch and the original light fixtures on the ceiling, but said he has no plans to restore the theater. He performed a few renovations, but they were related to the warehouse use: a driveway behind the building on Carter Street, new exits and a large garage door for loading in the stagehouse. The ceiling and walls have been painted white but the walls have persistently leaked, resulting in water spots speckling the otherwise white interior.
Family aims to restore old movie theater - Granada was constructed in Racine in 1928 (By Michael Burke, The Racine Journal Times)
In the late 1920s, people of this city were constructing lavish movie theaters as fast as Walgreens were built in two years, and most neighborhoods had one nearby.
But by the 1970s, another generation of residents was demolishing the old movie houses like they were rat-infested eyesores.
Today it’s nearly impossible to find an old theater here that’s both semi-intact and feasible to restore. However, one comes close.
The Namowicz family of Warren Industries has bought and wants to restore the former Granada Theater, 1921 Charles St. “We want to bring back the glamour” of the 1928 theater, said David Namowicz.
Given acceptable restoration costs, the owners envision possibly turning the building into a banquet hall and/or events center.
It was Namowicz who first explored the old building - last used by its Illinois owner for storage and saw its potential. Steven, Thomas, Carolyn and Michael Namowicz went along with the idea, and the family bought the structure for $150,000.
David Namowicz indicated the theater lobby’s ceiling and said, “That’s what caught my eye.”
Its considerable architectural detail is all there - just as much of the plaster work throughout the building remains. The main original features missing are the stage and the sloping floor. A poured, level concrete floor forever obscures the original floor.
However, much of the stage house remains, including the large proscenium arch and the fly loft, just under the ceiling, which is 48 feet tall there. From the loft, workers would haul away scenery used in the vaudeville plays, said theater historian Fred Hermes of Racine.
Hermes said five local theaters were built in about 1927-28: the Granada, Capitol, Majestic, Crown and Venetian. “There was a tremendous interest in silent films,” he said, and vaudeville was still popular entertainment.
The Granada Theater, which operated until 1961, differentiated itself from other local theaters with its Spanish theme, “so it was kind of gaudy,” Namowicz said.
In the early years, for 15 cents a person, one could go to one of those grand theaters “and be treated like a queen,” Hermes said. “It was just as much a treat to see the inside as it was to see the movie.”
Among local movie theaters. the Granada wasn’t one of the most opulent. It was “a little bit below the middle,” Hermes said. However, by today’s standards, it’s a delight, with 24-foot ceilings in the seating area, terrazzo floors, and intricate plaster work adorning the walls and ceilings.
“It’ll never be like the Venetian and Rialto, Namowicz said, "but it’s definitely gorgeous.”
The building even has the original fireplace in the lobby. “I found (it) last week Namowicz said, hidden behind one of the walls that was added later to carve up the theater for later uses.
The Granada fared better in its decades of disuse than most local theaters. Most obviously, it wasn’t razed. Second, its domed roof undoubtedly helped ward off water damage. Finally, whoever erected interior walls did so respectfully, causing very slight damage to the structure.
“We got lucky here, because so far the damage is nominal,” Namowicz said.
When the old theater went on the market, he said, other bids came from a print shop and an auto repair business. Namowicz and his family didn’t think either one came close to realizing the Granada’s potential.
In addition to the theater itself, they bought the adjacent building at 1925 Charles St. All their plans are predicated on a restoration cost they can afford but if it does happen, that next-door building will play a part.
To run a banquet hall/events center they’d need a large kitchen, and to meet present building codes they’d need new bathrooms. They could put the kitchen and bathrooms in the adjacent building with a doorway in between, “so we don’t damage the theater, Namowicz explained.
“What I really need right now,” he said, “I need someone with some pictures” from the Granada’s early years.
If the costs aren’t prohibitive and the restoration can be done, the Granada will become a tangible link to a bygone era In Racine.
Namowicz said “It’s definitely going to give the city of Racine the feeling for what we have lost.” (August 28, 2005)