Cornell Theatre
214 Main Street,
Cornell,
WI
54732
214 Main Street,
Cornell,
WI
54732
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Lyric Theatre, Gem Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
715.239.6655
Manager:
715.239.6655
Nearby Theaters
The Lyric Theatre was opened around 1916. It later became the Gem Theatre. In the late-1940’s it was renamed Cornell Theatre. It was closed just prior to Christmas in December 1997 with Pierce Brosnan in “Tomorrow Never Dies”.
New operators took over and following renovations it reopened on May 1, 1998 with Leonardo De Caprio in “Titanic”. In June 1999 it went over to new operators. It was closed in 2005.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
According to the City of Cornell website, “The theatre is closed until further notice”. Google’s “Showtimes for Cornell, WI” link currently brings up only the Micon Cinemas in Chippewa Falls. Maybe they close the Cornell down during the sort of weather they’re having tonight:
I certainly wouldn’t want to go out to a move on a night like that.On the front page of the city’s website there’s a small historic photo of the main street, and most of the buildings look like they have had false fronts in the past, so the one on the theatre is not a rarity for the town. The white clapboard building behind the plastered front is typical of structures in old lumbering towns such as Cornell all the way from New England to the Pacific Northwest.
Incidentally, the town is named for Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell University, who had extensive holdings in the area.
Still nothing playing at the Cornell. Looks like this one is closed.
Thanks, Joe Vogel, for connecting the theater’s (and town’s) name to the founder of Cornell U. In these deep dark days when the Great “D” word looms on the financial horizon, it’s worth noting that—after amassing a fortune from supplying the telegraph industry with lumber for poles and using much of his income to establish the university in upstate NY—Ezra Cornell lost his fortune by investing in wacky initiatives and died nearly penniless.
The Cornell Theatre opened around 1916 and closed in 2005. It started life as the Lyric Theatre, and later the Gem Theatre, before officially renaming it the Cornell Theatre in the late-1940s.
After screening “Tomorrow Never Dies” just before Christmas in December 1997, the Cornell Theatre closed and sat abandoned for several months. It wasn’t until the husband-and-wife team of Tim and Susan Smith renovated the theater and reopened on May 1, 1998 with a 14-day run of the smash “Titanic”. In June 1999, Jay and Rusty Simmons took over as owners.