Cosmo Theatre

dallasmovietheaters on October 21, 2024 at 2:02 pm

This entry as contributed by Bryan Krefft reads, “The Cosmo Theatre on Main Street in Merrill is housed in a vintage theatre building which has been twinned, and screens first-run films. The Cosmo Theatre’s facade features an Art Deco-style marquee lit with pink, blue and white neon lighting.” My research indicates there’s a bit more history to this venue as follows:

The new-build Fox Theatre by William Fox’s Fox Midwestern Theatres Circuit opened on December 7, 1929 with Will Rogers in “They Had to See Paris.” The theater was equipped with Warner Bros.‘ Vitaphone and and Fox’s Movietone sound equipment. Charles Brewster was the architect of the project from the Fox side and Oppenheimer & Over from Wausau had the multi-use building plans. The project carried a 15-year lease with an option for another ten-year period thereafter. Fox would make it through three of those years having declared bankruptcy at the onset of the Depression.

The original Cosmo had opened on May 6, 1908 on the main floor of the Grand Opera House. That building was built by Peter Berard in 1885 opening September 11, 1886 as Berard’s Opera House on the second floor with the play, “Kathleen Mavourneen.” At the end of its 20-year agreement, the venue became the Grand Opera House with Dan J. Dwyer taking on the new lease. The Cosmo moved into a former retail / saloon spot on the main floor in 1908. In 1922, the second floor opera house was removed and in 1927 the theatre received a massive upgrade including a Killgen organ and 400 seats.

As the Cosmo Theater was reaching its 20th Anniversary, operator Albert L. Robarge leased the theater to the Cheesney Theater Corporation. Later that same year, it burned down on December 17, 1928. Parts of the Kilgen organ and some musical equipment pieces were saved but much of the theater was destroyed. The Bellevue Cafe, which was serving as the de facto concession stand for the Cosmo was also destroyed.

With the cost of rebuilding the theater and the price of equipping the theatre for sound too great, property owner Robarge contracted with Fox / Fox Midwest to build a new theater. The venue would be established ostensibly kitty corner moving from the 900 East Main location to the 813 East Main location.

Fox’s bankruptcy on February 28, 1932 left property owners all over the country with Fox-branded theaters scrambling. Robarge was the building owner and served papers finally closing the Fox after the January 30, 1933 shows well after Fox had stopped paying its leasing fees.

Under new management, the former Fox reopened as the Merrill Theatre on February 12, 1933 with the film, “Dangerously Yours,” and a naming contest. The 1,700 pound Fox signage was later removed in favor of the contest-winning “new” Cosmo Theatre which started under that moniker with “Broadway Bad” on March 8, 1933. Delft Theatre Circuit took on the Cosmo and the Badger. In 1948, the Cosmo was given a shocking streamline moderne makeover. After its closure on December 9, 1947, for the refresh, the “new” Cosmo opened January 16, 1948 with “Road to Rio.”

Following the Badger’s lead of conversion to widescreen in 1954, the Merrill converted to CinemaScope in 1956. It was twinned and given a third screen to remain viable which it was into the 2020s. It closed March 16, 2020 for the COVID pandemic and reopened 21 weeks later on August 28, 2020 with “The New Mutants” and “Shrek.”

jdalles on July 2, 2009 at 5:14 pm

Former Cosmo Theater Owner: Otto Settle

SETTELE, OTTO DEATH MARSHFIELD NEWS HERALD JAN 13, 1997 p.7A col.4
Notes: age 83/of merrill/died-st joseph’s hosp-city

kencmcintyre on May 23, 2007 at 4:47 pm

The Cosmo was destroyed in a fire on 12/17/28, according to the Sheboygan Press. Presumably it was rebuilt:

300 Escape as Fire Destroys Movie Theatre

Fire starting from a stoker furnace Sunday afternoon destroyed the Cosmo Theater block here and drove more than 300 theater patrons, most of whom were children, into the street. The loss was estimated at $90,000. Today there was nothing of value to be found in the theater or the adjoining Belleview Cafe. The second floor of the showhouse had caved in when the flames shot up the walls and when the combined fire departments of Wausau and Merrill finally succeeded in gaining control of the fire. There was little left to salvage.

The fire started at about 2:50 p.m., Sunday and soon after that time the theater patrons smelled the smoke that arose from the basement. The children began to file out of the theater in an orderly manner and in a few minutes the place was emptied. The motion picture operator continued to run the picture on the screen in older to avoid a panic. The fire was not under control until 6:30 p.m.

In addition to the cafe, the building housed five business places and eleven apartments. In one section of the building is located the telephone office. Smoke poured into the latter place but the telephone operators stuck to their posts for two hours after the fire started. From 5 to 5:30 p.m., the city was isolated as far as telephone communication was concerned. One fireman was hurt in fighting the flames and he was removed to a hospital. Physicians said his injuries were not serious.