Avalon Atmospheric Theater

JimRankin on October 9, 2004 at 8:27 am

Here are the details of the sad fate of the AVALON’s organ which I received from the President of the Dairyland Theatre Organ Soc., the owner of the pipe organ:

Hi Jim

Unfortunately, it’s true. The organ has been removed from the theatre and put into storage. The theatre is not being maintained by the owner and he’s trying to rent it out as office space. There are many roof leaks with the organ chambers suffering much falling plaster from water damage. When some of the large wooden pipes were removed, they were found to be covered with mold and mildew from almost steady dampness. Worse yet, the facility has not been heated for several years and this doesn’t help preserve it. Recently vandals broke in and pried the doors to the organ chambers open. Either they weren’t interested with what they found or were planning to return to take metal pipes for salvage? That’s happened to pipe organs before. And they emptied every fire extinguisher they could find in the theatre over everything. It looked like it snowed! They also took the back of the console off but didn’t do any damage. DTOS then decided to remove the organ to protect it from both vandalism and the elements and it now resides in pieces in a heated warehouse in Racine until it can be returned to the Avalon, should that place be restored, or put into another facility where it can be enjoyed.

If you send me your address, I’ll send you a copy of our last newsletter, the Bartola, where you can read about it first hand and see some pictures. Thanks for your interest.

Fred Wolfgram

JimRankin on October 8, 2004 at 7:57 am

This just appeared on the Dairyland Theatre Organ Society web site:
“The Avalon Theatre and organ have been separated. Removal of the
organ occurred at the end of September 2004, after the theatre was
vandalized, and the organ damaged.”

tribecafilm on March 27, 2004 at 11:18 pm

This building deserves to be landmarked as a theater.

JimRankin on February 20, 2004 at 3:01 pm

Here is the latest action in the on-going saga of the AVALON. I am not sure how much help it will be, beyond the symbolic, since local landmark law only protects the EXTERIOR of a building, not the INTERIOR, which the owner is still free to gut if the city otherwise must grant the permits. I will probably not be able to be there, so I hope any others nationwaide interested in this fine Spanish atmospheric can attend to at least preserve its facade, though the facade is NOT complete as built in 1929.

DATE: Thu, 19 Feb 2004 01:30:43

From: “dokasc” dschlieman@aol.com

To:

A resolution designating the Avalon Theater at 2469-83 S. Kinnickinnic Ave., a historic structure will be heard before ZND [Zoning And Development/Landmarks committee of the Common Council] on Wed. Feb. 25 at 9:00 A.M., room 301-b, [third floor, end of south corridor]City Hall, 200 E. Wells. St.[across the street from the PABST theatre] This is Milwaukee’s last remaining example of an atmospheric theater. It is the first theater in WI. to be built for the new “talking” and “sound” pictures. The theater is a major work of a prominent local architect, Russell Barr Williamson. Best known for his Prairie Style residential designs another prominent commercial work in addition to the theater was the Eagles Club on W. Wisconsin Avenue [at 24th St.]. The owner of this building has objected to the theater being preserved in its present state. He has requested the organ society to remove the theater organ from the building. Your presence is needed to save this theater. If you do not wish to speak you are still important [the room has seats for about 30, so come early! It is likely to be televised on the local cable channel 26]. Come and show your support for this very significant example of Milwaukee’s history. Donna Schlieman

Keith on December 28, 2003 at 4:55 am

I am the artist hired by Tony Laporte in 1961 to paint the Day-Glo murals on the topside walls of the Avalon’s auditorium, and I hope critics will forgive me for my naïveté. I was 15 years old and I hope my telling of the tale will make up a little for the deed itself. Ever since childhood, I was mad for the movies. We lived in the suburb of West Allis and I attended the Avalon (or the Pix) when my folks visited an aunt who lived on Homer Street just up from where the Avalon side exit emptied out. Imagine my youthful enthusiasm when Dad bought a house on Dover Street, just two blocks away! And then imagine my complete glee when we moved to yet another house right on Homer, just a half-block from the theater!

I was so mad for the movies that with rare exception I was usually the first person in line at the Avalon box office nearly every Sunday noon from 1953 until 1964 when I graduated from Bay View High. This did not go unnoticed by Tony Laporte, who often arrived to find me standing alone waiting for the box office to open a half-hour hence. There was something about walking into that cavernous emptiness and having my pick of the seats. I always sat about a dozen rows from the screen, the better to be enveloped by the movie experience.

Now you must understand that this majestic alcazar with spiral pillars, life-size statues, crystal lobby chandeliers, and a massive curved staircase leading up to its balconies, had more than one sort of magical grip on my senses. To begin with, my father’s employer, Nordberg Machinery, held a family day at the Avalon nearly every Christmas. The employees and their kids would show up and a party of sorts would ensue with the management distributing door prizes to the wives and candy baskets to the kids. After about an hour of that an amazing thing would happen. The parents would all leave and the kids would be left in the theater for six hours of uninterrupted cartoons! Yippee! Somewhere along the line, I stopped being a kid but I never lost my affection for motion pictures. I had to be there. Every week.

At mezzanine level over the staircase, glass double doors lead from the business office onto a miniature observation balcony overlooking the lobby. From there Tony, the manager, could survey his domain. Tony was a charismatic guy, a great source of conjecture among my friends. We thought Tony dressed like a movie gangster. He was short but stocky. His dark pinstripe suits were imposing. Add to this Tony’s fedora and his stubby cigar, always jutting out of the corner of his mouth.

Then figure in the Dragon Lady! That’s what the older guys called her. She was either Tony’s wife or girlfriend, no one knew, but she was stunning! I thought she was a ringer for Katy Jurado, who played Helen Ramirez in “High Noon.” But I was smitten and nearsighted, so… When she appeared on that little balcony, all eyes turned heavenward. She wore black slinky evening gowns! With her jet black hair and full crimson lips, she was the crown jewel of the Avalon. Guys would actually loiter in the lobby in the hope that she might appear during intermission!

I could not then have predicted that in my fifteenth summer, I would find myself fidgeting in her presence. One Sunday, as I approached the ticket booth a half-hour before opening, Tony drove up and came right over to me. He said, “Hey, kid. You’re here first in line every week for years, right?” I nodded. “One of your pals says you’re an artist, right?” I nodded again. “He says you’re a real good artist. I have a job for you. Come on in. The movie’s free for you tonight.” And there we were in the theater office â€" the artist, the gangster, and the Dragon Lady! I was so intimidated that I could barely focus on the job offer. I was sure they both knew that I was forcing myself not to look at her. On their private observation balcony she was distantly beautiful, but up close she was flawless!

That’s how I got to paint two 75-foots (?) murals on either side of the theater walls above the walkways leading to the private boxes. That job granted my fondest wish many times over. For two weeks I spent every weekday completely alone in the Avalon. It was wonderful. I listened to Paul Glass on a small, portable Victrola and worked on a ladder thirty feet above the floor, slopping fluorescent paint onto the walls just below the arcing curve of the theater’s ceiling, a starry night of blinking lights against a blue-black field. I was Michaelangelo, at least until the clean-up crew arrived.

It was Tony who suggested a floral motif (I chose Narcissus flowers) and he also requested the flourescent paint. Maybe he was influenced by the Hippie movement as someone suggested above, but it would be a few years before I grew into that myself. At the time, I hung with the older beat generation that frequented the Cafe Unique or the Avant Garde, sipping Latte and snapping fingers to Dave Van Ronk or Spider John Koerner. I remember that the “black light paint” was a challenge unto itself, since it required that I first had to apply brilliant white underpaint to everything that was intended to glow. Without a white base the Day-Glo simply would not glow. But this also facilitated the final color paint process because anything that accidentally dripped onto the black wall would not reflect light! During that two weeks the theater’s side lights were left off during projection so as to subdue the odd appearance of the unfinished portions of the work.

I will never forget my first few minutes alone in the theater. It was scary. I had the keys to the boxes over the stage area where I would be storing my painting supplies during the course of the job. I remember unlocking the door and feeling about for a light switch. When I flicked the toggle I was standing face-to-face with a life-size statue of a goddess holding her hand out to me. I just about came out of my skin! I let her hold my brushes during the course of the job!

Perhaps the best thing about that episode in my early career was that it lead directly to my career. Tony allowed a young artist to see how it might be possible to get “there” from “here”. And now I am there. I eschew the Day-Glo paints now in favor of oils, and I have just retired from a three-decade career in graphic design and illustration to return to my original pursuit of fine art. With any luck I may someday catch up with it. See my work online at Hypermodern Realism.

The Avalon holds only fond memories for me and I was disturbed by the newspaper clipping sent to me by a caring aunt who remembered my fondness for the flicks. I stumbled onto this site by entering “avalon theater” and “tony” into Google’s search fields. I’m going to check in here from time to time to follow the ongoing drama and I wish the best to those whose efforts are aimed at restoring the Avalon to some semblance of its original grandeur. In an era when shoebox Bauhaus theater architecture literally screams into the ears of its older attendees, “Get out of here! FLEE! Go home!”, I can only remember the wonderful memories I have of that extraordinary venue. I even remember cuddling a few early girlfriends there, trying to get some extra mileage through boasting about my decorative efforts. The murals looked OK (if eerie) from the theater floor. Up close they were quite the sloppy mess. Before my too-dazzling murals, the standard joke was to point up at the stars and tell your date that, “This theater’s so poor, they can’t afford a ceiling!” Gradually, that poor joke became fact.

dnieziejko on November 13, 2003 at 5:10 pm

Fact is that the owner never seriously intended to sell the Avalon in the first place. If he was ever interested in doing so, he would have acted in good faith numerous times to take offers that have been given multiple times. He, as well as his friends have a hidden agenda. What he has done is abuse the good people of the community – with the help of others – to politicize this into a issue that he aims to benefit from as well as his partners. Many of these people are interested in the almighty buck and political gain and don the mask of stewardship. Just remember people: if you lie with snakes you’re likely to get bitten.

unknown on November 5, 2003 at 11:01 am

I am a lifelong Bay View resident and used to frequent this amazing theater weekly as a kid. As soon as I heard it was going to be turned into office space, I flipped. If anyone is interested, thier is a city hall meeting today at 2 o'clock, 809 N Broadway. The alderwoman and county executives are trying to have the Avalon made a Milwaukee county Historical site and thereby prevent any hasty sale or destruction of it untill a deal can be made. Saving the Avalon is of the utmost importance to the young and old inhabitants of Bay View. Myself and many others are very willing to voulenteer our time in any fashion needed to save the Avalon. If anyone has any ideas or their is anything we can do please call Chris Boziel (414)559-2115 or email me at

gobayview on October 30, 2003 at 10:30 pm

A committee composed of members of the Bay View Business Association (from the Milwaukee neighborhood where the Avalon is located) stepped in to temporarily halt the deconstruction. They have initiated and are mediating discussions between Ellsworth and Jay Hollis, refurbisher of the nearby Rosebud Draughthouse, regarding potential purchase of the property. At a hastily called community meeting to address saving the theater, Alderwoman Susan Breier stated her intent to support future efforts of Hollis to reinvent the venue. It will be interesting to see how this issue develops.

BobJ on October 29, 2003 at 10:59 pm

I renovated the doomed West Theatre, in Green Bay, in 1987. I called it the West Pitcher Show. I had previously owned and operated 3 theatres and started a new concept for them back in 1977. They were very successful. All of these theatres were closed and given up, by their former owners, all were corporately owned. I was the first in the country, to incorporate a restaurant/bar/cinema concept, in existing theatres. I have never had a violation with my beverage license, the police, or the health dept., in over 20 years of operation. I am interested in talking to anyone that has interest in this Milwaukee project, or any other theatre that can be saved .

JimRankin on October 29, 2003 at 9:36 am

I have copied my post here from the www.CinemaTour.com site’s FORUM, and believe that it will be of help to any who want to rescue the AVALON, especially Mr. Davidson, for whom I cannot find a contact number in the Directory here.

“It was good of Mike Garay to post the Journal-Sentinel article about the seemingly doomed AVALON, a charming 1600-seater with small balcony, Spanish atmospheric with a large Wurlitzer. I panicked at that article too, but it was not entirely unexpected, since I had attended the city’s common council committee meeting called to grant or refuse a liquor (beer) license to the theatre. A man who turned out to be a surrogate for the owners was applying even though the owners had been refused before. The committee refused again because the neighbors in this older section of Milwaukee, called Bay View, are very nervous about rowdy rock concert goers wandering drunk down the narrow side streets of this 1850s area in search of their cars (there is no parking lot nearby). Now the county supervisor for the area has called a last minute meeting at the Beulah Brinton Community Center not too far from the AVALON. It will be at 7PM on the night of Wednesday, the 29th, at 2555 S. Bay St. (at Russell St.). He and others will speak of some last minute measures under way to forestall the owners already begun conversion of the property (they have removed the name signs above the marquee, as well as removed the box office, but it hadn’t been used for 20 years anyway.) The original single screen was not successful even when a makeshift screening room was created back stage without permit by placing fold-out seats behind the speakers and a plywood partition and punching a hole in the wall of one of the dressing rooms to make it into a backstage projection room. Not a nice place, but the owners were trying to pay the bills. Now, that area’s county supervisor, Tony Zielinski (.com), says that the owners (Craig Ellsworth 1-414-852-3555 and Greg Cepanica) want about a million for the theatre, its 19 second story apartments, and seven store fronts. I personally think that they will settle for a LOT less. The city is considering a Tax Incremental Financing district be set up to aid it, and it is possible that any new owner will be given the coveted ‘liquor’ license if a proposal includes some way to avoid rowdy crowds looking for parked cars. If someone wealthy enough is to step forward, he might be wealthy enough to buy some surrounding property and create a parking lot for around 500-700 cars. These measures have already been discussed with the present owners, but they have not been forthcoming, nor easy to work with! Anyone dealing with them must proceed with tact, patience, caution, and a THICK skin.

The 20-some rank Wurlitzer in there is owned by the Dairyland Theatre Organ Soc., and they would no doubt like to keep it there and present the concerts twice yearly that they used to. I have already mailed three letters of inquiry and a proposal for a ‘Friends-of-the-Avalon’ group to be set up there to construct and replace the artificial foliage that once graced the balustrades above the exit aisle arcades, but got no reply to my detailed package of instructions and samples. It is a nice ‘stars and clouds’ auditorium of great intimacy under the still twinkling ‘stars’, but it needs attention, an owner not too overly concerned about profits in the short term, and a willingness to work with the alderwoman as well as the county supervisor and business leaders there. Certainly a challenge, but also a reward. See the AVALON’s article at cinematreasures.org to get more details. Jim" () member: www.HistoricTheatres.org

unknown on October 26, 2003 at 11:43 am

As a niece of Anthony Laporte who was an owner of the Avalon from approx. 1951 to 1971, our family is saddened by the potential of losing that treasured space. My grandmother, my mother and my sisters often reminisced about going to see first run pictures like “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”, “Mary Poppins” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” while I was growing up in Bay View. My mother still speaks of her memories of working the ticket booth when she was 15.

unknown on October 15, 2003 at 10:35 am

My earliest movie-going memories were of the Avalon. I was so impressed as a child by the twinkling stars on the ceiling (hey, who am I kidding, I still am). I guess I was lucky to be able to say goodbye on a visit to the area back in ‘98…

Patrick Crowley on October 1, 2002 at 7:02 pm

I love this theater!