Shouldn’t Cinema Treasures list The Oriental as “closed” and “being restored” rather than “open” since it’s been closed for restoration work since March 13, 2020 (today is August 4, 2020)? I’d be bummed if I were a movie palace fan visiting Milwaukee with visiting The Oriental being a priority (in an alternate reality where flight travel and going to the movies remain normal activities…)
The link below is an article with an excellent slide show that illustrates some amazing cinematic loving care going on at The Oriental Theatre…
I went to The Oriental for the first time in 1980, as a juvenile delinquent film fan with a new driver’s license, accompanied by my friend Karen, my co-pilot and fellow enthusiast of alternative and subversive cinema, to see a double feature of Night of the Living Dead and Eraserhead. In 1980, the number of everyday people realizing that cinema was more than just a disposable medium able to generate profit and/or be an entertaining distraction was about to really become massive. That double feature at the Oriental was an overwhelming five hours from which I will never recover, validating my view that film is a creative artform with history and cultural significance worth studying, as a fan or student. It also emboldened my belief that I could actually make a living as a filmmaker.
I’m so proud of Milwaukee’s generosity, the dedication of Milwaukee Film’s board and members, and the craftspeople responsible for making The Oriental shine like it did when she opened a century ago. A rare, happy instance of an architectural preservation scheme that not only occurs, but provides a place to inspire dreams.
Shouldn’t Cinema Treasures list The Oriental as “closed” and “being restored” rather than “open” since it’s been closed for restoration work since March 13, 2020 (today is August 4, 2020)? I’d be bummed if I were a movie palace fan visiting Milwaukee with visiting The Oriental being a priority (in an alternate reality where flight travel and going to the movies remain normal activities…)
The link below is an article with an excellent slide show that illustrates some amazing cinematic loving care going on at The Oriental Theatre…
I went to The Oriental for the first time in 1980, as a juvenile delinquent film fan with a new driver’s license, accompanied by my friend Karen, my co-pilot and fellow enthusiast of alternative and subversive cinema, to see a double feature of Night of the Living Dead and Eraserhead. In 1980, the number of everyday people realizing that cinema was more than just a disposable medium able to generate profit and/or be an entertaining distraction was about to really become massive. That double feature at the Oriental was an overwhelming five hours from which I will never recover, validating my view that film is a creative artform with history and cultural significance worth studying, as a fan or student. It also emboldened my belief that I could actually make a living as a filmmaker.
I’m so proud of Milwaukee’s generosity, the dedication of Milwaukee Film’s board and members, and the craftspeople responsible for making The Oriental shine like it did when she opened a century ago. A rare, happy instance of an architectural preservation scheme that not only occurs, but provides a place to inspire dreams.
https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2020/07/30/oriental-theatre-continues-renovation-work.html
The building was originally a Topps Department Store, sort of like a KMart. I think the theaters were added in the mid ‘70s.