Sadly, this wonderful old theatre has already seen the wrecking ball. The entire auditorium was demolished and removed several years ago leaving only the “storefront” lobby area standing. While it may be possible to restore this small lobby area to it’s original art deco lustre, it may not be realistic to do so. What is left is so deteriorated and in disrepair that it simply may be easier to eliminate it as well and start from scratch.
I was the projectionist at this theatre from roughly 1979 to mid 1981 or so. Running the twin Simplex-XL’s with Peerless Magnarcs was one of the funnest times I’ve had. I actually worked 7 nights a week and loved every minute of it. Even back then, this theatre was in a sad state of disrepair. After decades of use and roof leaks, it showed it’s age even in those years. A couple of attempts to fix it up in the eighties apparently wasn’t enough to keep it going. Lake Mills is a small town and support for the local theatre was lacking. New theatres in nearby large communities seemed to draw most of the movie going crowd.
I’m cheering for the new effort to restore an active theatre in my hometown! When it opens, I’ll be there for the opening screening. It would be super to have the old place restored, but I suspect there will be many smiles in a new modern movie house too.
Sadly, this wonderful old theatre has already seen the wrecking ball. The entire auditorium was demolished and removed several years ago leaving only the “storefront” lobby area standing. While it may be possible to restore this small lobby area to it’s original art deco lustre, it may not be realistic to do so. What is left is so deteriorated and in disrepair that it simply may be easier to eliminate it as well and start from scratch.
I was the projectionist at this theatre from roughly 1979 to mid 1981 or so. Running the twin Simplex-XL’s with Peerless Magnarcs was one of the funnest times I’ve had. I actually worked 7 nights a week and loved every minute of it. Even back then, this theatre was in a sad state of disrepair. After decades of use and roof leaks, it showed it’s age even in those years. A couple of attempts to fix it up in the eighties apparently wasn’t enough to keep it going. Lake Mills is a small town and support for the local theatre was lacking. New theatres in nearby large communities seemed to draw most of the movie going crowd.
I’m cheering for the new effort to restore an active theatre in my hometown! When it opens, I’ll be there for the opening screening. It would be super to have the old place restored, but I suspect there will be many smiles in a new modern movie house too.