GRANADA Theatre; Racine, Wisconsin.

LouRugani on July 7, 2026 at 3:20 pm

Family aims to restore old movie theater - Granada was constructed in Racine in 1928 (By Michael Burke, The Racine Journal Times)

In the late 1920s, people of this city were constructing lavish movie theaters as fast as Walgreens were built in two years, and most neighborhoods had one nearby.

But by the 1970s, another generation of residents was demolishing the old movie houses like they were rat-infested eyesores.

Today it’s nearly impossible to find an old theater here that’s both semi-intact and feasible to restore. However, one comes close.

The Namowicz family of Warren Industries has bought and wants to restore the former Granada Theater, 1921 Charles St. “We want to bring back the glamour” of the 1928 theater, said David Namowicz.

Given acceptable restoration costs, the owners envision possibly turning the building into a banquet hall and/or events center.

It was Namowicz who first explored the old building - last used by its Illinois owner for storage and saw its potential. Steven, Thomas, Carolyn and Michael Namowicz went along with the idea, and the family bought the structure for $150,000.

David Namowicz indicated the theater lobby’s ceiling and said, “That’s what caught my eye.”

Its considerable architectural detail is all there - just as much of the plaster work throughout the building remains. The main original features missing are the stage and the sloping floor. A poured, level concrete floor forever obscures the original floor.

However, much of the stage house remains, including the large proscenium arch and the fly loft, just under the ceiling, which is 48 feet tall there. From the loft, workers would haul away scenery used in the vaudeville plays, said theater historian Fred Hermes of Racine.

Hermes said five local theaters were built in about 1927-28: the Granada, Capitol, Majestic, Crown and Venetian. “There was a tremendous interest in silent films,” he said, and vaudeville was still popular entertainment.

The Granada Theater, which operated until 1961, differentiated itself from other local theaters with its Spanish theme, “so it was kind of gaudy,” Namowicz said.

In the early years, for 15 cents a person, one could go to one of those grand theaters “and be treated like a queen,” Hermes said. “It was just as much a treat to see the inside as it was to see the movie.”

Among local movie theaters. the Granada wasn’t one of the most opulent. It was “a little bit below the middle,” Hermes said. However, by today’s standards, it’s a delight, with 24-foot ceilings in the seating area, terrazzo floors, and intricate plaster work adorning the walls and ceilings.

“It’ll never be like the Venetian and Rialto, Namowicz said, "but it’s definitely gorgeous.”

The building even has the original fireplace in the lobby. “I found (it) last week Namowicz said, hidden behind one of the walls that was added later to carve up the theater for later uses.

The Granada fared better in its decades of disuse than most local theaters. Most obviously, it wasn’t razed. Second, its domed roof undoubtedly helped ward off water damage. Finally, whoever erected interior walls did so respectfully, causing very slight damage to the structure.

“We got lucky here, because so far the damage is nominal,” Namowicz said.

When the old theater went on the market, he said, other bids came from a print shop and an auto repair business. Namowicz and his family didn’t think either one came close to realizing the Granada’s potential.

In addition to the theater itself, they bought the adjacent building at 1925 Charles St. All their plans are predicated on a restoration cost they can afford but if it does happen, that next-door building will play a part.

To run a banquet hall/events center they’d need a large kitchen, and to meet present building codes they’d need new bathrooms. They could put the kitchen and bathrooms in the adjacent building with a doorway in between, “so we don’t damage the theater, Namowicz explained.

“What I really need right now,” he said, “I need someone with some pictures” from the Granada’s early years.

If the costs aren’t prohibitive and the restoration can be done, the Granada will become a tangible link to a bygone era In Racine.

Namowicz said “It’s definitely going to give the city of Racine the feeling for what we have lost.”