RKO Mainstreet Theatre
200 Main Street,
Racine,
WI
53403
200 Main Street,
Racine,
WI
53403
1 person
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: RKO
Architects: Cornelius Ward Rapp, George W. Leslie Rapp
Firms: Rapp & Rapp
Styles: Neo-Classical
Previous Names: Orpheum Theatre, National Theatre
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A handsome theatre with a corner entrance and a number of box seats circling the auditorium. It was located on the northwest corner of State Street and Main Street in Racine. The Orpheum Theatre opened in April 29, 1912 as a vaudeville theatre. It was home to the Racine Theater Guild between its regular film programs. On September 7, 1930 it reopened as the RKO Mainstreet Theatre with Sue Carol in “She’s My Weakness” on the screen and vaudeville on the stage.
After it was closed in late-1951, the local newspaper reported “wild vandalism” within (things like loosened radiators, discharged fire extinguishers and broken plaster which probably looked worse than what it really was), and despite a few pleas to rethink the situation, the pro-demolition momentum won out and the still-solid RKO Mainstreet Theatre was flattened in 1959.
The local paper made light of the event by showing the wrecking process along with a still-attached sign below the rounded marquee reading “Smashing Adventure”.
Contributed by
Louis Rugani
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(Racine Journal Times, Friday, July 18, 1958)
City Order May Doom Old Theater; Investigation Bares Wild Vandalism
Racine’s Building Inspector Peter Brown today signed an order which may remove from the Downtown area the 47-year old Mainstreet Theater building at State and Main streets.
The order was signed after an inspection of the wrecked interior of the vacant structure was made Thursday afternoon by the Racine Fire Department inspection bureau, the state deputy fire marshal, city attorney and a police department technician.
After viewing the ruins of what was once one of the best stage houses in the midwest, Thomas P. Corbett, city attorney, said the interior was “an indescribably chaotic mess.”
Slashed by Prowlers
During the last seven years in which the theater has stood vacant vandals have ripped fixtures and furnishings from the floors and walls and thrown them into a heap in the main floor seating area. Stage curtains hang in shreds, slashed by prowlers who have raided the building on numerous occasions, despite attempts to board up windows, doors and other openings to keep out trespassers.
Dismayed by the extent of destruction, Corbett said, “I didn’t believe we had people in town who so wantonly destroy property.”
State Deputy Fire Marshal Joseph Farrar described the interior damage as the worst case of vandalism he had ever seen.
The city building inspector’s order directs the owner, Louis Bass of Milwaukee, to remove combustible materials, clear the blocked aisles and generally clean up the wreckage within 10 days and to comply with State Industrial Commission orders for correcting code violations before Oct. 1. The commission issued its orders in April, 1957. To date no steps have been taken to comply and the building has not reopened.
As an alternative, the order directs that the building be razed and removed.
Farrar said the building was a potential fire hazard and a danger to other downtown structures. He said the present condition also presented a needless danger to firemen who might be called to fight a fire within the building. He cited the aisles blocked by debris and stairways also obstructed.
The inspection party found evidence of previous small fires and several brooms evidently used to stamp out the fires. Footprints indicated the building had been entered by “a number” of persons.
Included in the inspection party were Asst. Fire Chief Matt Flynn, head of the fire department inspection bureau and Police Department technician Everette Smith.
Built in 1911
The Mainstreet Theater was built in 1911 at a cost of $60,000 by the Racine Investment Co., Martin J. Gillen, secretary. The company leased the building to the Orpheum Amusement Co., and in 1941 sold it to Len Brown for $35,000. Brown sold the building for $65,000 in 1945 to Michalopoulos & Parris, who after three years sold it for $120,000 to the present owner. The building was leased for $10,000 a year to Sam Kaufman of Milwaukee. Movies and several stage shows were presented in the theater until late 1951 when the building was closed.
Eariy in 1954 the Racine Theater Guild explored the possibility of acquiring the building which was available for $60,000. However, closer investigation revealed extensive renovations would be necessary and the project was abandoned.
This year, Bass offered the property to the city for $25,000. He suggested the site might be used for a central fire station, new police department headquarters or parking. On recommendation of the city plan commission, the offer was turned down.
(Captions follow for four photos)
“"Worst case of vandalism I’ve ever seen,“ is the way Deputy State Fire Marshal Joseph Farrar described the devastated interior of the long vacant Mainstreet Theater, 200 Main St. The fire marshal inspected the building Thursday with members of the Racine Fire Department inspection bureau, City Atty. Thomas P. Corbett and Police Technician Everette Smith. First photo is overall view of the destruction wrought by intruders who have forced their way into the building. In second photo is closeup of the radiators vandals hurled from first and second balconies into the main floor seating. Included in the ruins are seats from the balconies, equipment from the projection rooms, handrails from the balconies and boxes and smashed light bulbs. In third photo are several closeup views of the wanton damage: plaster and lathes ripped from aisle wall, hole chopped in balcony floor, glass smashed in nearly every door and window, and uprooted radiators that failed to fall.
(Racine Journal Times editorial, March 4, 1954)
Must Face Cold Reality In Theater Project Here
By interesting coincidence an announcement was made in Milwaukee this week that one landmark of show business in southern Wisconsin is to be destroyed, while there is talk of reviving another, the Mainstreet Theater in Racine.
Owners of the old Davidson, one of the last legitimate theaters in this part of the state, revealed that the historic house will be razed soon to make way for a department store parking building. The Davidson’s demise will leave only the Pabst Theater, which is even older and more rickety, as a suitable place for legitimate drama, orchestra, ballet, opera and musical productions.
Racine’s Mainstreet, another theater in the “opera house” tradition, (although it was a movie house for most of its later years), seemed headed for the same fate. It has been closed for some time, and it is not in excellent condition. However, during the last few weeks there has been increasing interest in reviving the old building as a sort of cooperative civic theater. A recent meeting on the proposal to re-open the theater, sponsored by the Junior Chamber of Commerce, showed a surprising amount of interest from groups and individuals who are to study the possibilities.
But before civic enthusiasm project gets too hot, there should be a note of warning sounded: It will take more than enthusiasm and wishful thinking to reopen the old theater, put it in condition to operate and keep it open. It will take planning, organization, and hard, cold cash. How much of the latter no one knows accurately, and neither does anyone know where that cash is coming from. There has been some talk of $100,000 or $125,000 to buy the building and put it into condition, but that figure is not yet even an educated guess. The total cost will depend on a structural inspection of the building, as well as an inventory of its assets and needs. A realistic financial appraisal of needs should be the first step in the project.
(Racine Journal Times, January 13, 1950)
Downtown Theater Changes Hands
Two Ohio men announced today that they have bought the Mainstreet Theater business and will attempt to bring back vaudeville to Racine.
New owners of the Mainstreet are Joseph J. Lee of Dayton and Alvin Slutz of Cincinnati. They bought the Mainstreet from Standard Theaters of Milwaukee. The building itself, however, continues to be owned by the Advance-Mainstreet Corp., also of Milwaukee.
Lee and Slutz said they will retain the same name on theater, but are changing the policy to make the Mainstreet a family theater, with pictures suitable for family entertainment. They will introduce vaudeville with programs twice a month. The first vaudeville bill will be presented on Jan. 27, 28 and 29. Jerome (Jerry) Slutz, who has been managing a drive-in theater in Cincinnati, will be the new
manager of the Mainstreet. He is the son of Alvin Slutz. His father has been in the theater business since 1914. The new owners said they would paint, redecorate and renovate the Mainstreet. They will make the theater available on short notice to civic organizations planning dramatic or musical entertainment.
(April 15, 1912)
Central Association To Auction Off Boxes for New Theater Opening
Members of Racine lodge, No. 152, B. P. O. Elks, will not open the new Orpheum theater in the Bate block, the project having been abandoned.
Arrangements had been made between the Elks and management of the new house that the place be opened with one of the leading attractions, perhaps the John Drew company. After every effort had been exhausted, the committee of Elks visiting Chicago and other cities, they found that it was not possible to get a suitable attraction and so it was decided to drop the project.
The house is expected to be opened on May 20, with high grade vaudeville attractions. There is a project on foot to donate all of the boxes in the house to the Central association, the boxes to be auctioneered off, and the money to be devoted to the association. When a definite date is decided upon for the opening, more particulars will be given to the public. In the meantime the finishing touches are being made on the interior of the play house and it will be one of the most attractive in the state of Wisconsin.
(Racine Journal Times, May 6, 1948)
Theater To Bring Stage Shows Here
Under the new policy of operation under Standard Theaters management, stage shows will be introduced at the Mainstreet Theater starting May 13. Radio, stage, and screen personalities will be booked for performances, according to Francis Schlax, southern district manager for the new operators. Extensive remodeling and redecorating are under way at the theater, in which new carpeting and new equipment will be installed. Bud Nelson has been named Mainstreet manager by Standard Theaters Corporation, which operates 25 theaters in key Wisconsin cities, including the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee. L. F. Gran, Milwaukee, is president of the organization.
April 17, 1936: Car Upsets and Lands in Ditch; Driver Hurt
When Francis Schlax, 4815 Twentieth avenue, Kenosha, lost control of his auto on Highway 38 near Seven Mile road yesterday afternoon it darted across the roadway, struck a guywire, crashed into a pile of rocks and bounded 60 feet into a ditch. Mr. Schlax suffered a fractured arm and lacerations of the head. He is at St. Mary’s hospital. The car rolled over three or four times, it was reported to Undersheriff Roscoe Pease and Deputy Allen Healy, and came to a stop with the front end of the auto buried in the ground.
https://books.google.com/books?id=YN9aAAAAYAAJ&dq=construction%20news%20september%201912&pg=RA7-PA12#v=onepage&q=construction%20news%20september%201912&f=false
From CONSTRUCTION NEWS, September 28, 1912: “Two theaters, one at Racine and the other at Madison, Wis., each bearing the name of Orpheum (1), have recently been completed and opened to the public. … The building at Madison is a theater building exclusively, while that at Racine is much larger and contains a number of offices as well as the theater. While differing widely in general plan the two buildings are of the same type of construction, the theater interiors are designed along similar lines, and a description of the construction and architectural treatment of one applies generally to the other. … These theaters are similar to the Class 5 theater, as defined by the building ordinance of the city of Chicago, and each has a total seating capacity of about 1,500. The walls are of brick, resting on reinforced concrete spread foundations. Floors are of reinforced concrete. They are finished in most part with a cement surface, but a liberal use is also made of marble tile for this purpose. Roofs are of flat arch construction supported on steel trusses. The buildings are fireproof throughout with the exception of the cantilever supports of the mezzanine floor and balconies, which are of the slow burning mill construction. The interior finish generally is in ornamental plaster. … The mezzanine floor, containing eleven divisions or compartments, is a distinctive feature of these theaters, suggested by the latest practice in London and on the continent of Europe. This practice is unusual in America. … This arrangement of the mezzanine floor, where adopted, has been found to be a popular feature, since each division of the mezzanine floor has many of the advantages of a box without the corresponding expense. Four proscenium boxes are provided. The mezzanine floor is reached by stairways from the foyer on the main floor. The balcony is so arranged as to provide practically both a balcony and a gallery, but without a sharp division between the two. The lower section is entered through tunnels, while the upper section is entered at a higher level from the rear. The two sections are separate only as to means of entrance and exit, the aisles of one section, as is common in larger theaters, being offset in location with reference to those of the other section. The architectural treatment of both buildings is in the style of Louis XIV. … The general contractors of the Racine theater were the Geo. J. Hoffman Company of South Bend, Ind.”
This reopened as the RKO Main Street on September 7th, 1930. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
Grand opening ad from April 27th, 1927 in the photo section and below:
Found on Newspapers.com