Oshkosh Theatre
427 N. Main Street,
Oshkosh,
WI
54901
427 N. Main Street,
Oshkosh,
WI
54901
5 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Architects: Alexander Hamilton Bauer, Gustave A. Dick
Firms: Dick & Bauer Inc.
Functions: Retail
Styles: Italian Renaissance
Previous Names: Orpheum Theatre
Nearby Theaters
The Orpheum Theatre was opened in 1914. It was remodeled by architectural firm Dick & Bauer Inc. and renamed Oshkosh Theatre on February 5, 1927, reopening with Doris Kenyon in “Ladies at Play”. It had 1,405 seats and was equipped with a Barton 3 manual 15 ranks theatre organ. It was operated by Fox Badger Theatre Corp, a subsidiary of Fox Wisconsin Amusement Corp. It was closed in 1948 and became a hardware store.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 8 comments)
On the postcard linked above, on the other side of Main Street you can see the Hotel Raulf/Strand Theater (the tallest building on the postcard).
This theatre opened on February 5th, 1927.
You can see the grand opening ad at http://en.calameo.com/books/00024792886c1b88cf364
In the book “Historic Movie Theatres of Wisconsin” (by Konrad Schiecke) the address for the Oshkosh Theatre is listed as 427 N. Main Street (on this page it is listed as 157 N. Main St.). This would put the theatre a few buildings away from the Time Theatre. This address is currently a True Value Hardware Store. I’ve uploaded a recent photo of this store.
Bruce is correct. Oshkosh renumbered the lots on many of its streets, including Main Street, in 1957. 157 N. Main was the Oshkosh Theatre’s old address. 427 N. Main is the modern address.
Volume 3 of a 1994 publication called History of the City of Oshkosh, by Clarence Jungwirth, has a chapter about the theaters in Oshkosh, and it says that the Oshkosh Theatre was on the site of an earlier house called the Orpheum. The text is a bit ambiguous, so I don’t know if the Oshkosh was entirely new construction or was an extensive remodeling of the Orpheum. There are photos of both theaters, the Orpheum on page 33 and the Oshkosh on page 37. A digital scan of the chapter can be seen online at this link, courtesy of the Oshkosh Public Library.
The Oshkosh Theatre is on a list of the works of the Milwaukee architectural firm of Dick & Bauer that was published in the October 25, 1930, issue of Exhibitors Herald-World.
(THE DAILY NORTHWESTERN, SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 5, 1927) “At 6:OO p.m. Oshkosh starts its triumphal celebration. On the hour the doors of this new palace of wonders swings open and this city takes its rightful place among the other cities of the world, theatrically. Your new theater is a credit to Oshkosh, a monument to civic growth, a mark of firm faith in your future. Come to the opening tonight! It will be an occasion of delightful memory that will live with you always. 2,000 seats assure comfort in surroundings of unmatched splendor. A program of highest entertainment value awaits you. Look — Unit No. 1 "The Voice of the Theater”, A Unique Screen Welcome & Unit No. 2, Overture “Bits of Hits” Introducing the Saxonians, Art Hastings, Directing. Unit No. 3, Stage and Screen Novella “The Blue Boy”, An Epic in Color Film With Guila Bustabo, Wonder Child Violinist. Unit No. 4, “Here, There and Everywhere” with the Saxe Cameraman. Unit No. 5, Jack McConnell."
The First Feature Film To Be Demonstrated On Opening Was “Ladies At Play” Which Is Listed As Unit #7, With Unit #8 Being An Aesop’s Fable Short After The Feature.
A bit of trivia. This organ installation was the closest one to the Barton factory, being just to the East of the factory, separated by the SOO line railroad tracks.