New Badger Theatre
215 Grand Avenue,
Merrill,
WI
54452
215 Grand Avenue,
Merrill,
WI
54452
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The Badger Opera House opened its doors on June 6, 1904 with a live production of “The Charity Ball” starring the Florence Stone Company, and the Badger Theatre name was introduced in March 1910.
The Badger received several closures throughout 1956 and 1957, before closing as a movie theater that same year. The Badger became a special events house a short time afterward, presenting performing arts and special events for a couple years until February 5, 1959, when it closed for the final time with a performance of “Gypsy Troubadour” because of the building’s aging.
Scheicke’s address for the theater is wrong, but the remainder, including the opening year, appears to be correct. The apartment house now on the theater’s site (and adjacent lots) uses the address 215 Grand.
This is the description of the Badger Theatre in Konrad Scheicke’s Historic Movie Theatres of Wisconsin:“206 Grand Avenue. Open: 1904; closed: 1960; seats: 500 The Badger Hotel and Opera House opened on October 10, 1904, in a ‘flat iron design’ by architects Van Ryn and DeGelleke. Movies started to be presented around 1911. The entire structure was gutted by fire in 1967.”
Henry J. Van Ryn and Gerrit Jacob DeGelleke had one of Milwaukee’s leading architectural firms during the first third of the 20th century.
I wish to get in contact with Ken McIntyre, regarding the posted photos. I am compiling a history on J.P. Adler, who once owned the Badger Hotel & Theater…
More info and pics located in this Merrill document:
http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKCAMP1960-0974-003.aspx
JFK visited this town in 1960 and is shown in this picture outside the theater:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/103864335129507975/
The Badger Hotel and its associated theater were built in 1907 by August H. Stange, a local lumber magnate, banker, and sash and door manufacturer. The theater was originally called the Badger Opera House, and I’ve found references to it under that name published as late as 1924.
The Badger Opera House was listed in the 1913-1914 Cahn guide as a ground floor house with 988 seats, 402 of which were in the second balcony and gallery. These two sections were probably closed when the house converted to movies.
A ca.1915 photo of the auditorium of the Badger Opera House can bee seen on this web page.