Majestic Theatre
208 Steele Street,
Algoma,
WI
54201
208 Steele Street,
Algoma,
WI
54201
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The Majestic Theatre was open March 20, 1914 with a silent movie starring Mary Pickford. Seating listed at 320. The movie theatre was the major form of entertainment in this small fishing town. The theatre was located on Steele Street at Second Street. It was later enlarged when 225-seats were added and a theatre pipe organ was installed. The building also housed a dance hall and bowling alley. It was designed by the architects of two theatres in Green Bay.
The Majestic Theatre closed in the mid-1960’s and became a bar. It was demolished in 1972 and the site today is a parking lot for a Citizens Bank which has been built on part of the site.
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Chuck
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The MAJESTIC Theatre opened on March 20, 1914 by David Burke with a Mary Pickford feature and the play “Quo Vadis” in eight acts. Its front was mission brick with 13 electric lights. Dark oak covered the outer lobby which had a natural wood foyer. A French beveled mirror was at the exit. There were 320 seats, a 12' x 20' stage with a 12' x 14' proscenium and three drops portraying a street, a garden and a parlor. The booth was 8' x 10'. At its opening there was also a ballroom, bowling alleys and a separate stage for class plays and community events, all closed by the 1940s. A dairy promotion allowed free admission to those bringing in enough red handles from Pleck’s milk.
In September of 1925 the MAJESTIC added 225 seats and had a total of five bowling alleys. The stage was enlarged, dressing rooms were added, projection lenses were replaced and a new organ was installed. The Wednesday evening shows offered glassware along with the five-cent admission.
Algoma’s MAJESTIC Theatre was demolished for the rebuilding of the Community State Bank.
To add a bit more information, The Majestic was a single screen theater in the 1960s and demolished in 1972. As a child, I lived in Algoma from 1964 through 1970, and my first movie going experience was seeing “Goldfinger” at The Majestic in October 1965 (I was 5 years old); this meant “Goldfinger” was exhibited nearly a year after it’s initial release. I recently spent several hours in the Algoma public library reviewing the microfiche of the local weekly paper, specifically looking for the ads for the Majestic. They exhibited each film for 1 week, with only weekend showings and the ticket prices were 35 cents for kids and 50 cents for adults. Mostly they showed just a single feature – with an occasional double feature. Rather oddly, the ads often declared there would not be a Friday showing.
This ad in the April 7, 1928 issue of Exhibitors Herald and Moving Picture World calls into question the 1925 date for the expansion of the Majestic: “FOR SALE— Majestic Building, Algoma, Wis.; 366-seat theatre, hall second floor; 3 bowling alleys (basement); will stand full investigation. Address Louis Hassberg, proprietor.”
The mention in Lou Rugani’s comment of free glassware with admission suggests that the expansion might have taken place in 1935, as it was during the depression period that theaters often began offering such premiums as an inducement to patrons.