Badger Theatre
421 Main Street,
Racine,
WI
53403
421 Main Street,
Racine,
WI
53403
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Saxe Amusement Enterprises
Previous Names: Bijou Theatre, State Theatre
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This was the 2nd Bijou Theatre to operate in Racine, WI. It was opened prior to 1913. The entrance to it was 20ft of frontage onto Main Street, with the main portion of the theatre to the rear adjacent to Lake Avenue. Located just north of the Merchants Hotel that became the location for the Arcades Building. On April 23, 1926 it was renamed State Theatre. On March 26 1941 it was renamed Badger Theatre.
Contributed by
Lou Rugani
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
This reopened as the State theatre. Grand opening ad in the photo section and below.
Found on Newspapers.com
Opened as State on April 23rd, 1926
and reopened as Badger on March 26th, 1941. Grand opening ad in the photo section.
(RACINE JOURNAL-TIMES, Friday, March 21, 1952)
Bloch Furniture Buys Badger Theater Building
The Badger Theater building, closed, with its equipment, by 421 Main St., has been sold to Warner Bros. theaters for $50, the Bloch Furniture Co. No sale price was announced. The theater chain bought the property from the Badger Improvement Co. after operating the movie house under lease for 14 years.
For nearly a half century the building has presented offerings of the vaudeville circuit and, more recently, the movies. A landmark in Racine’s amusement history, it is one of the oldest theaters in the city.
Theater Adjoins Blochs
The building adjoins the furniture store property. Max Grust, general manager of the furniture store said there were no immediate plans to use the building as part of the store, but that the auditorium space which fronts on Lake Ave. would probably be converted into a warehouse. A 10 foot wide frontage on Main St. was the entrance and lobby of the theater.
In 1947 the building was purchased, with its equipment, for $50,000 to $55,000, according to revenue stamps attached to the deed.
Closed Since June
Originally known as the Bijou, the theater was among the first downtown vaudeville houses in Racine. It was later renamed the State and then the Badger. For many years it was operated as a movie house by the late Owen McKivett. At one time it was owned by the Fox Midwesco Theater interests.
Warner Bros. Theaters closed the building last June. It was never reopened. It is the second downtown theater to be closed, and the first which will be converted to other uses.