Floodwood Theatre

The diminutive town of Floodwood, Minnesota was served by two movie houses over a 50 year period. The original movie house was the Grand (and possibly moved to a new location as the New Grand) in the silent era.

A new construction was built by Edward W. Johnson on July 18, 1931 housing the Floodwood Theater and opened with sound and projection installed by Northern Theatre Supply. He signed a contract to play RKO & Pathé films. In 1938, the venue received a modest upgrade making it look a bit more streamline moderne. At the 15-year leasing mark, Johnson bailed and Eino Antila took the venue onward.

In 1950, Josef Nehring took on the Floodwood Theatre. Mrs. C. Johnston was the next operator. (Hitch might have read her trade press praise of “Dial M for Murder”: “Suspense from start to finish. Perfect cast and direction!”) It appears to have closed in the early 1960s for a period and offered for sale.

The final operators - two sets of parents, the Louis Synder and the Gibb Polla families - let their children basically run the facility from 1962 to 1968 on a weekend-only policy and no summer shows. 16-year old Michael was projectionist; Jeffrey, 12, was custodian; Nancy, 13, in the ticket booth; Gerald, 10, as usher; and Kay and Carol - 7 and 5 - listed as “dusters” of seats. The best evidence from locals is closure in 1968. In that latter era of box office, “The Parent Trap” was one of the bigger successes at the Floodwood. The building was still standing and in use for other purposes in the 2020s.

Recent comments (view all 1 comments)

Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.