“Castles of Dreams” Fond du Lac’s Theaters, 1856-2001
by Heather Reader

It was a race to the finish. Just one block apart were emerging two buildings the likes of which the people of Fond du Lac had never seen. This was also the last year in which two Fond du Lac newspapers would compete for front-page news. ¹ Overall, it was a year of anticipation and excitement. On November 25, 1925, half the wait was over. On a space once comprised of simple downtown shops stood a masterpiece in beaux-arts design called Fischer’s Fond du Lac Theater Beautiful—“A Castle of Dreams.”

One block to the south, crews worked around the clock to prepare for the opening of Fond du Lac’s second great entertainment masterpiece, the Saxe Retlaw Theater and roof garden, on December 26, 1925. The debuts of both theaters were truly grand events. People from as far away as Milwaukee and Chicago made the trip to Fond du Lac to witness the spectacular openings, complete with dedication ceremonies and parades. The opening of the two theaters also marked the beginning of the end of an era of movie palaces. Just four short years later, Fond du Lac and the United States were plunged into economic depression.

Theaters have played an important role in the history and culture of Fond du Lac. They served as a source of entertainment long before radio, televisions, VCRs, and DVD players appeared. Theaters are places in which people from all walks of life can come together for a common purpose. What affected theaters on the national level eventually manifested itself on the local level. Fond du Lac’s theaters reflected the cultural, social and economic changes of their times.

Altogether, there have been twelve theaters in Fond du Lac, including two opera houses and one drive-in movie theater. Nine of the twelve theaters were built between 1856 and 1925. The remaining three opened in the latter half of the 20th century. Other multi-purpose facilities, including Darling’s Hall, built in 1847 on the corner of First and Main Streets; the Coliseum, built in 1906 on the southeast corner of Main and Merrill Streets; and Armory E, built in 1890 on the corner of East Second and Portland Streets, also provided similar functions, but they were not used exclusively for theatrical purposes. One key to the proliferation of Fond du Lac theaters was the invention of motion pictures, which led to the opening of nine of the twelve theaters in Fond du Lac. Ultimately, the history of Fond du Lac theaters was shaped largely by this medium. All but two of the theaters and other facilities showed some form of cinema.

Only four years after becoming a city, Fond du Lac obtained its first theater. In 1856, Amory Hall was opened on the west side of Main Street, just north of Sheboygan Street. ² Built by the prominent Amory family, it was a beautiful three-story building with a ballroom and a theater on the third floor with seating for 1200 people. It could hold nearly a quarter of Fond du Lac’s population at the time, for the 1860 census showed Fond du Lac boasted only 5450 people. For a number of years Amory Hall was hailed by local citizens as the finest building of its kind in Wisconsin. ³ The auditorium included a 38-foot dome that arched twelve feet to a skylight. When it was built, it “was regarded as the finest facility of its kind outside of Milwaukee.” ⁴ In March 1868 the hall was converted into an opera house. A new entrance was added, a circular gallery built, and the stage was made deeper. The original grand staircase was converted into an elite dining area. ⁵With the opening of the Patty House in 1868 on the northeast corner of Main and Sheboygan Streets, a short-lived walkway was built connecting the hotel and the Amory Hall ballroom. ⁶ Also in 1868, the world-renowned Tom Thumb and his wife, along with Commodore Nutt and Minnie Warren, visited Fond du Lac twice. ⁷ On January 3, 1883, after a few changes, the Opera House reopened as the Grand Opera House, featuring the Royal Hand Bellringers. ⁸

According to the 1912 History of Fond du Lac County, Amory Hall had been in disuse for many years. ⁹ When exactly the building ceased to function as a theater is not clear. The third floor of Amory Hall was destroyed in a fire in September 1937. ¹⁰

Also according to the 1912 History of Fond du Lac County, a second theater, known as Opera Hall, was built in Fond du Lac in 1865, at the head of Forest Street [now Avenue] on Main Street. ¹¹

The third theater in Fond du Lac, the Crescent Opera House, opened on June 7, 1887. It was located on the southeast corner of Second and Marr Streets. Not much was mentioned about the opera house in the newspapers of the time. The first show was “As You Like It” and featured “the renowned Modjeska with her incomparable company.” ¹² Nothing is mentioned of the theater’s interior, with the exception of a list of the prominent persons who occupied the upper and lower boxes. A contemporary photograph of the Crescent Opera House depicts a rather plain building, consisting of only a single floor, probably with an elevated roof to accommodate the boxes. ¹³ The newspaper, while describing the initial performance, indicated that, “The Opera House was well filled but not crowded, and the audience was made up of first-class citizens.” Many audience members were late to the show because, according to the newspaper, “Fond du Lac people have got into a habit of going late to entertainments.” Many people did not arrive until the second act. ¹⁴

Although not constructed as a movie theater, the Crescent Opera House did experiment with showing a few early films in the first decade of the 1900s. Fond du Lac native Langdon Divers recalls: “My folks took me when I was about four and I cried when a car splashed water on the screen and scared me. I can still see the water splash, after 96 years. And there were people all around us.” ¹⁵

The Crescent Opera House eventually became the Crescent Auto and Machine Company. There, on the night of September 25, 1908, a fire started that eventually destroyed several surrounding buildings and is now known in Fond du Lac as “the night the churches burned.” ¹⁶

The fourth theater built in Fond du Lac was the Idea Theater. Despite what was then described as the worst storm in the history of Fond du Lac, it successfully opened on June 5, 1905. The theater was located at 16-18 West First Street, across the street from what is now the Advocap building. On opening night, the playbill featured mostly vaudeville acts, with the exception of the Edison moving picture panorama (kinodrome) ¹⁷ “Travels of a Lost Trunk” consisting of 800 feet of film. The playbill included “Barrington, America’s premier ventriloquist;” “Sisters Bennett, juvenile sketch artists;” “Schaefer and DeCamp, operatic duettists;” “Antonie Vora Goere, a contortionist;” ¹⁸ “Carrolton & Hodges, the ‘Ebony Princes;’” and “Conway and Rockway, a comic sketch team.” In 1905 admission prices were ten cents for matinees (3:00 p.m.) and fifteen cents for evening performances (7:00 and 9:00 p.m.). Children under twelve were admitted for five cents. The Idea also held a special children’s matinee on Saturday afternoons at 1:30 p.m. ¹⁹ New programs were offered every Monday and Thursday. Perhaps the most famous act to play at the Idea came to town in 1912; the legendary comedian Jack Benny performed there when he was only 18 years old. ²⁰

Theaters in the early 20th century sought to present themselves as a “high-class” experience. In order to attend, people dressed up and were required to follow rules outlined in the program. Some of these rules included:

Positively no whistling or stamping.
Positively no smoking.
Ladies and Gentleman will kindly remove their hats.
Positively no objectionable characters will be admitted to any part of this theater.
The management reserves the right to revoke the license of any ticket by returning the purchase price. ²¹

The Idea Theater could seat 700 people and was hailed as being “the most complete and compact fire proof and safe vaudeville theater in the state.” ²² This was especially important in a time when theater fires were common and many people throughout the United States died in them. Even with extra fire protection, on June 23, 1913, a fire started in the Idea’s projection room after film became stuck in the projector. In less than a minute the metal-lined booth was in flames. Total chaos was avoided, thanks to the quick thinking of manager Paul Spoerke. Once the audience started to panic, upon smelling smoke, Spoerke instructed the orchestra to “play something.” The orchestra played a lively march that restored order, and everyone was able to get out safely. ²³

The Idea Theater began showing full-length feature films on March 23, 1911. ²⁴ Mr. Langdon Divers remembers the days when actors on the vaudeville circuit performing at the Idea would visit his home:

My father was a conductor on the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, and became acquainted with the actors coming by train to the Idea for about a 3 or 4 day run. He brought some of them home to meet my mother, to help them with their troubles, like finances, health, and loneliness. Those actors lived out of a trunk, actually, as they went from city to city on the circuit they were in. They missed meals, which were not too good. They were lucky to sleep in a hotel. Sometimes they slept backstage in the theater. It was common for me to come home from school and find a strange woman in the parlor, talking to my mother. I was always introduced and then I would leave them to talk alone. Some would cry. They never looked as nice when talking to my mother as they did in the spot light on the stage. Some of them gave us a free pass to the show. ²⁵

Idea Theater Advertising and Employees (ca. 1920)

The story of the fifth theater located at 14-18 Sheboygan Street in Fond du Lac is remarkable. In 1905, a local citizens’ group was seeking to establish a cultural center for the people of Fond du Lac. The owners of the Crescent Opera House, P.B. Haber and H.R. Potter, proposed a deal that no one could refuse. They promised to close the Crescent and donate $30,000 toward a new theater, if the citizen group could sell 1000 tickets at $10 a piece for its opening night. ²⁶ Ten dollars was quite a bit of money in those days, considering that admission to the Idea Theater cost only fifteen cents. In sum, a theater costing at least $40,000 had been promised by the promoters, a sum approximately equivalent to $800,000 in 2003. To the joy of many, the tickets sold in less than a month. Sidney Lovell, an architect from Chicago, was commissioned to draw up plans for a 70- by 140-foot building, with a 40- by 66-foot stage. The main auditorium measured 60 by 75 feet, enough room to seat 1200 people.

Ninety-six days after the foundation was laid, on January 16, 1906, the Henry Boyle Theater was completed. ²⁷ The name “Henry Boyle Theater” was chosen by P.B. Haber and H.R. Potter in appreciation of Henry Boyle, a prominent Fond du Lac yeast company owner and philanthropist who had purchased the land for the theater, located on the site of the old Harrison Postal Bag Company on the corner of Sheboygan and Portland Streets, at a cost of $8000. ²⁸ Boyle also purchased fifty tickets himself and promised yet another $1000 for terra cotta ornamentation on the front of the building. Upon his arrival at the theater, he and his wife received a long standing ovation that ended only when they took their seats in one of the boxes. Boyle acknowledged the audience with a bow. ²⁹

The first stage show to play at the Henry Boyle Theater was “His Grace De Grammont,” starring the “highly-acclaimed” actor Otis Skinner. ³⁰ The purchasers of the $10 tickets had the pleasure of meeting Otis Skinner at a seven-course dinner served at the Palmer House, located right across the street on the northeast corner of Main and Sheboygan Streets.

Henry Boyle Theatre (postcard, ca. 1910)

The theater was lavishly decorated, complete with uniformed ushers and candy boys, and a “colored” attendant outside responsible for helping the patrons.³¹ The lavish pink silk dress worn by Mrs. Boyle is now on display at the County Historical Society’s Galloway House and Village, located in Fond du Lac.³²

In 1920, the Henry Boyle Theater closed for remodeling and reopened as the New Garrick on September 5, 1920. According to a Friday, December 4, 1925, Fond du Lac Daily Reporter, plans were finalized for an extensive overhaul of the theater in late 1925 and early 1926. The last changes to the theater occurred in 1945, when it was renamed The Fox. It closed just a few years later and was torn down to make way for a parking lot. ³³

The next theater to open was the Royal Theater, located at 50 South Main Street. It opened in September 1908. Advertisements in The Daily Reporter claimed that the Royal Theater was the “Home of the Highest Class Picture Plays.” ³⁴ Other than advertisements, nothing about the opening of the Royal Theater was mentioned in local newspapers. Langdon Divers recalls the days of the Royal Theater:

The Royal was dingy, dark and made in a hurry, in the days when nickelodeons first came out to show the first movies. About 1911 my aunt Josephine took me to the old dark Royal and the floor was not flat, it had a dark step where she tripped, fell, and sued, and won for her injuries. ³⁵

The court’s judgment may have been a substantial one, for the Royal soon closed for extensive remodeling.

On Saturday, August 16, 1913, after a series of improvements had been completed, the Royal reopened as the Orpheum. The first improvement made was the lowering of the floor to street level, thus dealing with the source of Langdon Divers’ aunt’s lawsuit. A new electric system was also added with all wires running inside conduit. The projection operating room was lined with fireproof asbestos and metal, which also made it sound proof. Decorations included extensive stucco-work, crystal lights suspended from the ceiling by bronze ornaments complete with oscillating electric fans, and six bowl-shaped chandeliers. The use of an indirect lighting system produced a light bright enough for reading, but the illumination did not affect the movie screen. A large electric sign with the word “Orpheum” was used to light the lobby. The addition of a three-foot suction fan provided “perfect ventilation” within the theater. Finally, a new orchestra was hired, under the direction of Mr. George Awe, “to play the pictures.” ³⁶ All in all, the Orpheum was far nicer and better equipped than its predecessor, the Royal. ³⁷ According to an August 25, 1913, article in the The Reporter, Fond du Lac was then the proud owner of “the classiest little theater in the state . . . a perfect motion picture house.” Its program consisted of only the “highest quality pictures,” including Jack London’s The Sea Wolf, and Jesse L. Lasky’s Civilian Clothes, starring Thomas Meighan.

On Saturday, December 4, 1909, Fond du Lac saw the opening of another nickelodeon, the Bijou, located at 104 South Main Street (the old Penny Arcade).³⁸ An article in The [Fond du Lac] Daily Commonwealth stated that the new theater had a handsome lobby, finished in mahogany and cream, with seating for 250 to 300 people. ³⁹ Advertisements boasted “fine motion pictures” and “No Flicker in Our Pictures.” Like the other theaters in Fond du Lac, the Bijou originally showed motion pictures intermixed with vaudeville acts.

The Bijou was relocated to 90-92 South Main Street and reopened as a motion picture theater on May 6, 1911, boasting one of only two “mirror screens” in the state. ⁴⁰ The building in which it was located still exists today, just north of the northwest corner of Main and First Streets.

According to Karen Padley, the 1910s in Fond du Lac proved to be a rocky time for theaters. Playbills switched from stage presentations to vaudeville, then to movies, and back again. The Henry Boyle Theater changed ownership several times, once even being owned by Boyle himself. Admission also increased to 22 cents.

At this same time, theater designs were improving. Including fewer seats allowed more room, and eliminating obstructions in the form of pillars created better sight lines. Movie technology also improved. At the national level, film companies scrambled for ways to make steadier pictures and eliminate the jumpiness that resulted in the name “flickers” being applied to their products. Movie theaters such as the Bijou advertised “No Flicker to Our Pictures.” ⁴¹ By 1913, many film companies were experimenting with color through a process of tinting each frame individually with blue, amber, and red. A blue tint was used for night scenes, amber for sunlight, and red for large fires. ⁴² In 1913, Thomas Edison developed the Kinetophone. Early advertisements for the Kinetophone touted its advantages:

Talking Pictures. A Fact! A Reality! Thos. A. Edison startles the civilized world and revolutionizes the picture business with his latest and greatest invention the KINETOPHONE, absolutely the first practical talking picture ever made.

Although the Kinetophone proved to be a failure in theatrical use, due to bad sound quality and volume, this technology paved the way for “talkies.” ⁴³ Music and sound effects were improved with the construction and installation of more versatile organs that could play a wide range of sounds. To further expand the appeal of movies, film companies began to make postcards and souvenirs that could be purchased at the theater. Magazines such as Motion Picture Story Magazine and Photoplay were also published to increase public interest.

As movie technology improved, more and more people began going to the cinema. This increase in the theater-going population, and the consequent enhanced profitability of their product, more theaters would be built. This trend was apparent in Fond du Lac, where five new movie theaters opened during an eight-year period from 1905 to 1913. Most movie theaters took great pride in being clean, comfortable, orderly, and attentive to the audience, characteristics especially important to the families they sought to attract.

By the early 1920s, theaters were also opening in smaller towns throughout Fond du Lac County. The Rex Theatre opened in North Fond du Lac, the New Opera House in Campbellsport, Daehn’s Opera House in Fairwater, Schmidkofer Nicholas in Mt. Calvary, The New Opera House in St. Cloud, The Auditorium in Ripon, and both the Davison and the Scenic Theater in Waupun. ⁴⁴

Dramatic changes in ownership and consolidation of Fond du Lac theaters took place in 1925. The Fond du Lac Theater Company, controlled by M.D. Thomas and a Mr. Braun of Iron Mountain, Michigan, which had owned the Orpheum, Bijou, Idea, and Garrick, was acquired by W.L. Ainsworth and F. R. Smith of Fond du Lac. ⁴⁵

Competition in the construction of theaters became a matter of great community interest. The next two theaters in Fond du Lac were built in the atmosphere of a media event that turned out to be a race to the finish. The Fischer’s Fond du Lac Theater ultimately won, opening on November 25, 1925. The Saxe Retlaw Theater opened a month later, on December 26, 1925.

The Fond du Lac Theater, located at 27-29 North Main Street, was by all accounts a masterpiece of its genre. Touted as Fond du Lac’s first “movie palace,” it was built by Fischer Theater Company (Fischer-Paramount Theaters) in the Beaux Arts style of the time, featuring ornate terra cotta decoration on the exterior. What made this type of architecture unusual was that generally a building in this style was not located in a downtown environment. ⁴⁶

Three characteristics were typical of the interior design of theaters in this period. First, the interior had to stimulate the imagination to quicken the spirit of romance. Second, the interior had to make the theater patron comfortable. Finally, the theater needed to put the audience in a happy frame of mind and hold its interest during intermissions. The overall purpose of theater was entertainment for the public, a place where they could live for an hour or two in a land of make-believe and romance. ⁴⁷

The planning and decoration of the Fond du Lac Theater effectively fulfilled all three of these criteria, and the builders spared no expense in accomplishing their purpose. Everything in the theater was considered to be state-of-the-art, including a ventilation system capable of an early form of air-conditioning during the hot summer months. Air conditioning was achieved by pulling air through cooling chambers located in the basement, then pushing it through washing chambers where the air was filtered, sterilized and cooled to 60 degrees. By the time the air reached the auditorium through a mushroom system, the air temperature was approximately 65 degrees. More than four railroad carloads of plaster were needed for the ornamentation of the theater. The Architectural Decorating Company of Chicago used only the best plaster and most talented workmen. The entire theater was carpeted, including the restrooms and lounges, at a cost of $6000. Construction utilized 300,000 feet of the finest grade lumber. ⁴⁸

For the exterior of a theater, the book American Theatres of Today states that the facade must have a theatrical appearance that is in pleasing contrast to the commercial surroundings of the building in order to evoke a spirit of romance. Elaborately decorated with terra cotta ornamentation and featuring a huge electric sign, the Fond du Lac Theater certainly fulfilled these requirements. The Electric sign on the front of the building, spelling out “Fischer’s Fond du Lac Theater,” was similar to the sign on the Chicago Theater in the windy city. Costing an estimated $7500, it was the largest sign on any theater in the entire state of Wisconsin, and one of the largest in the country. The sign measured fifty feet high from the canopy covering the sidewalk to a point above the cornice of the building. It contained 794 twenty-five watt light bulbs in its three-foot letters, 672 fifteen-watt light bulbs in the flashing border, and weighed two tons. The total cost of the Fischer Fond du Lac Theater in 1925 was estimated to be $750,000, the equivalent of $7,731,958 in the money of 2003. To further accentuate the lavish and elaborately decorated interior and exterior, all the ushers and doormen wore uniforms consisting of tan cutaway coats trimmed with gold, black dress vests, deep maroon trousers with gold braid stripes, and round maroon caps trimmed in gold.

The theater itself was capable of seating 2000 people, 1500 on the main floor and 500 in the mezzanine and balcony. The balcony, which curved around the theater, was designed using a cantilever system so that there were no obstructions to the sight lines. Interestingly, all the seats in the theater were upholstered in solid leather and were air cushioned. Also featured was a $40,000 Barton Organ situated on an elevator capable of raising the organ to a visible height. The orchestra pit was large enough to contain a complete orchestra. As with most theaters at the time, newspapers claimed the Fond du Lac Theater to be solidly fireproof.

Only “top shows” from the Famous Players Lasky Corporation, producers of Paramount Pictures, were to be presented. Paramount Pictures featured many of the best-known stars at the time including Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Thomas Meighan, Richard Dix, Leatrice Joy, and Adolph Menjou, among many others. Some famous directors working for Paramount including D.W. Griffith, thought to be the father of American film, James Cruze, and Monta Bell. Some of the early shows promised to Fond du Lac patrons on the day of the opening included The Ten Commandments, The Freshman, The Pony Express, and The Covered Wagon. Miss Paramount herself, Gladys Ralston, was the hostess for the grand opening festivities. Vaudeville acts, musicians, and special events were also featured.

The grand opening of the Fischer’s “Theater Beautiful,” as it was called, was truly a gala event. The opening was preceded by a parade down Main Street featuring Miss Paramount, the newly crowned Miss Fond du Lac, Mayor Haentze, city officials, directors of Fischer Theaters Company, theatrical stars, the American Legion Drum Corps, and other local notables.

Sadly, the Fond du Lac Theater closed in the mid-1980s, after repairs became too costly. In 1989 it was demolished and replaced by a parking ramp. Although the theater itself is gone, the surrounding building, which once housed the lobby and still houses several storefronts and apartments, remains. What was formerly the entrance and lobby of the Fond du Lac Theater is now a shop, “Victoria’s.”

The Retlaw Theater, located at 23 South Main Street, opened almost exactly one month after the Fond du Lac Theater, on December 26, 1925. Financed by prominent businessman Walter Schroeder of Wisconsin Hotel Realty company, who had built the Retlaw Hotel (Retlaw is Walter spelled backward) a few years earlier. The Retlaw was a masterpiece in art deco design by Chicago architects George L. and C.W. Rapp. It was built by Immel Construction Company of Fond du Lac, with the John F. Ahern Company, also of Fond du Lac, responsible for the plumbing, heating, and ventilation systems. The theater was owned and operated by Saxe Amusement Enterprises. At the time, the Retlaw was the largest single-floor theater in Wisconsin and featured the only roof garden outside of the city of Milwaukee.

The roof garden, capable of accommodating 2500 couples, was an open-air, 8000-square-foot, maple dance floor located, as it name suggests, on the top floor of the building. The facility was finished in stained rough lumber with a ceiling of beams and artistic latticework, along with a multitude of lights on the ceiling and along the walls. The dance floor was mounted on thousands of tiny springs in order to provide some “give” to prevent dancers from becoming fatigued. The wood in the floor was constructed in such a way that dancers would move in the direction in which the flooring was laid.

First rate orchestras and bands played in the roof garden. When all the windows were flung open, it was said that music filled the streets of the city. An elaborate lounge was located on the second floor, where couples could check their coats and later return to have a drink at the soda fountain, smoke, and relax. At the time of the Retlaw’s opening the Saxe Amusement Enterprises, the group that ran the Retlaw, also operated roof gardens in Milwaukee (Modjeska Roof), Minneapolis (Marigold Gardens), and planned to open another in Racine (Racine Roof). ⁴⁹ The roofs were open for dancing on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings at an admission price of fifty cents for ladies and seventy-five cents for gentlemen. Work on the roof garden began on December 3, 1925, just 22 days before its opening. In order to finish on time, crews worked 24 hours a day. The Retlaw Roof was finished in 20 days.

Instead of decorating in the typical “movie palace style” of the times, the Retlaw’s decorations resembled an early version of art deco, including straighter lines and less ornate plaster, but the interior was still lavish. The theater was decorated with handsome drapes, chandeliers, exit and aisle lights, and included 1140 opera chairs complete with padded leather backs and upholstered leather spring seats. All rows of seats were curved so that every seat directly faced the stage. The auditorium measured 96 by 81 feet, and the proscenium opening was 22 feet high and 48 feet wide, covered in red and gold velvet curtains. ⁵⁰ The stage was actually designed to be smaller than typical stages built at the time, due to recognition that the novel idea of “moving pictures” might actually catch on, but in case movies failed as a theatrical experiment, both the Retlaw and the Fond du Lac Theater could easily be converted back to “legitimate” theater. Included on the stage were several hand-painted scenery backdrops, a couple of which were still to be found in the former Retlaw as recently as 2003. The Retlaw also featured disappearing footlights and border lights that were recessed into the front of the stage and therefore did not block the lines of sight of the audience. A light panel consisting of several levers and switches and located at the east end of the stage controlled all the lights. The panel continued to be operational in 2003.

Music for performances was to be played on a “Golden tone” Barton organ built specially for the Retlaw Theater by Bartola Musical Instrument Company of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, at a cost of $30,000, or approximately $316,000 in 2003 money. The organ was capable of producing a wide range of sounds from thunder to birds chirping, and it supplied the sound effects and background music for early silent films. This organ was eventually sold to an individual in Chicago who displays it in a home behind glass. The total cost of the Retlaw in 1925 was $600,000, or approximately $6,315,000 in the money of 2003.

A stairway to the west of the foyer leads down to “commodious retirement and toilet rooms for women, where furnishings and fittings are most elaborate, with marble porcelain used freely and with good effect from the standpoints of both beauty and sanitation.” ⁵¹ Similarly a stairway at the east end of the foyer leads down to the men’s smoking room and toilets.

The exterior of the building is decorated in terra cotta. The sign that once read “Saxe Retlaw” was purposely placed off center, because this asymmetry was the trademark of architects George L. and C.W. Rapp.

The opening program was certainly diversified. Highlights included the photoplay “Classified,” starring Corinne Griffith. Other acts included the overture “Orpheus,” directed by Rudolph G. Kopp of the Wisconsin Theater Concert Orchestra; a newsreel with a story about the court-martial of General “Billy” Mitchell of Wisconsin; “A Japanese Print,” with Miss Miriam Klein, soprano; Novelty Scenic “Dancing” (Personification of Joy); a song called “Home Again,” played on the theater organ; a stage presentation “A Melody Painting;” and the comedy “Batchellor Babies.”[sic] ⁵²

In 1932, the Saxe Retlaw Theater was purchased by 20th Century Fox. Due to the impact of the Great Depression and the rising costs of vaudeville acts, the Retlaw converted to present only films in 1935. As movie technology improved, content of the film tended to appeal more to a more diverse clientele. In many cases in depression-era films, “the audience was reassured by being shown that money does not bring happiness and (in Lewis Jacobs’ words) ‘it is better to be poor and good than rich and wicked.’” ⁵³

Many of the economic problems that led to the Great Depression were being experienced long before the stock market crash of 1929, and this was especially true for agriculture in the United States. Rural poverty, coupled with the fact that too many theaters had been opened too rapidly, diluting revenues in smaller cities, led to the collapse of the theater business. By 1930, only three of the eight theaters in Fond du Lac were still open, The New Garrick, the Retlaw, and the Fond du Lac. These were also the three largest theaters in Fond du Lac. The same pattern occured elsewhere, due to the fact that supplying smaller theaters became too costly for film companies, because they required more frequent program changes, sometimes three times a week, in order to keep people buying tickets. Larger cities could run the same film for two or more weeks and still make a profit. ⁵⁴

The Great Depression didn’t stop everyone from going to the movies. In hard times, films became a means of self-therapy, “a dreamlike escape from the often quietly desperate lives a great many people lived.” ⁵⁵ Film companies and movie producers continued to introduce new technology. The most significant technological breakthrough, developed in 1922, was known as Two-Color Technicolor. It was used in special sequences within black and white films, and at the time it was thought that color might alleviate the stress and depression many people experienced. In the 1930s, three-color Technicolor was developed by Walt Disney and used in his animated films. The first feature-length motion picture to use this technique was Becky Sharp (1935) directed by Rouben Mamoulian. Probably the next most famous film to use three-color Technicolor was Gone With the Wind (1939) directed by Victor Fleming. Interestingly, Gone With the Wind was also the first film for which concessions were sold in movie theaters. When Gone With the Wind played at the Retlaw in 1940, the Retlaw was the first movie theater in Fond du Lac, and one of the first in the nation, to provide such concessions. Theater employees borrowed a picnic table and tablecloths from the Retlaw Hotel and sold Coca-Cola for ten cents a cup. At the time, it was very much looked down upon to eat popcorn in a theater, because popcorn wasn’t considered to be dignified food. Eating popcorn or candy in a theater was “reserved only for the burlesque houses in Milwaukee.” ⁵⁶

Another process that emerged during the Great Depression was sound. The first official “talkie,” The Jazz Singer, starring Al Jolson, was introduced in October 1927, at a time when radio shows were threatening silent movie attendance. The Jazz Singer was primarily a silent film, but it included approximately 280 spoken and sung words. Select audiences on the East and West coasts were captivated when they heard “Wait a minute, you ain’t heard nothing yet!,” the legendary line that changed the motion picture industry forever. Nevertheless, it was not until the 1930s that the larger theaters, in small cities, such as the Fischer Fond du Lac and the Retlaw, were able to adapt to present sound films, mostly due to the expense of the new technology at a time when money was tight.

A 1948 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a massive anti-trust suit eventually had an enormous effect on theater ownership in Fond du Lac. According to the Court’s ruling, film production companies could no longer own or operate their own theaters. It took almost ten years for the ruling to be fully implemented, but as a result, a Fond du Lac man by the name of Nick P. Frank, realized a lifelong dream. Frank took over ownership of the Retlaw Theater after the film companies were at last forced to divest themselves of their theater holdings in 1958. Frank bought the theater from Walter Schroeder in 1962 and eventually built one of the largest theater chains in Wisconsin. He had started at the Retlaw working cleanup in 1933, became an usher in 1936, and eventually rose to the position of manager, leaving from 1942-1946 to join the U.S. Army during the Second World War. Along with his sons, Alan and Dennis, he eventually owned the Fond du Lac Theater, built Cinemas I & II in 1973, and built the Fond du Lac Theaters in 1998. ⁵⁷

In 1984, the Retlaw was divided into a triplex, with three screens in separate auditoriums, and in 1985 two more theaters were added at the back of the building. Great care was taken by the Frank family to preserve the original fixtures during these alterations. The walls that were added to divide the original theater were built in such a way that they could be removed with little damage to the original structure.

The Retlaw Theater finally “went down with the Titanic,” its last feature film, closing April 16, 1998, following the opening of the brand new Fond du Lac Theaters, a multiplex located on the west edge of Fond du Lac. ⁵⁸ In an era of rapid technological innovations, the Retlaw could no longer accommodate devices such as Dolby Surround Sound or meet the increasing demand for convenient parking. Upkeep and maintenance of the Retlaw were also becoming too costly. These were the same reasons that had caused the Frank family to close the Fond du Lac Theater a decade earlier. In fact, the Franks initially closed the Retlaw from about 1975 until 1984, hoping to keep the Fond du Lac Theater going. Unfortunately, deterioration of its plaster caused by the primitive air-conditioning system made repairs far too costly, and the theater became a safety risk. It was therefore decided that the Fond du Lac would be closed instead of the Retlaw. This was ironic, considering that in 1925 the theaters had raced neck in neck to be the first to open. A half-century later, the fates of the two theaters were again intertwined, with the Retlaw this time victorious in outlasting its erstwhile competitor. ⁵⁹

The Retlaw Theater and surrounding buildings were sold once again to Shelly Stayer, LLC, in August 2000, at a price of $415,000. ⁶⁰ The building was renamed Bravo Performing Arts Center and housed a children’s theater, a dinner theater, a dance studio, offices, and an upscale restaurant and bar. July 2001 saw the first live production performed in the Retlaw since 1935. ⁶¹

As new movie theaters were built in Fond du Lac and elsewhere in the United States, a shift toward family-oriented experience took place. Originally, theaters had worked hard to project their offerings as aimed at patrons who were different from those who might have attended burlesque or other questionable entertainments. According to frequent advertisements, “objectionable” people were not accepted in theaters. A June 8, 1887, article in The Daily Commonwealth about the opening of the Crescent Opera House stated, “the audience was made up of first-class citizens.” An article in the June 6, 1905, edition of The Daily Reporter stated one of the rules for the Idea Theater as “Positively no objectionable characters will be admitted to any part of this theater.” It seems probable that the theater wished patrons to assume that a person who appeared disreputable might not be allowed to see a show at the Idea. By 1925, with the openings of the Fond du Lac and Retlaw Theaters, a shift, at least in the language of advertising, is evident. Both builders of the two theaters dedicated their theaters to the people of Fond du Lac without drawing any social distinctions.

By the Second World War, movie content was also becoming more family-friendly. Social problems were not often addressed. Instead, movies taught that
“social and personal happiness revolved around love, marriage, and the family. Marital fidelity and parental respect were rules that could not be broken without disastrous consequences. Wickedness was consistently punished and virtue was rewarded. However moralistic, films were optimistic.” ⁶²

This shift to more family-oriented themes emerged in large part as a reaction against burlesque that developed in the United States between the First and Second World Wars. Originating around the 1860s, burlesque entertainment was a combination of vaudeville and the older minstrel show. Presentations often involved vulgar themes, sexual humor, and strip tease. As the popularity of film and radio increased, the appeal of burlesque began to diminish. Cinemas were careful in their advertising to distinguish themselves from this “lower class” entertainment.

The rise of an “automotive culture” resulted in the opening of a new and different type of theater in Fond du Lac in 1950. On June 21, the Lake Park Outdoor Theater held its informal opening. Located just northwest of the intersection of Main and Scott Streets, the theater was designed to resemble a six-story colonial-style house. The tower that held the movie screen measured 54 feet wide and 75 feet high, with the movie screen measuring 36 by 50 feet. The theater could accommodate 510 cars, with an additional space in which 300 cars were able to wait for the second show.

The Lake Park Outdoor Theater opened at a time when patronage to traditional movie theaters was sharply declining as a result of the development of television and the fear of contracting serious diseases. Polio, especially, which often resulted in permanent paralysis or death, kept people away from public places. Many people chose to stay home and watch television, because of the fear of being in large groups, and also because they had no need to dress up or find a babysitter. What made Lake Park unusual was that it featured a children’s playground and a baby service department that provided bottles, nipples, formula, milk, diapers, and free bottle warming service to parents of baby boomers. Many of the advertisements boasted phrases like “No Need to Dress Up” and “We love your children so bring them to our new FREE kiddies’ playground.” The development of the outdoor theater saw a shift back to family outings to the movies, where the whole family could sit in the comfort of the family car, just at a time when record numbers of Americans could afford automobiles.

The entertainment chosen was also selected with the family in mind. In addition to the movie, a short comedy, a color cartoon and a newsreel were shown. The first movie shown at Lake Park Outdoor Theater was The Nevadan starring Randolph Scott. Also showing the first night were a 20-minute comedy entitled Uninvited Blonde, a Mighty Mouse cartoon, a Terrytoon called Mrs. Jones’ Best Farm, and the News of the World. The total cost of the theater was $120,000, or about $916,000 in 2003 money.

Despite the management’s best efforts to present the Outdoor Theater as a family-oriented business, others in Fond du Lac viewed it quite differently. The mix of entertainments shown changed rapidly from the initial types of films presented, and it soon gained the nickname “The Passion Pit.” Monsignor Riordan, Pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish, condemned the drive-in theater in his homilies and threatened to exclude those who attended its shows from the sacraments.⁶³ Lake Park Outdoor Theater closed in 1983.

The development of newer technologies ultimately resulted in the decline of traditional movie theaters. The years immediately following the Second World War saw the take-off of television, and there was no going back. By 1950, there were 100 television stations and 4,000,000 television sets in the United States.⁶⁴ Fewer people were leaving their homes to go to movie theaters. To combat this trend, film companies continued to improve the colorization of movies in order to compete with the black and white television sets. Color televisions were introduced in 1954, but color TV took years to catch on, because the sets were very expensive and the quality of color in early sets was often quite poor. The advent of home air-conditioning was also responsible for the decreasing theater patronage. After the Second World War, inexpensive, mass produced air conditioners became commonplace in homes. This meant that people no longer needed to seek out air-conditioned theaters to find relief from hot and humid days. ⁶⁵ In response to these new technologies, some theaters remodeled in hopes of attracting a new audience, and of course the drive-in evolved. In Fond du Lac, the New Garrick closed, was remodeled, and reopened as the Fox in 1945. In 1950, the Lake Park Outdoor Theater opened.

Cinerama wide screen projections and 3D films were both theatrical experiments of 1952. The first 3D films attracted much attention due to their novelty, but the public interest did not last long, as viewers complained of eyestrain and disliked wearing the 3D glasses that were necessary to resolve screen images. Cinerama wide screen projection proved to be more successful, but the technology was limited by the physical requirements of the theaters and the relative scarcity of films produced for this medium.

The postwar boom of suburban shopping centers and the decline of “Main Street America” ultimately led to the demise of many downtown movie theaters. ⁶⁶ This trend held true in Fond du Lac as well. Starting in the 1970s, businesses began to move to the area known to many Fond du Lac natives as “the strip,” the area of West Johnson Street extending westward from Hickory Street past the U.S. Highway 41 overpass. Many downtown businesses either relocated to this area or closed as a result of competition from shopping complexes such as Forest Mall, Wal-Mart, and Pick ‘n Save. When the Retlaw finally closed, it was as if the energy had been sucked out of the downtown area, and evening activities in the downtown were left to the exclusive possession of the many area bars and taverns.

The 1980s saw the emergence of multiplexes, or multiple screen movie theaters, usually located on the outskirts of towns where space for building was available and property taxes might be lower. In these new theaters, it was possible to go to one location and still choose from a wide variety of films instead of driving to a different theater for each film. Parking was also no longer an issue at these peripheral sites, and this was a major reason for their relocation in an era when Americans typically felt lost without their automobiles. The Retlaw became a triplex in 1984, a fiveplex in 1985, and it closed in 1998 to make way for an eight-screen complex located beyond the western edge of Fond du Lac.

The 1980s also saw yet another revolution in home entertainment, the emergence of the Video Cassette Recorder, first sold in the Betamax format and later in the VHS format. Along with the VCR technology came the development of video stores, expanding the choice of films available for play at home almost limitlessly. Ironically, in Fond du Lac, one of the many video stores opened on the same land that had once held the Lake Park Outdoor Theater. Fond du Lac may have been one of the first cities in Wisconsin with a video-rental store. The first one to open in the city was located at the corner of Sheboygan and Main Streets in one of the Retlaw storefronts. Patrons of these stores could choose among hundreds of films to view in the comfort and privacy of their own homes, and this in turn fueled a new market for films that were too explicit in violence, language, or sexuality to be profitable to show in movie theaters. Video rentals were also much cheaper than tickets to the cinema. The development of VCRs also permitted people to record their favorite television programs to be watched at a later time. This capability further lessened motivation to go to theaters for entertainment. Availability of cable television and satellite transmission of programs to individual homes greatly increased the array and variety of programming that was available. Finally, the 1990s saw the emergence of the DVD player, which only reinforced the impact of the VCRs. None of these developments provided much encouragement for theater owners.

Of the twelve theaters that have been a part of Fond du Lac’s history and culture, only three survive today. Two of the three surviving theaters, both relatively recently built multiplex facilities located in the shopping district on the western edge of Fond du Lac, show films on a regular basis. The third theater, the old Retlaw, the only remaining downtown theater, has been converted to other purposes and is the last of the city theaters that was built in the first quarter of the twentieth century, the golden era of the cinema palace. Sadly, the sites of three of the theaters, the Idea, the Fond du Lac, and the Henry Boyle, are now all occupied by parking lots, a mute commentary on the decline of downtown Fond du Lac as a center for civic entertainment. The multiplex trend that developed in the 1980s is only likely to continue. Theaters across the United States will probably continue to grow in size, and technology will continue to improve. The few historic downtown film theaters that still function will probably gradually cease to exist. Fortunately, some of these traditional theaters in Wisconsin, like the Grand Opera House in Oshkosh and the Sheboygan Theater, have been rescued and restored to their original grandeur as venues for live performances. Others, not so happily, will likely become taverns, thrift shops, children’s museums, and restaurants. In Fond du Lac, and elsewhere in America, theaters grew, evolved, and disappeared reflecting the tastes, technology, aspirations, and culture of the times, and the character and uses of the theaters continue to provide a useful insight into the values and interests of a community.

1 - In September 1926, the [Fond du Lac] Daily Reporter and Daily Commonwealth newspapers merged to form the Fond du Lac Commonwealth Reporter. return

2 - E-mail from Langdon Divers, July 26, 2003. Langdon Divers, born in 1902, is a native of Fond du Lac who has many recollections of the city. He is probably the only person alive in 2005 who has been in all seven of the original movie theaters in Fond du Lac. return

3 - Maurice McKenna (ed.), Fond du Lac County Wisconsin Past and Present. (Chicago: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1912). return

4 - Michael Mentzer, Fond du Lac County: A Gift of the Glacier (Fond du Lac: Fond du Lac County Historical Society, 1991) 116. return

5 - Karen Padley, “Curtain falls for Old-fashioned Theaters,” Fond du Lac Times, May 25, 1977. return

6 - Ray Thornton, A Photographer’s History of Fond du Lac County (Fond du Lac County Historical Society, 1977), 29. The Patty House was a prominent hotel built on the same site that would become the Retlaw Theater in 1925. The Lewis House that burned down in 1866 preceded the Patty House. The Patty House was renamed the Palmer House by 1890. The walkway was short-lived because it is not in the 1885 photograph on page 26 of A Photographer’s History of Fond du Lac County. return

7 - Tom Thumb and his wife, Minnie Warren, and Commodore Nutt were entertainers on the vaudeville circuit, famous for the fact that they were midgets. Tom Thumb was “discovered” by world-renowned circus owner and impresario P.T. Barnam. return

8 - Padley. return

9 - McKenna. return

10 - Mentzer, 116. return

11 - McKenna. return

12 - “As You Like It,” The Daily Commonwealth, Wednesday, June 8, 1887. return

13 - Thornton, 69. return

14 - “As You Like It,” The Daily Commonwealth, Wednesday, June 8, 1887. return

15 - E-mail from Langdon Divers, January 13, 2003. return

16 - Mentzer, 100-101. Three churches, a school, a residence, and the Crescent Garage were all consumed in the blaze. return

17 - A kinodrome was the precursor to modern film. According to Langdon Divers, they were primitive and very jumpy, and were soon “christened” as “flickers.” return

18 - This performer was listed in an advertisement that appeared in The Daily Reporter of Saturday, June 3, 1905. It appears, however, from a later article that the performance did not take place. return

19 - From an advertisement featured in The Daily Reporter (Fond du Lac, WI), Saturday, June 3, 1905, 8. return

20 - Cindy Barden. Foot of the Lake: An Early History of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin,(Fond du Lac, Wisconsin: Fond du Lac Public Library Board of Trustees, 1998), 48. return

21 - “Vaudeville Entertainers Please Their Audience Monday Night,” The Daily Reporter, Tuesday, June 6, 1905, 5. return

22 - “Idea Theater Opens Tonight”, The Daily Reporter Monday, June 5, 1905, 5. return

23 - Padley. return

24 - Thornton, 69. return

25 - E-mail from Langdon Divers, January 17, 2003. return

26 - Mentzer, 132. return

27 - Mentzer, 131-133. return

28 - Padley. return

29 - “Theater Opened,” The Daily Reporter, Wednesday, January 17, 1906. return

30 - Otis Skinner (1858-1942) was a producer, writer, director, and actor on Broadway. return

31 - “Theater Opened,” The Daily Reporter, Wednesday, January 17, 1906. return

32 - Padley. return

33 - Mentzer, 131-133. return

34 - The Daily Reporter, Monday, May 1, 1911, 8. return

35 - E-mail from Langdon Divers, January 19, 2003. return

36 - “Many Features at New Orpheum,” The Reporter, Monday, August 25, 1913, 3. return

37 - “New Orpheum Modern House,” The Reporter, Friday, August 15, 1913, 3. return

38 - “Nickelodeon” was the name given to movie theaters in the early 20th century that charged five cents for admission. In the case of the Bijou, afternoon performances were five cents. return

39 - The Fond du Lac Daily Commonwealth, December 2, 1909. return

40 - A mirror screen was made up of millions of tiny lenses that would reflect more light than previous film screen technologies, improving the overall picture quality. return

41 - The Reporter, Wednesday, February 17, 1909, 8. return

42 - David Robinson, From Peep Show to Palace: The Birth of American Film (New York: Columbia University Press, 1996), 165. return

43 - Robinson, 166. return

44 - Wright’s City and County Directory of Fond du Lac, (Milwaukee: A. G. Wright, 1921). return

45 - Fond du Lac Daily Reporter, Friday, December 4, 1925. return

46 - Historic Houses Survey Macy-N. Main, on file at the Fond du Lac Public Library. return

47 - Robert Sexton and B.F. Betts, American Theatres of Today, (New York: Architectural Book Pub. Co., 1927, Reprint 1977). return

48 - Theatrical Section, The Daily Commonwealth Wednesday, November 25, 1925. All material concerning the interior, exterior, and opening ceremonies for the building comes from this source. return

49 - The Fond du Lac Daily Reporter, Saturday, December 12, 1925. return

50 - Fond du Lac Daily Reporter, Saturday, December 26, 1925. return

51 - Fond du Lac Daily Reporter, Saturday, December 26, 1925. return

52 - Advertisement in Fond du Lac Daily Reporter, Saturday, December 26, 1925. return

53 - Robinson, 70. return

54 - Michael Putnam, Silent screens: The Decline and Transformation of the American Movie Theater, (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000). return

55 - Putnam, 29. return

56 - Nick P. Frank interview by Lee Reinsch in “Retlaw Goes Down with the ‘Titanic,’” The Reporter, April 16, 1998. return

57 - Information from an unpublished typescript recollection provided by Alan Frank on behalf of his father, Nick P. Frank. return

58 - The film Titanic was the last film played at the Retlaw Theater. return

59 - Alan Frank interview, June 27, 2002. return

60 - Courtesy of Fond du Lac County Assessors Office. In 1925, the Retlaw Theater was built at a cost of $600,000, an amount equivalent to $6,315,000 in 2003. return

61 - Frank Scotello, “Theater Returns to Live Performances After 65 Years,” The Reporter, July 10, 2001. return

62 - Robinson, 170. return

63 - Father Ron Jansch, OFM Cap., interview, April 25, 2003. return

64 - Jack Ellis, A History of Film, (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1979), 376. return

65 - Susanna Robbins, “Keeping Things Cool: Air-Conditioning in the Modern World.” Organization of American Historians Magazine of History, October 2003, XVIII: 43. return

66 - Putnam. return

67 - Approximate closing dates were determined by referencing Wright’s Fond du Lac City Directory, 1887-1989. Directories were published biennially until 1965. Since 1965, they have been published annually. return

Copyright Clarence B. Davis 2005. Marian College Press, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin 2005.
Electronic publication by Fond du Lac Public Library has been approved by Clarence B. Davis.

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