The Lost Renovations: Found!

Upon searching through Minneapolis' property info website, new information regarding the 'lost' renovation has come to light. Namely, that it was actually two separate occurrences.

Building Permit 524099, issued 9/13/83, called for the installation of a ticket booth & snack stand combo. It was cleared on 7/3/85, so it's pretty safe to say that the bizarre lobby design was created shortly thereafter. Then, on 5/10/93, Permit 597847 was issued to replace loose and deteriorated brick on the northwest corner of the building (this was cleared almost immediately on 6/18/93). This would be part of the renovation alluded to on the minneapolismn.gov site and a 1991 movie theater rehabilitation guidelines document:

 "During the 1990s, the owners acquired the plans from the 1939 renovation and restored the lobby and the second floor lounge areas. In addition, the auditorium’s side walls are adorned with re-created carved murals of Acousti-Celotex." (from minneapolismn.gov)

"The Uptown is presently undergoing an extensive renovation...the owners have acquired the plans from the 1939 renovation of the interior and are restoring the marquee and recreating the Art Moderne and Neo-Baroque design elements of the lobby and second floor lounge areas." (from Neighborhood Movie Theater Thematic District: Guidelines for Rehabilitation, July 1991)

So, then, the mural recreation took place at this time. Because it didn't involve the lobby renovation, the theater likely never had to close its doors, hence why the Star Tribune didn't find it worth writing about. Mysteries solved, except for why the murals switched auditorium walls. The world may never know.

On a sort-of related note, the sales history of the Uptown was also discovered through this search. Lagoon Enterprises sold the area to Uptown Properties on 3/1/83 for $300,000, and then Cann LLC sold to Lagoon Partners LLC on 12/10/09 for $1,399,999. The more you know...

UPDATE (2.25.16)

Looks like the 80s renovation can be pinpointed to 1984:

When [Michael] Bender walked into the theater last fall, he was appalled. For too many years, bad management had let things slide to such an extent that the Uptown had become a pigsty. Smoking and drinking at shows was standard, giving the theater an earthy bar-charm that clashed with what was on the screen. The bathrooms were unusable. Kids snuck in. It was a mess, he says...

Bender and Landmark Theaters, which owns the theater, decided to do a little bit of construction. The result, though not quite finished, is impressive. With a healthy splash of lime paint, a few dozen feet of neon tubing and a lot of mirrored glass, the Uptown Theater has been transformed into a veritable art deco palace. The result has been a quieter, cleaner crowd. (from Twin Cities Reader, 5.15.84)

The Lost Renovation

The picture above is the final glimpse of the Uptown Theatre lobby stand prior to its current renovation. This destruction took place the night of January 31, 2012, after the old Uptown closed its doors for the last time.

The area was a bizarre architectural decision. Instead of a separate box office and concession stand, the design linked them together in an almost-circle, with the box office terminal at the top, concession terminals on the bottom left and right, and the popcorn popper in the center. There was little room provided for employees during busy shows, and the concession registers were so far away from each other, many customers never realized that both existed.

When this design was implemented is unknown. Occasional articles from the 80s and 90s vaguely refer to a renovation occurring either around 1983 or 1989. The latter date can be ruled out easily, as mention of it would have certainly appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. Yet there is nothing about it in their online database. However, this collection only goes back until 1986. In order to find proof of a 1983 event, the newspaper's microfilm had to be gone through month-by-month in the archives of the University of Minnesota. Daily movie showtimes were checked between the years between 1982 and 1985 - it's unlikely that the theater would've stayed open during a renovation that led to this circular design - but no gap was found. It is, then, a mystery.

The lobby was not the only strange occurrence of this untraceable event. The two murals inside of the auditorium were re-created, but in much less detail. Not only that, but the murals were placed on opposite walls on which they originally resided. The only clue of this design comes from an inscription found on the right wall stating that the re-creations were done by Mary Sue Wall-. Unfortunately (as previously mentioned in this blog), the auditorium stairs put in with the 2012 renovation cut off the second half.

This mystery renovation is the last major chunk of Uptown Theatre history that is not covered in this blog, and it's rather unfortunate that the investigation has hit a dead end. If any readers have information - or even memories - of when this change might have occurred and the reasons behind it, please leave a comment below.

Until then...

UPDATE (10/25/15)


"Minneapolis HPC asked the City Council for a one-year moratorium on building permits or demolition of six neighborhood movie theaters, including the Hollywood, to provide a chance to study their historic significance. The moratorium won preliminary approval on April 18, 1989, at a Minneapolis Zoning and Planning Committee meeting, where the 600-name petition was also presented. Ten days later, the Minneapolis City Council voted unanimously to  support the one-year moratorium.” (from History of the Hollywood Part 2: Failed Development Efforts & Falling Plaster)

"HPC previously received from the City Council a demolition and building permit moratorium for the six theaters while the study and designation process takes place. During this moratorium period, HPC developed a working relationship with two theater owners (Avalon and Uptown) so that previously planned minor remodeling and necessary maintenance work could proceed." (from Preservation Matters, Feb. 1990: "Minneapolis Seeks Heritage Designation for Six Movie Theaters)

Given this information, it is possible that the renovation - occurring in the early 1990s - was not widely publicized because the Uptown had a deal to work on renovations during the moratorium while others did not.

(thanks to Katelyn Davidson)

Saga of the Split Screen

 

(photo taken from City Pages)

Facing declining ticket sales throughout the 1990s, innumerable single-screen movie theaters across the country were turned into multiplexes by splitting their balconies into one or two extra screens. While the Uptown Theatre thankfully evaded this fate, it spent this particular decade in limbo as Minneapolis citizens and City Council battled Landmark Theatres on the issue.

The beginnings of this story can be traced back to 1989, where a March 15 City Council meeting heard the proposal of the Uptown Village. This complex, a mere half-block from the Uptown Theatre, would include eight screens in a building also holding 30,000 square feet of retail space and 10,000 square feet of office space (East Calhoun News, v.16, no.11).

While this idea did not make it very far, a scaled-down proposal was taken into effect. Landmark Theatres proposed a $1.5 million, five-screen, 806-seat theater tentatively titled the Uptown 5. It was actually then-Uptown manager Bob Strong who wrote to Landmark in 1991 and proposed the new theater name to instead be the Lagoon, not only because it was on Lagoon Ave. and, 'the name conjured up romantic images with vaguely mysterious undertones that would not be found in a larger mall theater', but also because it was the original name of the Uptown in 1916. This would reinforce the affiliation between the two cinemas and both acknowledge and respect its heritage.

Not everyone was thrilled about this development. The Calhoun Area Residents' Action Group and the East Calhoun Community Organization both worried about potential traffic and parking problems, including Landmark only offering one hour of free parking to customers, and also that the planned one-story brick structure was 'uninspired' and 'ugly.' There were also rumors that City Council shut out opposition for development and fast-tracked this particular plan, which they of course objected to (Southwest Journal, Oct. 1993). Regardless, the Lagoon Cinema opened on February 16, 1995. (East Calhoun News, March 1995).

Despite this addition of five new screens in the Uptown area, though, talk of splitting the Uptown into three screens commenced. The plan was to wall off the balcony from the main theater and split it into two auditoriums of 100 seats each. This proposal did not make it very far at the time, as the City Council's Zoning and Planning Committee quickly approved a plan to limit growth of movie theaters in Uptown. Seven screens were already within two blocks of each other (including the Suburban World) and the owners of Calhoun Square were also talking with potential theater tenants, so the committee placed a two-and-a-half-year moratorium in order to study the effect of additional theaters on traffic and parking problems (Star Tribune, 6/21/95).

Talk continued of the split screens during this moratorium. The Twin Cities Reader reported in 1996 that while splitting the Uptown was proposed due to declining ticket sales, the Uptown was consistently among the top five highest-grossing theaters in Landmark's chain from 1989 to 1995 (unlike Landmark's other split-screen theaters, Denver's Mayan and Milwaukee's Oriental). Former manager Bob Strong also pointed out that the 300 extra seats in the balcony turned mere openings of films into legendary, gala events, and that, "For a lot of people, a theater is more than a revenue-producing engine. It's magical. It goes beyond profit and loss" (Twin Cities Reader, 11/20/96).

Discussions erupted once the moratorium was over in 1998. Over thirty people and a TV news crew showed up to a public forum meeting at Painter Park on February 10 with City councilmembers Lisa McDonald and Lisa Goodman, along with Landmark Theatres representatives Paul Richardson and Bert Manzari. Richardson called the Uptown a 'dinosaur' that rarely sells out any longer, stating that admissions have dropped from 200,000 in 1993 to 138,000 in 1997. The representatives then listed their previous experience with these sorts of renovations with the Mayan and Oriental, and explained that they could bring in more independent films and keep them in town for longer with additional screens. They also explained plans to restore the Uptown's murals, marquee, and pylon sign and add in a cappuccino bar (Uptown Association. v.20, no.1, Southwest Journal 2/25/98, East Calhoun News March 1998).

Another meeting was held for Lowry Hill residents on March 10, where citizens found it suspect that Landmark had this proposal in the works for three years and while they presented dropping attendance figures, they also sent more crowd-pleasing movies to the Lagoon Cinema while placing the less-attended experimental films at the Uptown. Councilmember McDonald proposed a zoning amendment that would require Landmark to provide up to 200 new parking spaces to alleviate parking concerns, but the company would only agree to 20 (Southwest Journal, March 1998).

These issues were presumably never cleared up to City Council's satisfaction, as the auditorium ultimately avoided the split. Rumors circulated again around 2012 during the building's extensive renovation, but this never came to be. The Uptown remains a single-screen movie theater.

Tales of the Uptown

Death at the Uptown (1933)
A bizarre botched robbery occurred at the Uptown Theatre in 1933. 21 year-old Ted Fisher had been fired from his usher post due to a gun being found in his locker, but was present one month later during a hold-up as he was in the office, mixing drinks with on-duty managers. After a struggle with the bandit, Fisher was shot and killed. What makes matters strange is that a holdup note was later found in his pocket that read, "Open that safe and take the cash from yesterday and today's receipts and come out the alley door, and lay it on the stone wall, and then walk up the alley to the railroad tracks, and then turn left. Don't look back or call for help, or you'll be shot. You are covered all the time." While it might seem that Fisher was in on the robbery, it does not explain why this note was not used. Perhaps Fisher arrived to rob the theater only to find himself beaten to the punch, but this is mere speculation.

Uptown in Court (1970)
A lawsuit seeking to force the Uptown Theatre to admit a 14-year old girl to Midnight Cowboy was dismissed on July 1, 1970. This suit was brought on by Mrs. Lynne Rosenzweig on behalf of her daughter, Denise Silberman, who was turned away despite having her parents' permission on April 11. Seeing as the film was rated X, no one under the age of 17 could be admitted under any circumstance.

Rosenzweig's attorney was her own husband Jerry, who argued that the theater had violated Denise's rights by keeping her out and had no authority to do so. As the Minneapolis Star article writes, "The judge rejected both contentions."

Proposed Suicide at the Uptown (1975)
"When the Stars Didn't Fall on Hennepin Av." was an article written for the Star Tribune by Irv Letofsky, published on July 8, 1975. It concerns an attempted American Graffiti class reunion by then-owners Metropolitan Theater Co. that would have brought together the film's seven stars. Only two showed up, however, who were Mackenzie Phillips and Bo Hopkins. General manager Dennis Slusher is quoted as saying, "I was going to commit suicide today," and Letofsky later writes: "We just wanted to create some excitement," said Slusher, who as of late last night had not done himself in.

Blair Witch Success (1999)
A Star Tribune article published on July 25, 1999 touched on the opening of The Blair Witch Project at the Uptown on July 16, which managed to sell out every show. The opening week grossed over $100,000, a national record at the time for Landmark Theatres.

Theater manager Hugh Wronski was quoted as saying, "We're selling out of everything, even the Snow Caps. Nobody ever buys Snow Caps except a few weirdos." The article goes on to tell a story of a recent sold out show where Wronski approached a patron sitting on the steps in the balcony to inform him that he could not sit there. "He said, 'why not?' and I said, 'fire marshal.' He said, 'I'm a fireman' and pulled out his Minneapolis Fire Department ID. So I let him be."

Climbing the Tower (from the Star Tribune, 3/9/10)
People are used to drama at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis, but not the kind that had busy Hennepin Avenue blocked off Tuesday night near Lake Street.

Firefighters rescued a young man about 7:30 PM from the theater's vertical sign, which towers over the heart of Minneapolis' Uptown district.

Police and fire crews weren't sure how long the man had been up there before someone saw him and called for help about 6:45 PM.

Minneapolis firefighters were alerted about a possible graffiti-tagging incident where "someone got themselves into a situation and needed help getting down," Assistant Fire Chief Cherie Penn said.

Police don't believe it was suicidal, Sgt. Henry Halvorson said.

Authorities has Hennepin blocked between Lake Street and Lagoon Avenue for at least a half-hour before a ladder crew raised an aerial device with a basket to get the man off the sign, Halvorson and Penn said.

"He was pretty cold, so he wasn't talking to us much," Halvorson said of the man, adding that he was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center to be checked out.

A Brief History of the Uptown Theatre

The 1,500-seat Lagoon Theater opened in Minneapolis on June 3, 1916 as part of a dance hall and storefront block. This $100,000 development was built of gray terracotta and rough textured brick with an interior painted old rose and gray, housing an orchestra pit and a 40-foot stage. The business would later change its name to the Uptown on April 11, 1929 (see above photo) that coincided with the installation of sound equipment and a screening of The Dummy, and the Clausen School of Dancing would move in above the theater in 1931.

A fire broke out in the Uptown ventilating system above the stage during a screening of Trade Winds on April 25, 1939, leaving the theater with extensive smoke damage. The city and MN Amusement Co. then hired the firm of Liebenberg & Kaplan for a $65,000 renovation, and this new Uptown Theatre opened on November 16, 1939 with a screening of The Women.

The structure showcased a streamline moderne design that was popular at the time, with an auditorium color scheme of delft blue and bone white with burgundy red drapes and seats. Two large incised roundels were placed into a kasota stone facade with a curved corner that symbolized themes of travel and adventure in cinema. Inside the auditorium, murals composed of acoustic-celotex depicted the history and geography of the Twin Cities. One shows early explorers gazing upon what would be the future Minneapolis, while the other shows a giant Father of the Waters presiding over a group of water sprites that symbolize the lakes of the city. The building also boasted 900 seats and a 60-foot tower that was the first three-sided vertical tower sign in the country and had to be approved by civil aviation authorities.

Amarcord would be the last film played at the Uptown before its first closure in 1975. Landmark Theatres, then known as Parallax Theatres, bought the property in 1976. There have been rumors throughout the years of the Uptown being an X-rated theater, but these claims are inaccurate, as there was no time between Metropolitan (though it may have been General Cinema, or perhaps this was the same company) and Landmark for this to occur. This new Uptown screened classic double features with cartoon short films along with The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which began on May 19, 1978.

A lobby remodel took place in 1984 that included a bizarre circular box office/concession stand combo. Following this in November 1985, the Uptown switched their repertoire to feature foreign and independent cinema. This began with The Coca-Cola Kid and would begin to be a huge success the following February with a month-long run of Akira Kurosawa's Ran. It was around this time that Godard's Hail Mary was also screened that drew a wave of controversy and protesters. The theater was even broken into one night and the 35mm print stolen.

The Uptown was a cinema powerhouse in the Twin Cities throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. It was deemed a heritage site in 1990 and underwent a small renovation to re-create art moderne and neo-baroque design elements. It then spent a decade fighting off plans to transform into a triplex design that so many other single-screen cinemas across the country had fallen victim to. The Rocky Horror Picture Show also ceased in 1997 in favor of weekly screenings of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. This lasted ten months before returning to regular midnight screenings, though it would not be until Halloween 2009 that Rocky Horror would return.

While theater attendance across the country dwindled slowly throughout the 2000s, the Uptown was still able to sell out its massive auditorium at least once a year with the likes of Juno, Pan's Labyrinth, A Serious Man, and Blair Witch Project - the last of which sold out every show for weeks. It also became locally (and occasionally nationally) famous for its clever marquees such as, 'We Have A/C, Who Cares What's Playing?,' declaring Limits of Control and The Brothers Bloom to be 'Better Than the Star Trib Review,' and referring to Joss Whedon as 'The Writer of 4 Episodes of Roseanne.'

The Uptown Theatre quietly closed for renovations on January 31, 2012 after a screening of Pariah. It was re-opened on September 14, 2012 with Sleepwalk with Me. The new modern design saw the addition of a full bar, the loss of 550 seats, and the replacement of 35mm with digital projection.