Chateau Theatre facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Chateau Dodge Theatre
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Chateau Theatre in 2017
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 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Location | 15 1st Street SW, Rochester, Minnesota |
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| Built | 1927 |
| Architect | Ellerbe Architects; Heffron & Fitzgerald, et al. |
| Architectural style | French chateau |
| NRHP reference No. | 80002098 |
| Added to NRHP | July 17, 1980 |
The Chateau Theatre is a famous building in Rochester, Minnesota. It first opened in 1927 as a place for live shows called vaudeville. The inside of the theater looked like a medieval village. Later, it became a movie house. After many years, it was changed into a Barnes & Noble bookstore.
Contents
History of the Chateau Theatre
Building the Theatre
In April 1927, Dr. Charles Mayo helped start the building of the Chateau Theatre. It was first called the Chateau Dodge Theatre. This was because the Dodge Lumber Company used to be on that spot. Building the theater cost a lot of money for that time, about $400,000.
The theater opened its doors on October 26, 1927. The first movie shown was Spring Fever.
Early Days and Famous Visitors
The Chateau Theatre was one of the first buildings in Rochester to have air conditioning. It hosted many different types of entertainment. People could watch plays, concerts, operas, and both silent and "talking" movies. Vaudeville shows were also very popular there.
In 1940, you could get in for just 25 cents! For that price, audiences enjoyed three acts of music, magic, and juggling. They also saw newsreels, comedy shows, and a main performance. Many famous people performed at the Chateau. These included actresses Ethel Barrymore and Tallulah Bankhead. The acting couple Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt also visited. Even a cinema cowboy named Tom Mix and Mary, a rhinoceros from Johnny Weissmuller's Tarzan movies, made appearances. The famous bandleader Paul Whiteman, known as "The King of Jazz," also performed.
Unique Design and Architecture
The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota says the Chateau Theatre is a great example of an "atmospheric theater" in Minnesota. This means the inside was designed to make you feel like you were outdoors, often under a starry sky. Its main design style is Art Deco. This style became popular in Europe and then in the U.S. from the mid-1920s to the late 1930s. It was especially famous in Hollywood and Miami.
Inside the Theatre Today
Changes Over Time
Some parts of the original theater have changed. The old mezzanine (a floor between the main floor and the ceiling) and the inner lobby are gone. Only the railings and doorways to the restrooms remain. The main floor used to have "raked seating." This means the rows of seats got higher as they went toward the back, like in many modern theaters.
The theater originally had 1,487 red velvet seats. Today, most theaters are much smaller, seating around 200 people at most.
Special Features
The original booth where movies were projected is still there. It is above the second-floor balcony, hidden behind a large mural. The theater's side walls look like an early French village from Normandy. Because of this historic design, the new floor was built carefully. It is attached only to the front and back walls and supported by pillars on the main floor.
The castle-like structure inside has 40 balconies and turrets that are 20 feet high. It looks like a 10th-century French castle, or "chateau." In the past, actors could use secret passages to appear at the many windows and balconies.
Ceiling and Special Effects
The theater ceiling is still the same dark blue color as it was when it first opened. It used to have twinkling constellations that made it look like a night sky. These stars are still there, but they are harder to see now because of brighter spotlights. There was also a "moon machine" and a "cloud machine." The cloud machine used to project shadows of clouds across the ceiling. These machines are still there but do not work anymore.
Music and Stage
A pipe organ used to play music for silent movies and melodramas. It was located on the west side of what is now the children's book section. The organ pipes were hidden inside the castle gate. The arch above the former stage is still visible. The stage was 33 feet wide and could rise to the audience's eye level at the start of each show. Backstage, there were many dressing rooms and metal stairs that went up five flights.
Preservation and New Life
In 1979, a group called "World Wide Friends of the Chateau" was formed. This group was very important in saving the theater from being torn down. The theater was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Even with this protection, the theater closed on October 2, 1983. The last movie shown was the 1934 classic It Happened One Night, starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert. After almost eleven years of discussions and renovations costing $4 million, Barnes & Noble reopened the Chateau Theatre on July 1, 1994.
The building was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
On January 2, 2015, the Barnes & Noble bookstore inside the Chateau Theatre closed its doors.
