Hollywood Theater (Minneapolis) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Hollywood Theater
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The Hollywood Theater building from the southwest
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 Location in Minnesota
Location in the United States
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| Location | 2815 Johnson Street Northeast, Minneapolis, Minnesota |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1935 |
| Architect | Jack Liebenberg and Seeman Kaplan |
| Architectural style | Streamline Moderne |
| Website | hollywoodmpls.com |
| NRHP reference No. | 13001145 |
| Added to NRHP | February 5, 2014 |
The Hollywood Theater is a cool old building in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's a historic movie theater that's listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. This means it's a really important building because of its history and unique design.
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A Look Inside the Hollywood Theater
The Hollywood Theater building opened on October 26, 1935. Its big sign proudly called it the "Incomparable Showcase of the Northwest." This meant it was the best movie theater in the region.
Its Unique Design
The theater was designed by architects Jack Liebenberg and Seeman Kaplan. They had a good budget, so they could add lots of fancy decorations. The building's style is called Streamline Moderne. This style uses smooth, curved shapes and long horizontal lines, like a fast train or ship.
The outside of the theater is made of smooth Kasota limestone. It has vertical lines that change into horizontal ones. The front of the building looked very strong and modern.
Inside, the theater had a tall vertical sign and a patterned terrazzo floor. Terrazzo is a floor made of chips of marble or glass set in cement. There were also shiny, gilded pillars and special sound-absorbing tiles. These tiles were arranged in cool geometric patterns. The theater could seat almost 1000 people.
Liebenberg and Kaplan also designed other famous theaters in Minnesota. These include the Riverview Theatre in Minneapolis and the Terrace Theatre in Robbinsdale.
Challenges and Changes
Even though the Hollywood Theater was called "the Twin Cities' most beautiful and modern neighborhood theatre," it didn't make a lot of money. It changed owners many times. Finally, it closed its doors in 1987.
In 1990, the theater was named a local landmark by the Minneapolis Heritage Preservation Commission. This helped protect the building. However, it was hard for the old theater to compete with new video stores and big multiplex cinemas.
Over the years, many ideas came up to reuse the building. Some people wanted to turn it into apartments. Others thought about making it a studio for photography and film. The Minneapolis Community Development Agency bought the theater in 1993. They looked at different plans, like fully fixing it up or just restoring the lobby. There were worries about the building's walls and water in the basement.
A New Beginning
In 2009, the city bought land next to the theater. This extra space could be used for parking or other new developments. Then, in 2015, a developer named Andrew Volna bought the property. He planned to fix it up and turn it into a place for events. He wanted to keep the building's historic look.
The renovation of the Hollywood Theater was finished in early 2023. It reopened shortly after, ready for new events and visitors.
The Hollywood Theater was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 5, 2014. It was recognized for its amazing Streamline Moderne design. It was also important because it showed how local, neighborhood cinemas grew during the Great Depression. These were places people could easily get to by streetcar.
