Silver Screens: A Pictorial History of Milwaukee's Movie Theaters

by Larry Widen, Judi Anderson

Silver Screens traces the rich history of Milwaukee's movie theaters, from 1890s nickelodeons to the grand palaces of the Roaring Twenties to the shopping mall outlets of today. And the story doesn't end in the past two decades, the revival of interest in preservation and restoration of theaters has confirmed that there's still life in these beloved old structures. With the publication of Silver Screens , authors Larry Widen and Judi Anderson help ensure that our old theaters, those being restored and those long since vanished, will remain forever embedded in our collective memory. In this revised edition of their book Milwaukee Movie Palaces , the authors present new findings on film innovations, drive-in theaters, projection booths, movie promotions, noted theater personalities, recent restoration efforts, and much more. Illuminated with more than a hundred photographs, including many never before published, Silver Screens is a stunning tribute to the legacy of the movie theater.

Genres: Photography

184 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2006

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This utterly fascinating book about the history of Milwaukee's movie theaters is more than just a quick spin through the past. Besides tracing the rise and fall of theaters in Milwaukee, the authors include a good deal about the the social and cultural aspects of movie-going. Having grown up in Milwaukee, it was doubly interesting for me to remember (and see old photos) of theaters where I saw "The Longest Day" "A Hard Day's Night," "To Sir with Love," and the drive-ins where my siblings and I slept in the back seat while our parents watched "Cleopatra" on the big screen. Great fun!

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and thorough history of every place in Milwaukee that showed films, which peaked in the 1930s with eighty-nine theaters. That number fell in half as a result of television and suburbanization. Downtown movie theaters fought back with Cinerama, CinemaScope, 3-D and newsreels.

This fun book includes many detailed sidebars about the inner workings of film and theaters through the years. The story begins before the movies, at a time of vaudeville and goes back to the earliest stage shows in Milwaukee.

Four and a half stars. This book reminds us of the magic that begins when the lights go down and the curtain goes up.This book lives up to the high standards of the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.

1915. Downer Theater opened. It is the oldest continuously running movie theater in Milwaukee and served as a model for a neighborhood location. It turns a hundred years old next year.

1924. Modjeska opened. Now going through restorations by Larry Widen, who wrote this book.

1927. Oriental Theater opened as a house for silent movies, but adapted quickly for sound when the first talkies came out.

1929. Avalon Theater opened as the first one in Milwaukee built for synchronized sound.

My senior year of high school, I worked at a long-gone movie theater. The owner took ill, and I became the manager. Great fun working there and getting to know how the theater worked, its stage, dressing rooms and the projection booth. The projectionist lived upstairs with his wife. In my earlier high school years, as a member of the AV Club, I worked the lights and sound backstage but also played comic, emcee and improv.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating read on the old Milwaukee Movie Palaces most of which have sadly been razed. Thanks to Jeremiah for letting me borrow it! My mom had the original version of this book but I enjoyed the updated version more.

[Katherine]

I guess I'll have to look for this on my next trip there; I imagine it's hard to find otherwise. I'd love to hunt these down sometime...

[Byron · Rating 5 out of 5]

SUPERB book, can't recommend enough