Terrace Theatre (Minnesota)

Terrace Theatre
The Terrace Theatre's marquee in 2016
Coordinates	45°1′10″N 93°19′40″W / 45.01944°N 93.32778°W / 45.01944; -93.32778Coordinates: 45°1′10″N 93°19′40″W / 45.01944°N 93.32778°W / 45.01944; -93.32778
Location of Terrace Theatre in Minnesota

The Terrace Theatre was^[1] located at 3508 France Avenue North in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Designed by the Minneapolis architectural firm of Liebenberg & Kaplan (L&K) for Twin Cities movie exhibitors Sidney and William Volk, the Terrace opened in 1951.^[2] It was the first major movie theater built in the Minneapolis suburbs after World War II^[3] and was an outstanding example of midcentury modern design. Upon its opening, the Terrace received critical acclaim for its “bold architectural lines [and] extensive patron services.”^[4] The 1,300-seat theater remained a popular Twin Cities destination for thirty-five years. It changed hands in 1980 and again in 1987, when it was remodeled from a single-screen auditorium into three screens by dividing the balcony. The last movie was screened in 1999 and the theater was boarded up.

The theater in 2016

The theater was built as the first phase of a ten-acre site design, with plans for a future mall to be added. In 1980 a modern strip mall was added on the east site along Bottineau Boulevard (then West Broadway), but it was not built according to the original L&K design. A Rainbow Foods store became part of the 135,000-square-foot Terrace Mall, located two blocks north of North Memorial Medical Center and adjacent to a North Memorial outpatient clinic. The grocery store closed in 2013.^[5] The Mall is still standing, though many of the stores are vacant.

Despite efforts to preserve the theater, place it on the National Register of Historic Places,^[6] and restore it as a multi-use facility, the Terrace Theatre remained boarded up for seventeen years. The Robbinsdale City Council approved demolition in August 2016. A lawsuit was filed to prevent demolition, but a demolition permit was issued and the theater was demolished in October 2016 before the case was heard in court.

Design

According to a 2016 article in the Star Tribune, the theater "was instantly acclaimed as a masterpiece of mid-century design" upon opening.^[2] L&K designed residential and commercial buildings, but was most noted for its movie theater design: it designed more than two hundred theaters throughout the Midwest.^[7] The Terrace was the last free-standing movie theater designed by L&K; it was the Twin Cities' first major suburban movie theater built after World War II and one of the first ultramodern theaters in the country,^[6][8] and its modern design was a departure from L&K's earlier Art Deco and Streamline Moderne style theaters.

L&K's "midcentury masterpiece" drew on features that were popular in large-scale midcentury design, including geometric forms, tilted windows, a paneled glass tower, and large, eye-catching signage. Brick, stone, wood, and copper used throughout the building reflected midcentury residential trends, a nod to the owners’ desire to attract housewives and also to embrace the arrival of television rather than compete with it. For these reasons, the theater featured a spacious foyer, lounges, a television room, and two sound-proof crying rooms for parents with unhappy children.^[6]

The foyer's ceiling was stepped to follow the stadium line of the 1,300-seat auditorium. The main lobby space had niches for a candy counter and refreshment bar; notable features included the walnut-clad popcorn machine and the copper wishing well drinking fountain. Turkish loomed rugs furnished by A&M Karagheusian contributed to the luxurious feel of the foyer and auditorium.^[6]

A sunken lounge and the adjacent smoking lounge off the foyer were designed in the fashion of a "greatly enlarged and impeccably decorated midcentury home". The lounge was "rimmed off by a low stone wall that encloses a tier of cushioned seats. (...) it featured] a copper-hooded fireplace and an array of colorful plant boxes. A dramatic blending of inside and outside treatment [was] achieved by the liberal use of cut stone, redwood, and oak in the interior and by slanting window walls".^[6]

Most homes of this period were not air conditioned, so its year-round cooling system, drawing on 52-degree well water,^[9] was a summertime draw.

Similarly, at a time when movie theaters across the country were closing, due in part to competition from television, L&K and the Volk brothers elected to embrace TV as a way to extend visitors' movie-going experience. A BoxOffice magazine article on the theatre noted that the TV room was receiving "steady play from patrons at the end of the early evening program. When they drop in here to watch television for a while before going home, they become perfect prospects for soft drinks and snack types of food served from the bar at the end of the theatre".^[4][6]

Inside the auditorium, the 26-foot-screen was covered by a velvet curtain and fronted by a semicircular stage with carpeted steps between square stone planters. An innovative soundproofing material first used by L&K at a different theater contributed to its acoustics, as did the glassed off crying rooms at the rear of the space, "which accommodated infants not enthralled by the on-screen entertainment", while still allowing their parents to watch the movie.^[10]

Beyond the large public spaces, even the restrooms were "gorgeously appointed". The women's powder room was decorated in "tones of gray and rust" and featured marble counters, while the men's restroom was elegantly finished and include a redwood-paneled smoking lounge.^[4]

Other unique features of the theater included three garage stalls in the rear; a system of dumbwaiters to deliver candy and soda from the refreshment storage rooms; two large private offices for the Volk brothers; and, at the exterior, the stone movie poster panels adjacent to the driveway entrances.^[4]

The auditorium's seating arrangement, featuring sloped seating in the front portion and stepped stadium seating in the rear, can seen in earlier theaters designed by L&K, including the Riverview Theater, which continues to operate as a successful movie house today.^[11]

Construction

The 1949 construction drawings identify key features of the design that were translated from Liebenberg & Kaplan’s early schematic drawings to blueprints: a reinforced concrete and steel frame building, faced with brick and stone veneer, and topped with a steel roof deck. A sign tower of brick, set off with backlit glass, was topped with the theater’s name in bold capital letters.

Materials chosen for the exterior included red and buff brick, stone, glass block windows, colored glass windows, and a metal canopy. The primary entrance to the building is located at the northeast corner of the north façade. The design featured a variety of interior gathering spaces – a foyer, various lounges, and the double-height auditorium – as well as office space for the building’s owners, Sidney and William Volk. Interior spaces were highly finished, with every detail planned by Liebenberg & Kaplan and the Volk brothers. While most of the interior finishes, fixtures, and furniture had been removed prior to demolition, widely published historic photographs and extensive project files held at the University of Minnesota’s Northwest Architectural Archives have captured the elegance and materiality of the Terrace.

Until September 24, 2016, all of the brick, stone, metal, and glass block remained intact, and the building was still structurally sound. According to Preservation Design Works, it was likely that the building’s historic colored glass windows were also extant under the layer of plywood at the interior and exterior. As of the date of submission to the National Park Service for historic preservation, the theater’s interior, lobby, and foyer retained original materials including mid-century light fixtures, a stone fireplace, and exposed stone and brick walls.^[12]

History

When it opened in 1951, Terrace was one of the country’s first ultra-modern theaters. It was the first major movie theater to open in the Minneapolis suburbs after World War II.^[13]

According to the Robbinsdale Post, March 24, 1955, the theater was envisioned and planned to serve the entire Twin Cities metropolitan area. The same article states that the theater was built at the cost of about $750,000. A 1952 guest register showed signatures from 25,000 people from all 48 states plus Canada and other countries outside the US.^[14]

In 1955, as the theater’s third anniversary approached, Post Associate Editor Bob Bork wrote, "The theater is operated by the Volk brothers Sydney and William, both of whom also own and operate the Nile, Camden and Riverview theaters in Minneapolis. Why did they pick Robbinsdale as the location for the breathtaking Terrace? Most important, said Sydney, is the fact that it is adjacent to a large growing community. The Volk brothers planned the theater to serve all of the metropolitan area of the Twin Cities.... One of the highest honors possible was bestowed upon the theater in 1952 when the Volk brothers received the international award for having the outstanding theater in United States that year. Covering 10 acres including parking lots and space not yet put to use, this theater also boasts the largest seating capacity of any suburban theater and the largest parking facilities.…First-rate movies appear at the Terrace as early as possible, in other words, when they leave the downtown theaters. The terrace can always boast that they are showing one of the top 10 films. The longest run enjoyed by any one film was for 11 days. The average showing is 4 days to a week, depending on public demand. Long range plans call for landscaping of the hollow behind the theater potentially including a lagoon.”^[15]

Over the years necessary improvements were made. The theater installed a wide CinemaScope screen with stereophonic sound in January 1954. In the 1970s, the Terrace was retrofitted with 70mm equipment.^[16]

The Volk brothers retained ownership of the theater until 1980, when it was purchased by Plitt Theaters. In 1987, the Midcontinental Theater Company purchased the Terrace. According to a November 8 article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Midco Vice President Larry Kirschenmann believed that people still wanted to see movies on the big screen without paying the first run admissions.^[17] The auditorium was cut in half, with the front section retaining the large screen; the balcony space was turned into two separate, 300-seat screening rooms. This revised movie house, the Midco Terrace, opened with a showing of Roxanne starring Steve Martin, with a ticket price of $1. The last movie played in 1999; the Terrace closed and the windows were boarded up.^[18] May 23, 2016, was proclaimed Historic Terrace Theatre Day in Robbinsdale, noting that the theater, since its closing, has received continued support from preservationists and historians as an important historical building, both culturally and architecturally, and that the Terrace offered family entertainment for the citizens of Robbinsdale and beyond for nearly fifty years.^[3]

Governor Mark Dayton also proclaimed Historic Terrace Theatre Day, recognizing that Liebenberg and Kaplan brought the City of Robbinsdale and the State of Minnesota national attention due to the groundbreaking and innovative design work used in its construction as one of the first modern movie theaters in the country; that the theater was a longstanding fixture for family entertainment in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area; and that it is vital to bring attention to historic buildings in order to show support for historic projects.^[19]

The property is currently owned by Brixmor Property Group, a real estate investment trust, headquartered in New York City, New York.^[20]

Historic designation

Though the building had been unoccupied since 1999, its historic integrity was intact at the time of its demolition. On August 15, 2015, the StarTribune reported that the Terrace was deemed eligible to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 but the designation lapsed after a ten-year period. In 2015, Denis Gardner, the National Register historian for the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office, said the theater is "one of the most distinctive buildings in Robbinsdale". Gardner said the Terrace is the culmination of L&K's "considerable theater-design experience and talents."^[21]

A nomination for the National Register of Historic Places was prepared by PVN in 2014.^[22] PVN's most prominent project, the Hollywood Theater in Northeast Minneapolis, is another Liebenberg & Kaplan-designed theater that is currently being renovated after sitting vacant for decades. The firm worked with a developer, neighborhood groups, the City of Minneapolis, the State of Minnesota, and the National Park Service to secure the Hollywood’s place in the National Register of Historic Places, both to honor its history and to capitalize on preservation-related funding sources.^[23]

Redevelopment controversy

Partial demolition of the building in September 2016

In July 2016, the Robbinsdale Economic Development Authority voted to demolish the theater at the request of a developer to make way for a Hy-Vee grocery store.^[24] The demolition of the theatre received Robbinsdale City Council on August 23, 2016 as part of a redevelopment plan that would include Hy-Vee. The proposal became a flashpoint among community residents. Some pointed out the need for a grocery store in the area as well as the economic benefits the redevelopment plan would bring; Others, however, contended that the theatre should be preserved for its historical significance and that a grocery store could be built without demolishing the theatre.^[25][26]

A citizens group launched an internet petition against Hy-Vee and filed a suit with Hennepin County District Court on August 23 requesting that the demolition be halted,^[20] but the group's request was denied on September 19.^[27] An appeal was filed on September 23 with the Minnesota Court of Appeals asking that the court issue an emergency injunction to prevent the theater from being demolished,^[28] but demolition of the theater began the next day before the court could hear the case.^[29] A temporary restraining order was granted the same day on by a Hennepin County judge and the demolition work building was order to halt until until September 27.^[30] The judge's ruling, however, required those opposed to the theatre's demolition to post a $2.8 million bond to the property owner and a $3.5 million bond to the city's Economic Development Authority by September 30.^[31][32] On September 29, the Minnesota Court of Appeals heard an appeal requesting a reduction of the amounts of the two bonds.^[33] The appeal was denied,^[33] and the demolition work resumed the next day after the deadline for bond payment passed.^[34]

References

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