Forgotten Movie Theaters Chippewa Falls - The Falls I and II

In contrast to most of our entries the Falls Theater in Chippewa Falls still exists.  Sort of.

It opened on July 6th 1938 and was owned by Miner Theaters.  They also owned the Rivoli about two blocks away.  Ownership went to the large Marcus Theater group in 1969 who ran it until it closed in the late 1970's.  At that time it was converted to a bowling alley.

That's the bare bones of the story but there is a bit more to puzzle through.  At 800 seats it was a big theater.  Sadly this is the best picture I've found so far:

And here it is today.

I enjoy studying old buildings and trying to figure out how and when each section was constructed.  Obviously this one is a real puzzler.  A blank wall of tedious cement blocks covers the former front of the theater and I know from studying maps that this site incorporates the location of several earlier buildings including a Chinese laundry and a wagon shop!  

A delightful bit of movie theater can still be seen peeking out on one corner.

I am not sure what to make of this.  It is on a section of the building that I think was new construction as this part was a vacant lot in 1910.  Perhaps it was a fire escape door.  It would be in about the right place for a balcony escape.  And it almost looks as if some kind of ledge or platform has been removed from the wall.  Note also the lower door space, no doubt a fire escape for the main floor.

The building is again being renovated.  If I can manage a visit during construction I will report back on any more theater remains. But I've been there bowling a number of times and don't recall much.

I look forward to hearing from people who have memories of The Falls Theater.  One solid citizen mentioned to me that for Saturday matinees you got a ticket and popcorn for 12 cents.  Ah, memories of a time long past....

Interestingly the Falls had sort of a revival in the 1980's.  Not at this site of course, but a couple of blocks away on a site with previous cinema history.

The 1980's now look like a Golden Age for movies.  And so it seemed to one local businessman who felt the time was right for movies to return to down town Chippewa Falls after a decade plus of absence.  He remodeled a building that had previously been an American Legion Post and before that a print shop.  He dubbed it The Falls Theater.  It's the building on the left, now an insurance agency.

You may recall seeing an AMERICAN LEGION sign in the background of our visit to the former site of the Empire.  It is a newer addition, but probably pretty handy when creating a theater space.  Long narrow buildings with lots of exits for fire code status are ideal.

I can contribute my own memory of The Falls Theater (II).  I think it was only open for a couple of years and can date it to 1989.  I took one of our kids to see The Little Mermaid when he was rather young.  He found the Sea Witch terrifying and we had to leave.

Wrapping up our tour of Chippewa Falls movie theaters I must mention the current establishment.  Micon Cinema has a multi theater on the South Side of town about a mile from this spot.  They are classy folks and very supportive of the community.  When my son recovered from seeing the Sea Witch he went on to be a rather creative person.  In High School he took the TV Production class and on a whim he and his pals created a feature film....that the good folks at Micon were willing to put on as a World Premier!  There were tuxes and evening gowns involved and admission was free.  We were of course encouraged to buy some popcorn.

It now costs more than 12 cents.