Forgotten Movie Theaters Chippewa Falls - The Gem

Another contender for possible "first" movie theater in Chippewa Falls would be The Gem.  This one takes a bit more detective work.  A 1917 City Directory lists four theaters, The Empire, Lyric, Palace and of course the Rex.  Helpfully it gives addresses for them.  You never find theater addresses in newspaper ads, everyone knew where they were.  Comparing this to a 1910 Sanborn map I can place all four of them.  But, at a location not listed among the above names is a place marked MOVING PICTURES on the corner of Bridge and Grand.  I think this is the site of the Gem, a theater that was in existence since at least 1908.

The Gem appears to have had a rather varied menu of films, and appealed to the younger demographic.   

I was not expecting alligator wrestling!

In 1912 the newspaper ran a short column called "At the Playhouses".  It gave a thumbnail sketch of four theaters - quite a lot for a town of around 9,000 souls although the surrounding area was also part of the market.  Here's what they had to say about the Gem:

A movie about performing dogs....and then the dogs doing their act live.  In a highly competitive market the efforts to be novel must have been intense.  I have gone to very few movies in recent years but I would absolutely go and watch this.

Despite touting themselves as the "House of Quality" there seem to have been issues.  Possibly tainted by some editorial preference for its competition a 1910 article goes on at length about an incident where the management was "...forced to close the show and refund the money for the tickets...".  It seems the quality of the film supplied by the "Western Film Exchange of Milwaukee" was so bad that the operator was forced to stop the film four or five times a minute to try and get it running again.  The writer concludes:  "Sunday night is naturally the best of picture show nights.  It is also the best on which to disgust the patrons, and to ruin a house's business.  Many of the large audience at the Gem immediately hastened to the Empire where a most excellent show was given.

Here is our 1910 Sanborn map of the 200 block of Bridge street.  224 should be The Gem.

The same corner today.  Up on the cornice are the words "Physician's Block".

Although the basic footprint of the building is the same I think this is either a total remodel or more likely a newer building.  The Gem vanishes from the pages of the newspaper in mid 1912, and the Physicians block is described as "new" later that year.  I initially thought that it might have fallen victim to fire, but that would in general have made the news.  Probably the accumulated problems with the business in a market where four or perhaps five theaters were vying for the entertainment dollar just proved too much.  

As the name of the block implies the building was dedicated to physician's offices.  By the time I came to town in the mid 1980's it was a pharmacy.  No trace of its colorful past was visible in the interior at that time.

Next up:  We also hasten to The Empire.