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 located at 3508 France Avenue North in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Designed in the mid-century modern style by the Minneapolis architectural firm of Liebenberg & Kaplan (L&K) for Twin Cities movie exhibitors Sidney and William Volk, the Terrace opened in 1951.^[1] Upon its opening, the Terrace received critical acclaim for its “bold architectural lines [and] extensive patron services.”^[2] The 1,300-seat theater was a popular Twin Cities destination for nearly fifty 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 remained boarded up for seventeen years before it was demolished in the fall of 2016.^[3]

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 side of the 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.^[4] The Mall is still standing, though many of the stores are vacant. The mall property and the block where the theater stood are owned by a developer with plans to build a Hy-Vee grocery store on the site.^[5]

According to architectural historian Larry Millett, the Terrace was "among the finest movie theaters of its time in the United States."^[1] Despite efforts to preserve the theater, place it on the National Register of Historic Places,^[6] and restore it as a multi-use facility,^[7] the Robbinsdale City Council approved demolition in August 2016 and issued a permit in September. A lawsuit had been filed to prevent demolition,^[8] but the theater was demolished before the case was heard in court.^[3]

Design

According to a 2016 article in the Star Tribune, the theater "was instantly acclaimed as a masterpiece of mid-century design" upon opening.^[7] L&K designed many notable residential and commercial buildings, but the firm came to specialize in movie theaters, eventually designing the construction and/or remodeling of more than two hundred theaters in Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and North and South Dakota.^[9]

The theater's lobby, 1970s.

Most homes of this period were not air conditioned, so the theater's year-round cooling system, devised using 52-degree well water,^[10] was a summertime draw.

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 called Celotex (made of sugar cane waste and casein glue, originally used by L&K in their design of Temple Israel in Minneapolis and then at their first atmospheric theater, the Granada in Minneapolis) contributed to its acoustics.^[11]

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.^[12][13]

Construction

The Terrace Theatre opened May 23, 1951 with a showing of "Father's Little Dividend."

Materials chosen for the exterior included red and buff brick, stone, glass block windows, colored glass windows, and a metal canopy. A sign tower of brick, set off with backlit glass, was topped with the theater’s name in bold capital letters. The primary entrance to the building was located at the northeast corner of the north façade. The interior gathering 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 Midcentury light fixtures, the stone and copper fireplace, and exposed stone and brick walls.^[14]

History

Built at an estimated cost of $750,000,^[15] the Terrace was the first major movie theater to open in the Minneapolis suburbs after World War II, and it was one of the country’s first ultra-modern theaters.^[16] Visitors from far and wide came to see the new "movie palace," billed as "America's Finest Theatre." A 1952 guest register showed signatures from 25,000 people from all 48 states plus Canada and other countries outside the US.^[15]

In the theater's early years a uniformed doorman met patrons upon their arrival. There was a circular driveway that allowed drivers to pull right up right to the door. The expansive parking lot accommodated 1,000 cars.

In 1955, as the theater’s third anniversary approached, Post Associate Editor Bob Bork wrote, "The theater is operated by the Volk brothers, Sidney 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 Sidney, 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.”^[17]

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.^[18]

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.^[19] The auditorium was cut in half, with the front section retaining the large screen; the balcony space was turned into two separate, smaller 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.^[20]

The City of Robbinsdaled proclaimed May 23, 2016, as 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.^[16]

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.^[21]

Historic designation

The theater in 2016

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 was the culmination of L&K's "considerable theater-design experience and talents."^[22]

A nomination for the National Register of Historic Places was prepared by PVN in 2016.^[23] PVN's most prominent project, the Hollywood Theater in Northeast Minneapolis, is another Liebenberg & Kaplan-designed theater that was 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.^[24]

Though the Terrace had been unoccupied since 1999, its historic integrity was intact at the time of its demolition.

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.^[25] More than 2,200 people signed a "Save the Terrace" petition,^[26] but the City Council approved demolition on August 23, 2016 as part of a redevelopment plan that would replace the theater and the adjacent mall with a Hy-Vee. The proposal became a flashpoint among community residents. Some asserted that the theater had become an eyesore and that the city needed a grocery store and the economic benefits it would bring; others, however, contended that the Terrace should be preserved for its historical significance and restored to its full potential, and that a grocery store could be built on the site without demolishing the theater.^[8][27][28]

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.^[29] After the group's request was denied on September 19,^[30] 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.^[31] However, a demolition permit was obtained on Friday, September 23 and a crew began demolishing the theater the next day before the court could hear the case.^[32] A temporary restraining order was granted the same day by a Hennepin County judge and the demolition work was ordered to halt until September 27.^[33] On September 26, a judge's ruling required the citizens group 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.^[34][35] The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota, which serves as the fiscal sponsor for the citizens group that filed the suit, noted that "bond requirements are not unusual in preservation lawsuits, but the largest we had heard of was around $150,000. $6.3 million is excessive, and unprecedented. And it flies directly in the face of the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, which states that ANY CITIZEN can file a lawsuit in defense of endangered resources."^[36] On September 29, the Minnesota Court of Appeals denied a request for a reduction of the amounts of the two bonds.^[37] Demolition then resumed on October 1, the day after the deadline for bond payment passed.^[38]

The reinforced concrete and steel frame structure withstood more than a month of demolition work. The TERRACE letters that stood atop the tower for 65 years were torn down on October 2. On December 16, 2016, the letters were transferred to the Robbinsdale Historical Society. The iconic chandeliers were also scheduled to be transferred but that transfer was delayed due to a winter storm. The items are to be preserved and exhibited along with other pieces from the theater at a future date.^[39]

References

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