About
|
|
|
Address: 1407 Nicollet Avenue South
Neighborhood: Loring Park
Construction Date: 1920
Contractor: Unknown
Architect: Kees and Colburn
Architectural Style: Classical Revival
Historic Use: Culture/Recreation – Motion Picture Theater
Current Use: Culture/Recreation – Motion Picture Theater
Date of Local Designation: 1990
Date of National Register Designation: N/A
Area(s) of Significance: Architecture; Social History; Master Architects
Period of Significance: 1920-1955
Historic Profile: The Loring Theater was completed in 1920 as a silent film theater and vaudeville house. Built in the Classical Revival style, the theater reflects the era of progress experienced in Loring Park during the turn of the century when the area went from unpopulated land to established commercial and private properties. Aided by the expansion of the streetcar line, the Loring Theater experienced great success throughout the 1920s playing silent movies. In 1930, after the conversion to "talkies," alterations were made by Liebenberg and Kaplan, adding Art Deco details. Due to the rise in popularity of television, the theater was forced to shut down in 1955. It was sold and converted into a church by the Evangelical Association. Since then, the theater has been restored and renamed the Music Box Theater.
Photo Credits:
1952, Norton and Peel, courtesy of The Minnesota Historical Society
2006, Minneapolis CPED
Works Cited:
City of Minneapolis, "Minneapolis Historic Properties Inventory Form," September 1989.
Updated: February 2007