Local Lore: When Lake City had its own ‘Hollywood’
If you were a Lake City resident looking to see a movie during the years of 1905 to 1974, you probably would have gone to the downtown theatre. There have been three different movie theatres in Lake City’s history, and in the year 1914 only, you would have been able to enter all three.
The very first motion picture house in our town was opened in 1905 by Sam Roberg of Red Wing and was known as The Grand Theatre. This establishment existed at 107 E. Lyon Ave. and was very simple in that it only showed slides projected on a screen. A year later, Ed Fetter took it over before it exchanged hands again in 1908, with Al Grant becoming the new proprietor.
In 1913, The Colonial Theatre managed by Mr. Gernes opened at 111 W. Center St. A Graphic-Republican article states, “long before time for the doors to open, a crowd began to gather in front of the playhouse and by the time the first tickets were sold, there were 300 or more waiting in line. Manager Gernes announced that approximately 900 people attended the opening performances… The theatre is a model of comfort and beauty, having a seating capacity of about 300, and equipped with all of the latest features. It has a fire-proof projection booth, a perfect ventilating system, comfortable seats with wide aisles, and the indirect lighting system whereby a softly diffused light makes all parts of the house visible and does not interfere with the pictures… Miss Marie McCarty and Thos. Huddleston have been engaged as musicians while Miss Anna Buckminister will be at the ticket window… The opening film—‘The Mysterious Adventures of Tom Butler’ was highly satisfactory and pleased all.”
Charles Kruger took over as proprietor of the Colonial Theatre the following year and seems to have remained in charge until the business closed in 1943.
1914 brought about big plans for the Grand Theatre when Grant sold the building to G. R. Swanson and the two partnered to open a new motion picture auditorium that was built by David C. McKenzie. This theatre was deemed The New Grand, and newspapers from the time covered every detail:
“With the completing of the new building, the finishing touches of which are being put on this week, Lake City can compliment itself and Mr. D. C. McKenzie as well, on having one of the best small theatre buildings of any city in this section of the country. The new building stands at the corner of Main Street and Lyon Ave… The walls are of tile covered with cement, the floor of concrete, and the front of the building of fancy pressed brick. The auditorium, which seats nearly 600 people is 38 by 80 ft., the building outside being 40 by 100 ft. A commodious stage has been erected which is 12 ft. deep and an opening of 20 by 14 ft. This will admit vaudeville acts when needed. There is a very nicely appointed set of scenery with four drops for the stage and the curtain for the projection of the pictures gives ample stage settings for anything that will want to be presented there. The ceiling is 21 ft. high in the auditorium. A commodious gallery has also been erected with seating capacity of 100…
“Nothing has been spared to make the place attractive and up-to-date… The chairs… are of the latest design of opera chairs. Neat colored leaded windows have been placed. Office, lavatory, and toilet rooms are at the disposal of patrons of the theatre. A steam heating plant has been installed and a complete ventilation system with six large fans will be used at all times. There are more than two hundred electric lights in and about the building which with two large 750 candle lights on the outside will give ample lighting facilities.
“Messrs. Grant and Swanson… will open the place on next Saturday evening with a special feature… An orchestra of eight pieces will furnish the music for the occasion… The proprietors of the theatre have the latest motion picture machine the Motiongraph and will continue the best service possible now rendered by the Grand… The place will be filled to capacity on the opening night goes without saying.”
The New Grand Theatre officially opened on August 1, 1914, after the old one held its final showing the evening of July 28. The opening feature was “Officer Jim,” a drama, followed by two reels of comedy; there were two showings with roughly a thousand attendees.
A year later, Thomas Grogan became proprietor, and Leon Sinclair took over the year after that.
Lake City’s next big theatre update came in 1926, when Sinclair sold The New Grand to Gil Reding and Charles Stroud of Windom, Minn. These two gentlemen installed the necessary equipment for the change to talking pictures, known as “talkies.”
Stroud continued management of the theatre on his own beginning in 1928 before selling to Robert Dallison of Minneapolis in 1930. Dallison had the building remodeled, added new theatre seats, and changed the establishment’s name to the Granada Theatre. A few years later, he accepted a position as a representative of a film company and thus sold the Granada to Sheldon and Donald Grengs from Spooner, Wis.
The Grengs reverted the theatre’s name back to The Grand and added lights in the canopy out front, which made that corner of Lakeshore Drive (formerly Main Street) and Lyon Avenue the “bright spot” of town.
Another two years went by and in 1936 Arnold L. Crane entered the picture. He appears to have operated the motion picture house with a brother for almost a decade before becoming the sole proprietor in 1945, whereupon the building was once again remodeled with the assistance of John McKenzie (son of D. C. McKenzie). This time, however, it was designed so that tickets were purchased outside the theatre lobby directly under the bright outdoor canopy.
The Lake City Graphic described the reopening with zeal: “Tonight is the night hundreds of folks, young and older, in this vicinity have awaited for many weeks—the re-opening of the theatre, hereafter to be known as the Hollywood.
“Tonight’s feature will be Ann Baxter and John Hodiak starred in ‘Sunday Dinner for a Soldier.’ Charles Winninger is also featured in the cast of the film which is a delightful story of ‘love on leave.’
“The former Grand building has been transformed within and without with new front, repainted and redecorated throughout and with new rest rooms, new lobby and foyer, draperies and accessories. The walls have been treated with a new material to improve acoustics and a new heating and cooling system will provide even and comfortable temperature…
“Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, ‘Tonight and Every Night’ will be shown, starring Rita Hayworth and Lee Bowman… Every Tuesday will be ‘Take a Chance Night’ with no advance announcements of the film to be shown that evening.”
A complete renovation and remodeling was completed yet again in 1948, in which the screen was pushed back 8 ft., the stage was rebuilt, and new carpet was put in.
Most popular of the Hollywood Theatre’s managers were Robert “Bob” and Florence Fick, who took over operations in 1953. The Lake City Graphic declared with the transfer of ownership that immediate plans were being made to double the size of the existing screen, to a width of 30 ft., and that they were installing state-of-the art projection equipment, making Lake City one of the few Minnesota theatres outside of the Twin Cities to adopt Cinemascope.
Bob Norberg’s article on the Hollywood in a Lake City Historical Society newsletter from 2020 comments that “‘The Robe,’ was the first Cinemascope picture to be shown at the Hollywood, followed by ‘The Ten Commandments,’ ‘Around the World in 80 Days,’ and ‘Ben Hur’…
“In short order the Ficks proved to have a flair for promotion. They did not waste time copying past practices, but quickly became innovation leaders… A national trade magazine for theatre owners awarded the Hollywood its $100 first place award for promotional creativity two years in a row, 1955 and 1956.”
The lengths at which this creativity went appear to have had no bounds, as Norberg relays that the Ficks managed to win this award by talking “Graphic editor Gene Hibbard and publisher Larry Oberg, and their wives Elsie and Esther, into taking over the theatre operation for an evening and, in return, the Ficks would take over writing Hibbard’s ‘Rundown’ column for a week. The ‘swap jobs’ good-will building idea was so fresh that the magazine touted it to other theatre owners.
“As the magazine explained it, the Ficks issued a good-natured taunt to Hibbard: ‘We visualize the crowds standing under the marquee waiting for tickets and the fun of heckling a newspaper editor trying to run a theatre, assuring mothers he will be their baby sitter, paging customers throughout the auditorium when their friends telephone, lifting little toddlers up to the drinking fountain, and all the other tasks… And who knows, this may open the door to you and Larry taking over the bank, hotel or flour mill for a day [in a similar swap arrangement] with business men who may really be frustrated journalists.’
“In fact, the idea, fully consummated with the cast of characters hand-picked by the Ficks, was such a hit that the local bank signed up to run the Hollywood on another night. A full-page ad teased the reader with a hint of ‘bankruptcy’: LAKE CITY BANK TAKES OVER HOLLYWOOD THEATRE.
Another $100 first place award from the same magazine was based on Bob Fick’s idea to add wrestling to the movie billing. LIVE WRESTLING AT THE HOLLYWOOD, announced the Graphic ad, explaining that the feature ‘Running Wild’ would be followed at 9 p.m. by KSTP-TV wrestling stars, ‘both male and former world’s champion ladies.’ Forty ringside seats were set up on stage.”
Bob Fick often invested in newspaper advertisements, some of which were full pages, in efforts to keep audiences coming to the motion picture house instead of staying at home with their TVs, which began taking over households in the early 1950s. This proved successful for a number of years, but even the Ficks’ wild ways of “Hyping the Hollywood” gradually stopped working.
Richard and Maxine Flodin, theatre owners from St. Charles, purchased the theatre in 1965 when the Ficks announced they’d be closing due to a “lack of sufficient patronage.” “Feature picture for the six-day grand opening will be Walt Disney’s technicolor production, ‘Those Calloways.’ Free buttered popcorn and coca-cola, as well as prizes, will be offered during the grand opening,” announced the Graphic. This didn’t seem to work any better than the Ficks’ efforts, however, as the Flodins soon gave up and returned to St. Charles.
After sitting idle for a time, ownership of the theatre for its remaining years went to John II and David McKenzie, grandsons of D. C. McKenzie, who began operating it in “1967 in the spring, summer, and fall.” According to Jerry Dunbar, who acted as manager under their ownership, the McKenzies remodeled and brought the equipment up to date one final time. A vendor known as the Northwest Theater Corporation additionally supplied them with films and other resources.
Still, it was not to last. Little by little, the Hollywood was “slowly suffocated into submission by television,” and officially closed in 1974. The final showing is unknown, but the last advertisement for the motion picture house, promoting both “Sonny & Jed,” and “The Legend of Frenchie King,” appeared in The Lake City Graphic on Sept. 12 of that year. There hasn’t been a movie theatre in Lake City since, and the former Hollywood building is now occupied by office spaces and apartments.
For those who were around during the Hollywood’s time, my coworkers and I at the Graphic would be delighted to hear which movies you remember seeing there! The films Dean Schumacher saw, in order of release dates, were “The Love Bug,” “They Call Me Trinity,” “Tora! Tora! Tora!” “Billy Jack,” and “The World’s Greatest Athlete.”
If you’re interested in reading more local lore like this or have a story to share, please contact me at sarah@lakecitygraphic.com with your thoughts and ideas.