Terrace Theater (Minnesota)

The Terrace's marquee in 2012

The Terrace Theater is situated at 3508 France Avenue North in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Located on a site overlooking Bottineau Boulevard and Crystal Lake, the building is surrounded by parking lots to the north, west, and south, with the largest lot on the north side. A mall was constructed on the east side of the structure in 1981. Constructed in the International Style, the theater's main entrance is in the northeast corner under a marquee. The most notable exterior feature is a large glass and brick tower rising above the northeast corner of the structure with brightly lit TERRACE lettering at the top. The enormous lobby contains a snack bar area, casual lobby area, and large angled windows. The auditorium portion of the building faces south with sloped seating in the front portion and stepped "stadium" seating in the rear portion. This auditorium seating arrangement can also been seen in earlier Liebenberg and Kaplan designed theaters such as the Hollywood Theater (built 1935; 2815-2819 Johnson Street NE, Minneapolis) and the Riverview Theater (built 1948; 3800 42nd Avenue South, Minneapolis).

History

Local movie theater owners, Bill and Sydney Volk, spared no expense when they built their flagship overlooking the marshes on the west side of Crystal Lake.[1] When the 1300 seat Terrace Theater opened in 1951, the spectacular venue was the most up-to-date, luxurious and comfortable theater in America. The Volks put the architectural firm of Liebenberg and Kaplan in charge of the design. Between 1923 and 1941, Liebenberg and Kaplan designed over 200 theaters and prepared plans for the remodeling of hundreds of older theaters throughout the midwest. Many of these were in the Art Deco or Streamline Moderne styles.[2] The Terrace Theater is a rare example of the firm’s early modern theater design, the last indoor theater Liebenberg and Kaplan designed and the only midcentury movie house left standing Twin Cities suburban area. In 1952, the Robbinsdale Post reported construction costs in excess of $750,000. The Terrace was equipped with a sunken den and fireplace, a television lounge,nursery rooms, deep cushion seats. Background music was played throughout the theater.[3] Considered a masterpiece of International-Style, The Terrace was one of the first ultramodern theaters in America.Folks from far and wide found their way to Robbinsdale. A guestbook from 1952 contained signatures from 25,000 people. The Terrace served as the office quarters for the Volk brothers as they conducted their theater business. Executive and management garage spaces were provided on the east side of the building below the ground level. 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 and the theater created a niche for action packed movies.[4] In April 1984 David Byrne and director Jonathan Demmethe Terrace hosted a premiere of the Talking Heads concert film, Stop Making Sense at the Terrace.[5] Leonard Maltin called the movie featuring the Talking Heads live on stage, “one of the greatest rock movies ever made.” In 1987 the theater was purchased by the Midcontinental Theater Company. According to a November 8 article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper, Kirschenmann, the owner, believed that people still wanted to see movies on the big screen without paying the first run admissions. The auditorium was divided in half, and two small balconies were separated and turned into 300 seat screening rooms. The last movie, Roxanne starring Steve Martin played in 1999 and the windows boarded up. The Terrace has remained unoccupied ever since. The building is currently owned by an out of state property management company.

Condition

The boarded-up Terrace in 2012

The building has been vacant since 1999. The exterior doors and tower glass has been covered with plywood to minimize damage from the elements and vandalism. The lobby window glass has been removed and the window opening has been covered with plywood from the inside. The marquee over the entry has some minor damage on the corner, likely due to a vehicle impact. Lighting sockets have been exposed to the elements and the resulting corrosion would likely require replacement. Visible brick and stonework appear in good condition. The lobby snack bar remains intact. Interior lobby retains original lighting fixtures. Theater Lobby plasterwork is deteriorated. Visible interior stonework appears to be in good condition. The auditorium plasterwork is partially missing. A large basement area is unfinished. It is unknown if the structure currently experiences water infiltration issues. The cinema projection equipment has been removed. Condition of plumbing is unknown but updates for code compliance would be expected. Condition of electrical systems is unknown but updates for code compliance would be expected. Condition of HVAC systems is unknown. A portion of the HVAC systems are located on the rooftop. There is no significant evidence of vandalism but evidence of occasional unauthorized entry exists. Asbestos abatement was completed by the city.

Integrity

The theater auditorium was partitioned into three smaller auditoriums. Removal of the partitioning appears to be possible without compromising the structural integrity of the building. All auditorium seating has been removed. The elevated siting of the structure has likely minimized damage from water infiltration. A roadside Terrace sign with a masonry base appears in good condition.

Save the Terrace

In 2013, local rocker, Adam Fesenmaier started a Facebook group called, "Save the Terrace". The group grew and currently has the support of at least 1500 local theater enthusiasts. In the summer of 2014, Alison Nguyen attracted attention to the cause Robbinsdale’s annual Whiz Bang Days. Her Terrace 2.0 Float brought in local media and reminded Whiz Bang crowds that it was time to do something with this amazing historic building. Then in the last few weeks of December 2014 something magical happened. The right group of people came together and committed themselves to make something happen.In January 2015, "Save the Terrace" took a few steps off the little screen and into the real world. Their efforts are currently being organized as part of the Robbinsdale Historical Society.[6] In July 2015 the group presented Robbinsdale's Mayor and City Council with a petition to deny any request for demolition permits. The petition was signed by nearly 2,200 Terrace Theatre enthusiasts.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Placeography Terrace Theater, 3508 France Avenue N, Robbinsdale, MN,
  2. ↑ History of the Hollywood: Liebenberg and Kaplan - Masters of Movie Theater Design Article at Preservation Works, LLC by Ryan Salmon and Greg Donofrio
  3. ↑ Twin Cities Picture Show: A Century of Moviegoing Minnesota Historical Society Press, November 1, 2007By Dave Kenney
  4. ↑ Images of America: Robbinsdale by Peter James Ward Richie, Arcadia Press July 2014
  5. ↑ Walker Art Center Centerpoints Blog October 16th,2014
  6. ↑ according to the Robbinsdale Historical Society's website at robbinsdalehistoricalsociety.com
  7. ↑ StarTribune July 23, 2015
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