Fox Theater

About this property

The Fox Theater is located in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its architectural significance. The building was built for G. F. Andrae in 1894. The architect was Oscar Cobb of Chicago, Illinois. It was originally known as the Grand Opera House, and first opened as a vaudeville and stage theater. G. F. Andrae was a German immigrant and well-known business man in Stevens Point. He was responsible for building a few buildings in town, including the Andrae Block. The Opera House was his way of giving back to the city. His descendants owned the building until September 2020. Now For the Opera House (From The Gazette, July 19, 1893.) This forenoon G. F. Andrae secured the deed for the ground upon which he will erect a new Opera House. The ground has a frontage of fifty-five feet on Main Street, and extends thought to Brown Street, the consideration being $4,165. Mr. Andrae has also purchased the lot on Brown Street, adjoining on the west, giving plenty of ground room on the rear for entrance, storage purposes, etc. The property was formerly owned by Henry and J. D. Curran. The contract has been let for moving the building, now occupied as a Chinese laundry, to Brown Street, and the building will be moved on Monday next. The contract for excavation for the basement has also been made, and work upon the same will be commenced at once. Mr. Andrae as has been stated before, has already received a number of plans, but the one he is most favorably impressed with is that furnished by a Chicago architect, who will be here today or tomorrow and look the ground over. This is something that Stevens Point has long needed, and it is a pleasure to be able to announce that the Andrae Opera House will be pushed forward to completion as fast as men can do the work and money provide the material, and that it will be erected in a model style and supplied with the latest and most approved furnishing and conveniences. Vitascope was played at the Grand (the first motion pictures) on February 11, 1897. The Majestic Theater was the next name of the theater. The stage house and dressing rooms were added to rear of the building, and the box seats were removed to create a larger auditorium. The theater reopened on November 1, 1920 with a performance of "All Aboard For Cuba." The Fox was remodeled in July–August 1941. A new canopy was built which is still in use today. New sound equipment, projection machines, and an air-conditioning system were installed. A new concrete fireproof floor, with a new pitch was installed on the main floor. The front row was raised 18 inches and the back row was raised eight inches. New seats were installed reducing the seating capacity to 772. The main floor had 568 seats. The front of the balcony had a smoking section with 72 seats. The regular seating section in the upper balcony had 132 seats. The main colors in the theater were burgundy, and the lobbies were green turquoise and yellow. The ladies rest room and lounge were enlarged. The Fox reopened on August 14, 1941 with the movie "Life Begins For Andy Hardy."

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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