Overview

The Avalon Theater is a strong example of a Streamline Moderne theater.

• Location: 1500 Lake Street East
• Neighborhood: Midtown Phillips

Guidelines

See design guidelines

Historic profile

The Avalon Theater is a strong example of a Streamline Moderne theater. The Avalon site has hosted many types of motion pictures since 1909. A theater on the western half of the site showed silent films from 1909 to 1923. In 1923, the building burned down. In 1924, architects Ekman Holm & Co. designed and built a new theater on the eastern half of the site. This became the Rosebud Theatre and was renamed Reno Theatre in 1930. In 1937, the theater expanded to become the Avalon Theater.  

Designed in the Streamline Moderne style, the Avalon Theater has Kasota stone walls with a marble base. Facing Lake Street East, there is a large glass-block window. The ticket booth and entrance are at the southwest corner. Above, there is a marquee sign and a two-story circular tower. The tower is lined with vertical black strips and colored neon light bulbs. Next to the tower, these elements continue between rounded pilasters. The vertical nature of the tower contrasts the horizontal nature of the stone walls.  

The theatre started showing sound films in 1927 and X-rated films in 1957. The streetcar helped bring many visitors to the theater through the 1950s. After the streetcar was removed from Minneapolis, the Avalon Theater began to decline. The theater survived until the 1980s. In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre restored it.