Terrace Theatre (Minnesota)

Description: The Terrace Theater is situated at 3508 France Avenue North in Robbinsdale, MN. Located on a site overlooking Lakeview Terrace Park in Robbinsdale, MN, the building is surrounded by parking lots to the north, west, and south, with the largest lot on the north side. A strip mall was constructed on the east side of the structure in 1981. Constructed in the International Style, the building 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 illuminated TERRACE lettering at the top. The large lobby contains the original snack bar area, a casual waiting area, and 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 (built 1935; 2815-2819 Johnson Street NE, Minneapolis) and the Riverview(built 1948; 3800 42nd Avenue South, Minneapolis).

History: When the 1300 seat Terrace Theater opened in 1951, the spectacular venue was the most luxurious, comfortable and up-to-date theater in America. 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. 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 roughly 600 hundred theaters. The majority of these were in the Art Deco or Streamline Moderne styles. 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. Shortly after the theater opened the Minneapolis Star reported, “It has a soundproof nursery where parents can watch the show with their baby. There’s a snack bar and refreshment bar, there’s a room where parents can bring their children for parties, there’s coffee in a country club lounge and there’s a soundproof room where you can watch television.” 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, well furnished nursery rooms, deep and soft cushion seats, and background music throughout the theater. Considered a masterpiece of International-Style, The Terrace was one of the first ultramodern theaters in America. The Volk brothers planned the theater to serve all of the metropolitan area of the Twin Cities. A guest register from 1952 contained signatures from 25,000 people in every state of the union, Canada and many foreign countries. 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 of 1954. In the 1970’s, The Terrace was retrofitted with 70mm equipment and the theater created a niche for action packed movies. In 1987 the theater was purchased by the Midcontinental Theater Company. The auditorium was divided in half, and two small balconies were separated and turned into 300 seat screening rooms. The last movie 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.

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.

Condition: 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. Lobby plasterwork is deteriorated. Visible interior stonework appears to be in good condition. The auditorium plasterwork is partially missing. It is unknown if asbestos abatement has been completed on the structure. 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.

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.