The vacant Victoria Theater in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood is a monument to silent film, Prohibition, American folk music, and turn-of-the-century architecture.Some advocates hope that in the future, more people will know about its link to all these things.
Recently the city's Heritage Preservation Commission determined that there's a compelling case for granting the theater historic designation, and the City Council is likely to address the issue next month, according to city staffer Christine Boulware.
The two-story theater, which dates back to 1915, is one of the few remaining examples of the early work of architect Franklin Ellerbe, Boulware explains via email. In the early 1900s, Ellerbe founded a firm that eventually became nationally prominent
Ellerbe Becket.
The Victoria has a Beaux Arts-style brick and terra cotta fa�ade. Inside, the original screen and projection booth, along with decorative pillasters, portions of the balcony and second floor, and hand-painted landscapes are also intact.
Later the theater was renamed the Victoria Caf� and became a dance hall that put on lively cabaret-style shows. During Prohibition, the nightclub was the target of various controversial federal actions, including a raid. In 1927 the club's house orchestra recorded a jazzy piece called "Moonshiner's Dance" for Gennett Records, which was later included in Harry Smith's famed 1952
Anthology of American Folk Music on Folkways Records, one of the catalysts of the folk-music revival of the 1950s and 60s..
The theater is adjacent to the historic Raths, Mills and Bell, Inc.
building which housed one of the city's earliest industrial-film production companies.
The city, which has six locally designated historic districts and more than 60 individually designated sites, previously tried to get the theater on the National Register of Historic Places, but it lacked some of the documentation necessary to prove its significance.
Now the preservation commission and some community advocates want the city to recognize the theater as historic. "The theater is part of a shared memory of the Frogtown community and an important link between generations," Boulware explains.
Additionally, some city officials and community members believe it could "be an anchor for redevelopment and revitalization of the Victoria [light rail] Station area and have a positive effect on the surrounding neighborhood."
Source: Christine Boulware, historic preservation planner for the city of St. Paul
Writer: Anna Pratt