After the Final Curtain: In late December 2020, a representative of the Wisconsin Historical Society contacted me. They asked me if I was familiar with what was happening at the Capitol Theatre (Park) in Racine, Wisconsin. I had heard of it, but I didn’t know anything about its current state.
5 comments:
The photos attached in the article somehow gave me the similar (yet less dramatic) feelings when I first saw pictures of the Notre-Dame Cathedral burnt down. It is even more sad to read the story because the building was being demolished by humans with full intent, not necessarily because of any natural disasters or other manmade accidents, despite the efforts of the group to prevent the theater from turning into nothing. As always, I cannot stop thinking about if the result could have changed if there wasn’t COVID and people were still making frequent visits to theater. Even though they did not explained the violations they got in detail, but it is still very unpleasant to watch the theater that is almost a century old being broken down. I do not even know what they are planning on to do after demolition but I hope they build something that is as significant as the Capitol.
Reading about the demise of this landmark Captiol Theatre is actually quite sad. It really sounds like its ultimate demise was caused by the new owner simply not caring enough for it and falling behind on payments. What peeves me about this story, however, is that the demolition moved forward even though enough money was raised by people who actually did care about the building and it history to buy it and restore it. Granted, I do understand that the money was ultimately raised after the demolition order was given, but it is still incredible sad to see a piece of history like the Capitol Theatre go out. The pictures are a whole other story – I don’t know what it is, but something about images of abandoned spaced really interest and excite me. For as long as I can recall, I have loved seeing such images and hope to one day myself explore such abandoned spaces, especially those being reclaimed by nature (safely and legally, of course). In any case, it is sad to see s piece of history like this get lost to failed payments, but I suppose everything has its time.
Seeing run down theatres, especially really old and historical ones, is always a little heartbreaking to me. Just like The Capitol Theatre in Racine, Wisconsin, I had a similar thing happen to The Lincoln Theatre in my hometown (Miami Beach, Florida). Built in 1936, whereas The Capitol was 1928, The Lincoln served as a theatre and a cinema through 1980, where it was then changed to a symphony house. As of 2012 though, The Lincoln was gutted and taken over by an H&M retail store. I feel like I would rather it look like the images of The Capitol, completely run down and practically abandoned, than the way it is now. In any case, seeing theatres go to the dumps or be replaced altogether hurts because it makes the ones that still stand, at least in regional areas rather than Broadway, seem like the last of a dying breed.
It just goes to show that if you don’t keep up on repairs, they come up and get you if you’re not careful. This building was obviously beautiful and one of a kind, but it had not been taken care of for 40 years, so it doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that it was unsalvageable. The attempt to turn it into a registered historical building was a clever idea in an attempt to disrupt the demolition process. It’s interesting to me that they were so ready to knock down this beautiful building because that’s not necessarily the impression I got growing up in Baltimore. In the city, there are enough vacants to house the homeless population two times over, but they’re all in various states of disrepair. The project is so large that they’re only able to knock down a tiny fraction of the building in any given year, not even keeping up with the number of newly abandoned buildings.
This article is right up my ally because I love watching urban exploration videos on YouTube, where people explore abandoned places just like the theater detailed in this article. I am fascinated by the ways these buildings remain almost frozen in time, and other than the natural decay garnered by a lack of upkeep, they truly feel untouched since the time they were abandoned. I feel like buildings like these are one of the rawest and most authentic forms of human history we can observe, so it is a shame when they are ordered to be demolished, although I understand. It is not productive to safety, the environment, or surrounding community to keep these buildings with virtually no upkeep up and running, despite the fascination they bring. I understand when the cons outweigh the pros, but it is still nice that this building was documented before its demolishment. The images invite intrigue and truly make me wonder about the lifetimes, decades and trends the walls of this theater have observed over the years.
Post a Comment