1116-1128 Main St. | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society

National or State Registers Record

1116-1128 Main St.

National or State Register of Historic Places
1116-1128 Main St. | National or State Registers Record | Wisconsin Historical Society
NAMES
Historic Name:Fox Theater
Reference Number:82000698
PROPERTY LOCATION
Location (Address):1116-1128 Main St.
County:Portage
City/Village:Stevens Point
Township:
SUMMARY
FOX THEATER
1116-1128 Main Street, Stevens Point, Portage County
Architect: Oscar Cobb
Date of construction: 1894

Constructed in 1894 as the Grand Opera House, for many years this building was the focus of many theatrical and community events, hosting public speeches, local charity and civic theater events, and productions by traveling dramatic companies. Notable among the gatherings were speeches by Eugene Debs and William Jennings Bryant.

G.F. Andrae, one of Stevens Point's leading merchants, commissioned theater architect Oscar Cobb to design the Romanesque Style building. With the exception of its taller and more highly ornamented central section, the building reflects the scale of other commercial buildings on its block. Faced with pressed brick, the building is capped with pressed metal cornices and has cast iron brackets at the outer edges of the building. Typical of theater designs of the period, the entrance to the auditorium is at the center of the building with a small commercial space located on each side. The current Fox Theater marquee was added when the interior was extensively remodeled in the 1940s. However, the original ceiling with its classically inspired oval medallion remains in the auditorium.

PROPERTY FEATURES
Period of Significance:1900-1924
Period of Significance:1875-1899
Area of Significance:Architecture
Applicable Criteria:Architecture/Engineering
Applicable Criteria:Person
Applicable Criteria:Event
Historic Use:Social: Civic
Historic Use:Social: Meeting Hall
Historic Use:Education: Library
Historic Use:Recreation And Culture: Theater
Architectural Style:No Style Listed
Resource Type:Building
Architect:Andre,G.F.
Architect:Cobb,Oscar
DESIGNATIONS
Historic Status:Listed in the National Register
Historic Status:Listed in the State Register
National Register Listing Date:07/26/1982
State Register Listing Date:01/01/1989
NUMBER OF RESOURCES WITHIN PROPERTY
Number of Contributing Buildings:1
Number of Contributing Sites:0
Number of Contributing Structures:0
Number of Contributing Objects:0
Number of Non-Contributing Sites:0
Number of Non-Contributing Structures:0
Number of Non-Contributing Objects:0
RECORD LOCATION
National Register and State Register of Historic Places, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin

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National Register of Historic Places Citation
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