Property Record
1122 WASHINGTON ST
Architecture and History Inventory
| Historic Name: | Mikadow Theatre |
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| Other Name: | Lakeshore Cinema |
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| Reference Number: | 58509 |
| Location (Address): | 1122 WASHINGTON ST |
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| County: | Manitowoc |
| City: | Manitowoc |
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| Year Built: | 1916 |
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| Additions: | C. 1940 |
| Survey Date: | 19852023 |
| Historic Use: | theater/opera house/concert hall |
| Architectural Style: | Twentieth Century Commercial |
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| Wall Material: | Brick |
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| Demolished?: | No |
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| National/State Register Listing Name: | Not listed |
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| Additional Information: | This theatre features a brick checkerboard pattern above the marque and a carrara glass first floor facade. The theatre has been significantly altered from its original appearance. 2023: This Twentieth Century Commercial building was constructed in 1916 as a movie theater known as the Mikadow Theatre which served as the city's second-run and B-movie cinema for much of its history. It is rectangular in plan with a brick and carrara glass façade and a flat roof. The front elevation faces south and features a cantilevered marquee across the façade above the storefront space. Below this, the wall is clad in black and red carrara glass with three separate pairs of metal-framed glass doors. A three-sided box office window is located near the center of the façade and is flanked by two inset movie card display cases. A long, horizonal window opening (currently obscured by signage) is located at the east end of the façade. A smaller window opening (also obscured by signage) is located at the west end of the façade. Above the marquee the face of the building features a nearly full-width panel of decorative basketweave brickwork. A square window opening at the west end of this has been infilled with similarly patterned brickwork. Historic photographs indicate that the existing marquee was installed between 1940 and 1948 as a replacement for an original flat-roofed decorative canopy that spanned the center portion of the façade. A historic vertically-mounted illuminated sign and ornamental cornice have also been removed. A fire in 1956 destroyed much of the building’s interior so that little, if any, original interior fixtures or finishes are likely to remain. In addition to serving as an early movie theater, the building is also associated with early radio broadcasting in Manitowoc. Theater owners Francis and Lillian Kadow established WOMT radio in 1926 (the call letters were chosen to stand for “Worlds Only Mikadow Theatre”) with studio and offices located on the second floor of the Mikadow Theatre building. The radio station was the first in the United States to contract for and broadcast its own hourly news through a contract with the United Press wire service. In 1932, WOMT became part of the North American radio network before joining the American network in 1936 and the Mutual network in 1945. During World War II, WOMT sold over $2 million in bonds via its radio broadcasts which could be heard throughout the country as well as in Mexico and Canada and, reportedly, as far away as Australia and New Zealand. In 1940, the Kadows shifted the WOMT studio to the neighboring building where it operated until 1967 when the station was sold to Wisconsin Fuel & Light Company who relocated its operations to another location in Manitowoc. WOMT continues to broadcast from Manitowoc today. |
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| Bibliographic References: | A. Sanborn Perris Map Co. Fire Insurance Map of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, New York, 1957. B. MCHS Newsletter, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 1, 3. |
| Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory, State Historic Preservation Office, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin |