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710 N PLANKINTON AVE

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Property Record

710 N PLANKINTON AVE

Historic Name:
Riverside Theater/Empire Building

Other Name:
Empire Building

Reference Number:
41778

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Property Location

Location (Address)

710 N PLANKINTON AVE

County

Milwaukee

City/Village

Milwaukee

Township

Unincorporated community

Town

Range

Direction

Section

Quarter Section

Quarter Quarter Section

Property Features

Year Built

1928

Additions

Survey Date

2004

Historic Use

theater/opera house/concert hall

Architectural Style

Spanish/Mediterranean Styles

Structural System

Wall Material

Brick

Architect

Kirchhoff & Rose

Other Buildings On Site

Demolished

No

Demolished Date

Additional Comments

A 'site file' exists for this property. It contains additional information such as correspondence, newspaper clippings, or historical information. It is a public record and may be viewed in person at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Historic Preservation-Public History. The Riverside Theater was restored in 1984. Example of large classicized commercial block in downtown Milwaukee. Like other commercial buildings of its era along W. Wisconsin Ave., the Empire Building was constructed for offices and a major theater. (See also: Carpenter Building, 536 W. Wisconsin Ave.; Centre Building, 2112 W. Wisconsin Ave.). The Orpheum organization buildt the Riverside Theater to seat 2436 persons, making it among the largest (though not among the most ornate) in Milwaukee. It opened in 1928 and featured both movies and Vaudeville and stage shows for many years. The theater still operates under the name of U.A. Riverside. For plans and historic interior photographs see "American Theatres of Today" by Betts & Sexton, Volume 2, Pages 108-112 (copy available at MPL Central Library Art Reference Collection) Previously surveyed in 1984 with map code 146/15. Map name was 392.

Bibliographic References

"American Theatres of Today" by Betts & Sexton, Volume 2, Pages 108-112. Headley, Robert. "The Theaters of Milwaukee", Journal of the Theater Historical Society, 1971, v. 3, no. 1, p. 3-4. MILWAUKEE HISTORIC BUILDINGS TOUR: KILBOURNTOWN, CITY OF MILWAUKEE DEPARTMENT OF CITY DEVELOPMENT, 1994. Tax Program. Building Permit Records. Milwaukee City Directories, 1927, 1928.

National And State Register Of Historic Places Listings

National/State Register Listing Name

West Side Commercial Historic District

National Register Listing Date

Dec 22, 2000

State Register Listing Date

Contributing

Yes

theater/opera house/concert hall Spanish/Mediterranean Styles

Milwaukee
County

Milwaukee
Community

1920-1929
Decade

National and State Register Listing

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Architecture & History Inventory

The Wisconsin Architecture and History Inventory (AHI) is a digital source of information on historic buildings, structures, and objects that have been surveyed by the State Historic Preservation Office in Wisconsin. Each property has a digital record providing basic information about the property and images.

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Review and Compliance Rehabilitation Tax Credits State Archaeologist State & National Registers of Historic Places Wisconsin Historic Preservation Database

Attribution

For a credit line: Wisconsin Historical Society, Creator, Title, Unique Identifier.

The Unique Identifier can be found at the top or bottom of the page for each item. The name of a downloaded file is NOT the unique identifier.

For bibliographic citations please consult the UW-Madison Libraries Citation Research Guide to ensure compliance with appropriate style guidelines.