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Photo by Michele Manske
Theater manager Pete Christensen.
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Neighborhood spotlight: Music Box
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By Michelle Bruch
Thinking outside the box Music Box Theatre explores creative uses for Nicollet venue
For 12 years, the Music Box Theatre has been synonymous with Triple Espresso, a three-man variety show.
Now that Triple Espresso is only performing at 1407 Nicollet Ave. S. over the holidays, the owner and manager are going back to the drawing board and trying to reinvent the venue.
They installed an espresso machine in the lobby. They hosted a Patsy Cline tribute as a fundraiser for Simpson Housing Services. A church called Spirit Garage holds services at the theater every Sunday.
“There are no limits to what we’re exploring,” said theater manager Pete Christensen.
The 440-seat theater might host CD release parties, art shows in the lobby, corporate events tied to the convention center, and an open-stage night for local bands. The owners might add a screen and projection equipment to the balcony to show B-run movies and classic and independent films. Christensen has talked to Jim Walsh, a local writer and musician, about hosting a music night similar to Walsh’s Hootenanny at the Beat Coffeehouse.
“This is one of the most dense areas in town as far as population,” Christensen said. “There should be a theater here, and we really want to make it work.”
Theater management is currently working to get a beer and wine license to provide them with an extra economic boost — Christensen said basic utility bills and other expenses rack up to $15,000 per month.
A subcommittee of Citizens for a Loring Park Community recommended city approval of the license last week, although one committee member worried about people creating disturbances outside the theater. Another member countered that the theater going dark would be worse for the neighborhood than people smoking on the sidewalk.
Welsh Companies is currently listing the theater for sale with an asking price of $1.95 million.
Although the owners would like to bring in more bands, they’re not planning to create a dance floor or rip out any seating.
The Music Box Theatre, originally called The Loring Theater, was built in 1920 as a silent film theater and vaudeville house. In 1930, as movies were converted into “talkies,” alterations and Art Deco details were added to the theater.
Loring was one of the few local theaters that survived the Depression, but it could not withstand the rising popularity of television and shut down in 1955.
It was later sold and converted into a Pentecostal church by the Evangelical Association. Evangelist Jim Bakker preached his first sermon at the Music Box. The theater still holds a meditation room left over from those days.
Triple Espresso’s first show at the theater came in 1996, and Producer Dennis Babcock said he’s amazed at its success. More than 2 million people have seen the show in six countries and 44 U.S. cities, and the production has been translated into two foreign languages.
“We were hoping to get through the first eight weeks,” Babcock said.
Even though Triple Espresso isn’t packing the auditorium anymore, locals will notice the marquee lights continue to light up. Christensen decided to light the marquee when 3,000 runners traveled down Nicollet as part of the TC 1 Mile, and now he’s flipping the switch even when events aren’t underway.
“I want this area of Nicollet to be lit up,” he said. “It’s all about making it a fun place for people to come out of their apartments and walk over and see what’s going on.”
Reach Michelle Bruch at 436-4372 or mbruch@mnpubs.com.
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Carmichael Lynch drops Harley account
UPDATED August 30, 2010, 2:29pm
By Gregory J. Scott
When it comes to selling muscle bikes, three decades is enough. Downtown advertising agency Carmichael Lynch announced August 23 that it was resigning from its Harley-Davidson account, ending a relationship of 31 years with the iconic motorcycle brand. In a prepared statement, Doug Spong, president of Carmichael Lynch, said, "Our agency leadership came to the consensus that we've taken the Harley-Davidson brand as far as we can. It's in our best interest to part ways." Mark-Hans Richer, Harley’s CMO, said, "Our strategies have been moving away from a singular consumer target and a one-size-fits-all agency solution. Rather than accept this new reality, Carmichael Lynch chose a different path and we respect that." The
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Community notebook :: Florence Court apartments
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
At Florence Court, new apartments up, courtyard staysThe mid-August groundbreaking came and went quietly for the FloCo Fusion Apartments, a chic rebranding of a ramshackle cluster of student housing near the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus. Despite years of resistance from current residents, the new building is officially going up, fanfare or no. Florence Court, as the community used to be called, is one of the oldest apartment buildings in the Midwest, dating back to 1886. The L-shaped structure sits at the intersection of 10th Avenue SE and University Avenue, but is tucked back from the street, hidden until recently behind a BP gas station. The 33-unit complex surrounds a leafy courtyard, which its residents — a colorful
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Watching out for the homeless
By Sarah McKenzie
// Volunteer outreach worker Jerry Fleischaker honored with prestigious McKnight award //After Jerry Fleischaker’s wife died of Alzheimer’s disease, he came across a newspaper article about St. Stephen’s Human Services’ work reaching out to homeless people with mental health issues. The story inspired him to start volunteering for St. Stephen’s. Now the 79-year-old retired pharmaceutical sales representative volunteers full time for the Downtown-based organization. “My wife died of Alzheimer’s in 2002. I saw the care she needed,” Fleischaker told Monica Nilsson, director of street outreach and community education for St. Stephen’s. “I was haunted by the thought that people might be
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Downtown visioning session looks to 2025
By jake weyer
// Whether to add a park north of Central Library will be part of the discussion, meant to produce a 15-year plan for Downtown //It’s been nearly 15 years since Downtown business leaders got together with city staff and elected officials to hash out a long-term plan for the area. Back in 1996, those stakeholders came up with Downtown 2010, a vision that included such grandiose plans as a new ballpark for the Minnesota Twins, a light rail line along Hiawatha Avenue, a new Central Library, completion of the Target Center and the development of the Downtown Improvement District — all realities today. “We’re standing now, planless,” said Sam Grabarski, president of the Downtown Council. “And a lot of good
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A mountain out of a bronze molehill?
By Gregory J. Scott
// The Sid Hartman statue stirs debate about public memorials Downtown //
OK, no one disputes that the guy deserves a statue. Sid Hartman, the nonagenarian sportswriter who has spent the last 65 years reporting for the Star Tribune and WCCO, is probably getting bronzed. The Department of Public Works is ironing out technical details for installing a metallic Sid replica, complete with TV reporter microphone and newspaper tucked under the arm, right outside of Target Center and a block from the Twins stadium, at the corner of 6th Street and 1st Avenue. The Public Works assessment is the final stage in a roughly six-week approval process to get the statue out into the public. No one’s upset about that. As Nick Legeros, the artist who designed
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Biz buzz :: Construction costing Elliot Park businesses
By Gregory J. Scott
1 Comment
For Elliot Park businesses, street improvements come with a price
True to its motto, Band Box Diner can turn “grease into a feast.” But the Elliot Park gem can’t make much out of the road construction that’s transformed its streetscape into a scarred industrial zone.
The throw-back diner is one of the businesses standing to benefit from a sweeping, 15-block reconstruction of Chicago Avenue South — if only it can survive through to the project’s completion.
“It’s kind of like, if you have a half hour for lunch, and then you get lost for 45 minutes, what are you gonna do?” says Brad Ptacek, who has operated the diner for the last 13 years.
Ptacek’s breakfast
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