The Grand Theater is a historic

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

and

performing arts center Performing arts center/centre (see spelling differences), often abbreviated as PAC, is usually a complex housing performance spaces for various performing arts, including dance, music, and theatre. In some cases it refers to a single multi-use s ...

Wausau, Wisconsin Wausau ( ) is a city in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Wisconsin River and had a population of 39,994 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the core city of the Wausau ...

, offering a variety of musical and artistic performances. The Grand Theater traces its origins back to the ''Grand Opera House'', which was originally built on the same location in 1899. The 890-seat

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

was a popular venue for musical and theatrical acts. The

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

where it stood has been considered an "arts block" ever since. When the opera house was demolished in the spring of 1927, construction began on the current Grand Theater, a

movie palace A movie palace (or picture palace in the United Kingdom) is a large, elaborately decorated movie theater built from the 1910s to the 1940s. The late 1920s saw the peak of the movie palace, with hundreds opening every year between 1925 and 1930. Wi ...

built in the classic revival architectural style. Today, the Grand Theater stands as a regional performing arts center for the Wausau area, and the greater region of central Wisconsin. In 1987, a $2.2 million project was undertaken to restore the theater back to its original glory. The technical systems were updated, allowing for the sound and lights required by touring shows. Since that time the Performing Arts Foundation has managed the Grand Theater and has brought a wide variety of entertainment acts to the stage. In 2002 the community once again stepped up to expand the walls of the Grand Theater to become ''Artsblock''. The $13.2 million project rededicated the facility to the glory of performance and energized not just the city of Wausau, but also the entire region. The original

Theatre Organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements of ...

remains in the building, and is used for concerts, and to accompany

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

s. The organ was built by the Kilgen Organ Company, and is one of only two Kilgen theatre organs to remain installed in its original theater. Today, the Grand Theater is a regional destination for the performing arts, and maintains its opulent historic

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

. The theater contains classic examples of

Colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

s, marble statues and the original solid Bedford limestone facade.

References

External links

{{Portal, Arts
Official Site
Theatres in Wisconsin Theatres completed in 1927 Event venues established in 1927 Cinemas and movie theaters in Wisconsin Former cinemas in the United States Performing arts centers in Wisconsin Theatres of the silent film era Music venues in Wisconsin 1927 establishments in Wisconsin