City committee begins looking at options
By Robert Cloud
Volunteers helped save the Grand Cinema Theatre nearly a quarter of a century ago.
Margie Brown spoke to the New London Economic Development Committee during its April 27 meeting.
She described the building’s decrepit condition in the mid-1990s.
Many of the seats were broken, the roof leaked and there were mushrooms growing inside the building.
“The east wall had separated and the trusses failed,” Brown said. “The owner had spent no money on maintenance.”
When the city of New London issued a repair or raze order, concerned citizens formed Friends of the Grand.
The group collected enough signatures for a referendum, which voters passed.
The city committed to spending $250,000 over 10 years, Brown said.
At the same time, Rogers Cinema decided to open a movie theater in the building.
The company invested in a new projector and sound system, Brown said.
“In 1998, we opened the door and people came in and said, ‘How can we help?’” Brown recalled.
Brown said volunteers worked a total of more than 5,000 hours to help restore the building.
She asked the committee to consider ideas of how to save the building, again.
The movie theater closed during the pandemic and the building is for sale again.
It would be “a real shame to lose this building,” according to committee member Hans Thompson.
“That was the first job I ever had in high school,” Thompson said. “I was 15 1/2 years old and it was just magical.”
Thompson suggested that the city could repurpose the space.
He said the smaller theater could be used for showing movies, while the larger theater could be used for other events.
Ald. Fred Zaug said the city could look at “public-private ownership or sell stock like Packers’ stock. We can’t make any money on it, but rather than calling it a donation, you can say you’re a stockholder.”
The committee plans to contact the nonprofit group that owns and operates The Grand in Oshkosh to see if it could help provide a model for restoring the building.