The rise and fall of movie palaces episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 25, 2026 · 12 MIN

The rise and fall of movie palaces

from Lake Effect Spotlight · host WUWM 89.7 FM - Milwaukee's NPR

Milwaukee is fortunate to have some historic movie theaters still in operation - from the Oriental and Downer on the city’s east side, to the Avalon in Bay View. But the city was once home to many lavish movie palaces – with seats for thousands of movie goers.  For decades, these theaters lined the streets of downtown Milwaukee - but now, only a few remain. To learn more about the rise and fall of Milwaukee’s movie palaces, Lake Effect's Joy Powers is joined by historian Matthew Prigge, who wrote about it for this month’s Milwaukee Magazine. 

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 25, 2026

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The rise and fall of movie palaces

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