Barrymore Theatre
| Eastwood Theater, Cinema Theater | |
Barrymore Theatre in 2010
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| Address | 2090 Atwood Avenue Madison, Wisconsin United States |
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| Coordinates | 43°05′34″N 89°21′08″W / 43.0927°N 89.3521°W |
| Owner | Schenk Atwood Revitalization Association (SARA) |
| Capacity | 971 |
| Current use | live concert venue |
| Construction | |
| Built | 1929 |
| Opened | December 27, 1929 |
| Years active | 83 |
| Architect | Frederic J. Klein and H.C. Alford |
| Website | |
| barrymorelive |
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The Barrymore Theatre is a 971-capacity live music venue on the east side of Madison, Wisconsin. Originally built as the Eastwood Theater in 1929, the Barrymore was founded by Richard "Sich" Slone and Tom Peterson in 1987 in an attempt to revive Madison's declining Schenk-Atwood neighborhood. The theater has held over 2,000 shows and events including rock concerts, films, plays, dance recitals, broadcasts, political rallies, children's programming, and community events. Today the Barrymore is owned by the Schenk-Atwood Revitalization Association with Steve Sperling as general manager.
The building of a large east side theater was first announced in January 1924 after the purchase of the Gottlieb Maisch property at 2090 Atwood Avenue. The site had been the location of eastside fall festivals since 1922. The project was initiated in part by E. M. Michalson, who owned the Palace Theater on nearby Winnebago St. Promising a stage for local groups to use, the theater gained the support of members of the East Side Business Men's Association, who later formed the Eastwood Theater Company in October 1928. Capitalized at $50,000, the corporation had 125 stockholders with banker Herman J. Loftsgordon as president. Ground was broken by Loftsgordon on April 30, 1929.
Designed by architects Frederic J. Klein and H. C. Alford, the exterior octagonal dome was done in an Italian Renaissance style while the auditorium was designed in a Spanish colonial style with tile-roofed balconies running along the walls. Twinkling star lights were put in the ceiling and a lighting effect projected clouds passing overhead. The theater had a capacity of 980, with 225 of those seats being in the balcony. Using local contractors, Vogel Brothers Construction saw to the installation of modern innovations in acoustics and fireproofing. The first theater in Wisconsin designed specifically for sound motion pictures, the Eastwood featured a $15,000 Western Electric Vitaphone system. The cost of the entire project neared $250,000. The first manager was A. P. Desormeaux, formerly of the downtown Strand Theater.
The Eastwood opened on Friday, December 27, 1929. At the theater's dedication Madison Mayor Albert G. Schmedeman said "This building is absolutely essential to the progress of the east side." WIBA radio organist Dave Welton performed on a Kilgen theatre organ "opus 4420," size 2/8, before the program, which featured the all-talking Mack Sennett comedy Midnight Daddies. Two nights later the Eastwood held a midnight screening on New Year's Eve. A month later they were hosting a county play competition to a packed house.
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