Cole Memorial Building

The Cole Memorial Building is a historic municipal event hall in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota. Constructed in 1937 through a Works Progress Administration project during the Great Depression, it was intended to provide the community with a substantial public gathering place while creating employment for local workers. The building occupies a site in a park donated in December 1935 by Fay Cole Andrus in memory of her father, A. L. Cole, an early merchant and one of Pequot Lakes' founders. The building was designed by Minneapolis architect P. C. Bettenburg and measures approximately 40 by 90 feet. Its reinforced-concrete walls have a stucco finish, while the gables are clad in vertical wood siding. The south facade features a projecting gabled vestibule and a covered entrance porch. Historically, a small projection booth stood above the porch roof. Inside, the principal floor contained an auditorium with room for approximately 400 people, a stage with a proscenium arch, dressing rooms, and associated support spaces. The basement included a dining room, kitchen, furnace room, locker rooms, toilets, and showers. The hall originally served a broad range of civic, educational, recreational, and social purposes. Schools used it for plays, speech contests, and graduation ceremonies. Local government bodies, including the village council and Sibley Township board, met there, while organizations such as the Boy Scouts, 4-H, American Legion, and Grange used the facility for meetings. Traveling performers, lecturers, community celebrations, fairs, craft nights, games, archery activities, and public forums also made use of the building. Because rental income was insufficient to cover maintenance, the Pequot Commercial Club proposed converting the hall into a movie theater. The club assumed management in late 1939, free film screenings began in 1940, and the building was substantially adapted for cinema use in 1941. New projection equipment, cushioned seats, and sloped auditorium seating enabled the Lakes Theater to show current Hollywood films. Its opening presentation after the conversion was One Foot in Heaven on December 9, 1941, followed by The Maltese Falcon the next week. The theater became an important local revenue source. Affordable admission prices and summer tourism supported attendance, and by the middle of 1953 the theater had generated $25,000 in profits. Those proceeds helped fund community improvements, including a medical clinic, street paving, fire-department needs, and local schools. Community organizations were also allowed to continue meeting in the building without rental charges. Television adoption and the emergence of newer venues, including a high-school auditorium, eventually reduced the theater's audience and civic importance. The final film screening took place in August 1967. The building was then adapted into a senior center; the sloped floor was removed, and the former stage area was converted into a kitchen and restrooms. In 1997, the Pequot Lakes Historical Society developed the basement as a museum focused especially on local life in the 1930s and 1940s. Its displays include military-history material, period recreations of a classroom, kitchen, bedroom, and general store, and artifacts from the building's cinema period. The surrounding park was reduced in size when a former baseball-diamond parcel was sold in 1983. A 2007 grant from the Minnesota Historical Society supported renovation of the main floor, including restoration of hardwood floors, installation of new windows, interior painting, kitchen improvements, and an elevator. The Cole Memorial Building remains a community facility, senior center, and museum, and continues to be available for events. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 as the A.L. Cole Memorial Building for its local significance in entertainment and recreation, politics and government, and social history, as well as for its illustration of the durable community benefits associated with New Deal funding.

The Cole Memorial Building was created as a public improvement during the economic crisis of the 1930s. Fay Cole Andrus donated the park site in December 1935 to honor her father, A. L. Cole, an early Pequot Lakes merchant and founder. In March 1936, the Pequot Commercial Club encouraged the village council to pursue federal work-relief support for a recreation hall. Architect P. C. Bettenburg prepared plans for submission to the Works Progress Administration. Construction began on April 3, 1937. The project employed the equivalent of 24 full-time workers for approximately three months. WPA funding covered labor, while the local government supplied materials and equipment purchased from area merchants. The completed building was dedicated on July 1, 1937. A subsequent application sought additional WPA support for landscaping the surrounding park. The initial facility was designed for a wide range of community functions. Its auditorium could seat about 400 people, a capacity approaching the entire population of the village at the time. Schools staged plays and graduation ceremonies there, local boards held meetings, and civic and fraternal organizations used the rooms for regular activities. The hall also hosted touring performers, lecturers, public forums, fairs, and recreational programs. By February 1939, the village had hired a recreation director to coordinate activities such as craft and game nights, archery, and community discussion programs. The building's operating model changed when event rentals failed to generate sufficient maintenance revenue. The Pequot Commercial Club took full management in November 1939 and introduced free movie screenings the next year. In 1941, the hall was converted into the Lakes Theater, with a projection system, cushioned chairs, and sloped seating. The first film shown after the modernization was One Foot in Heaven on December 9, 1941, followed the next week by The Maltese Falcon. The theater brought contemporary Hollywood releases to Pequot Lakes and became particularly successful during the summer tourist season. The cinema's financial returns were directed toward local improvements rather than private distribution. By mid-1953, reported profits had reached $25,000 and had supported a medical clinic, street paving, fire-department needs, and schools. The building continued to accommodate community organizations without rental charges. Its theater role declined as television became widespread and other venues, including a high-school auditorium, took over some event functions. The final film was screened in August 1967. A seniors club had formed in the building the previous year, and after the cinema closed the facility was converted into a senior center. The sloping auditorium floor was removed, and the former stage zone became a kitchen and restroom area. The basement remained largely unused until the Pequot Lakes Historical Society organized a museum there in 1997. The museum emphasizes local life in the 1930s and 1940s, with exhibits on military service and reconstructed domestic, educational, and commercial settings. Cinema-related displays preserve original projection equipment and seating. The property's historic recognition expanded in the 2000s. The A.L. Cole Memorial Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 for local significance in entertainment and recreation, politics and government, and social history. Its nomination also emphasized the long-term public return of New Deal investment. In 2007, the city and historical society received a Minnesota Historical Society grant for main-floor rehabilitation. Work included restoring hardwood floors, installing windows, repainting interior walls, improving the kitchen, and adding an elevator. The building remains in use as a senior center and museum and continues to provide space for community events. The adjacent pump house is included in the National Register property.

• 2007

  Main-floor rehabilitation

  [1]Cole Memorial Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  A Minnesota Historical Society grant supported floor restoration, new windows, repainting, kitchen improvements, and elevator installation.

• 2004

  National Register listing

  [1]Cole Memorial Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the A.L. Cole Memorial Building.

• 1997

  Historical museum opens in basement

  [1]Cole Memorial Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The Pequot Lakes Historical Society developed the basement into a museum devoted largely to local history in the 1930s and 1940s.

• 1967

  Cinema closes

  [1]Cole Memorial Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The final film screening took place in August, after which the building was converted into a senior center.

• 1953

  Theater profits support civic improvements

  [1]Cole Memorial Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  By mid-1953, the theater had generated $25,000 in profits that were used for local public improvements.

• 1941

  Conversion to Lakes Theater

  [1]Cole Memorial Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The building received cinema equipment and sloped seating; the renovated theater opened with One Foot in Heaven on December 9.

• 1939

  Commercial Club assumes management

  [1]Cole Memorial Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  The Pequot Commercial Club took over management as the community considered a more reliable revenue model for the hall.

• 1937

  Construction and dedication

  [1]Cole Memorial Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  Construction began on April 3 with WPA labor support, and the completed building was dedicated on July 1.

• 1935

  Memorial park site donated

  [1]Cole Memorial Buildingen.wikipedia.org

  Fay Cole Andrus donated the park site for public use in memory of her father, A. L. Cole.

A civic and heritage property serving as a multipurpose community venue, senior center, and museum while preserving the history of New Deal public works and small-town cinema.

• Civic venue · 1937

  Community event hall

  The building's original role was a multipurpose public hall with an auditorium seating approximately 400 people. It hosted school productions, graduation ceremonies, government meetings, organizational gatherings, traveling performers, lectures, fairs, public forums, and recreational activities.

• Cinema · 1941

  Lakes Theater

  From 1941 until its final screening in August 1967, the building operated as the municipally managed Lakes Theater. The conversion added projection equipment, cushioned seating, and a sloped auditorium arrangement, allowing the community to see current Hollywood films. Theater profits helped finance local public improvements.

• Community services · 1967

  Senior center

  Following the cinema's closure, the former theater was adapted for senior-center use. The auditorium floor was leveled by removing the slope, while the former stage area was converted into kitchen and restroom facilities.

• Museum · 1997

  Pequot Lakes Historical Society museum

  The basement museum presents local history with particular attention to the 1930s and 1940s. Exhibits include military-service material, period recreations of a classroom, kitchen, bedroom, and general store, and a cinema-history display containing original projection equipment and seating.

• 1967

  Repurpose the cinema as a senior centerStrategy

  Background

  Television reduced movie attendance, while newer venues weakened the building's role as a general event space.

  Action taken

  After the final film screening, the sloped auditorium floor was removed and the stage area was converted into kitchen and restroom facilities.

  Aftermath

  The building continued serving the community as a senior center and later gained a local-history museum in its basement.

  Source

• 1941

  Convert the hall into a movie theaterStrategy

  Background

  Rental income from traveling performers and other events did not adequately cover the building's maintenance costs.

  Action taken

  The Pequot Commercial Club managed the building and installed projection equipment, cushioned seats, and sloped auditorium seating for cinema operations.

  Aftermath

  The Lakes Theater became a significant local revenue source, and its profits were used for community improvements while local organizations continued to use the facility.

  Source

1. 1Cole Memorial Buildingen.wikipedia.org