Oak Street Cinema

Oak Street Cinema was a small, single-screen movie theater in the Stadium Village neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota, close to the University of Minnesota campus. Although the Oak Street Cinema name dates from its reopening in 1995, the venue occupied a building with a much longer cinematic history. The structure was built in 1916 as the Oak, renamed the Campus Theater in 1935, and remodeled in an Art Deco style by Liebenberg & Kaplan, a design firm associated with several Minneapolis-area theaters. The auditorium seated approximately 312 people and included a basement meeting space used by film students. The venue’s programming distinguished it from a conventional commercial multiplex. It showed first-run independent films alongside repertory titles, retrospectives, and genre-focused series. Its retrospectives included work associated with filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Akira Kurosawa. The theater also served as a venue for local film events, including the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival, and hosted appearances by filmmakers and performers including Terry Gilliam, Michael Moore, Peter Fonda, and Cyd Charisse. The Campus Theater closed in 1989. It reopened six years later as Oak Street Cinema under the direction of Bob Cowgill, Barry Hans, and Randy Carpenter. The theater was owned and operated by Minnesota Film Arts, an organization formed after the theater merged with the University Film Society under Cowgill’s leadership. This institutional connection helped position the cinema as a community-oriented cultural venue rather than simply a ticket-selling business. The organization later encountered serious financial difficulties. Cowgill stepped down in 2004, and the theater’s debt increased rapidly during the following period. By the end of 2005, its obligations reportedly exceeded $145,000. Jamie Hook, who succeeded Cowgill, was dismissed in September 2005 amid allegations of budget mismanagement and missed grant-application deadlines. Minnesota Film Arts board member Tim Grady loaned the organization more than $75,000 to help maintain operations, with the loan secured against the property. Grady estimated the property’s value at approximately $600,000. By early 2006, Minnesota Film Arts was publicly considering selling the theater. The possibility prompted protests from Cowgill and other supporters, who organized the Save the Oak campaign to oppose a sale and preserve the venue. Despite those efforts, the cinema continued to face financial pressure. Reports in 2009 indicated that the property might be sold and redeveloped as condominiums. The building was ultimately demolished in September 2011, ending approximately 95 years of use as a movie theater site. Oak Street Cinema is therefore best understood as a defunct local cinema brand and cultural institution whose identity was tied to independent film, repertory programming, film education, and Minneapolis’s campus-area arts community.

The theater building later known as Oak Street Cinema was constructed in 1916 in Minneapolis’s Stadium Village neighborhood, near the University of Minnesota. It originally operated under the name the Oak. In 1935 it became the Campus Theater and underwent remodeling by Liebenberg & Kaplan, a Minneapolis design firm that also worked on other area theaters, including the nearby Varsity Theater. The remodeled venue followed an Art Deco design and contained a 312-seat auditorium. A basement meeting room provided space for film students and helped connect the theater to the university-area film community. The Campus Theater closed in 1989. In 1995, it reopened as Oak Street Cinema under the direction of Bob Cowgill, Barry Hans, and Randy Carpenter. The venue was operated by Minnesota Film Arts, an organization created when the theater, under Cowgill’s leadership, merged with the University Film Society. The new operation emphasized independent and repertory cinema rather than mainstream multiplex programming. Its schedule combined first-run independent releases with classics, filmmaker retrospectives, genre series, and special events. Oak Street Cinema became a venue for local film culture and hosted portions of film festivals, including the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival. Its programming included retrospectives of filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Akira Kurosawa. The theater also attracted visits from prominent filmmakers and performers, including Terry Gilliam, Michael Moore, Peter Fonda, and Cyd Charisse. Financial instability became increasingly serious after Cowgill stepped down in 2004. By the end of 2005, the theater reportedly carried more than $145,000 in debt. Cowgill’s successor, Jamie Hook, was dismissed in September 2005 over reported budget-management failures and missed grant deadlines. Minnesota Film Arts board member Tim Grady loaned the organization more than $75,000, using the property as security; he estimated the property’s value at about $600,000. The board began publicly discussing a possible sale in early 2006. The prospect of losing the venue led Cowgill and community supporters to form Save the Oak, a preservation campaign opposing the sale and seeking to maintain the theater. The campaign reflected the venue’s importance to independent-film audiences and the surrounding university community. Nevertheless, financial problems continued. By 2009, local reporting indicated that the property might be sold and replaced by condominium development. The building was demolished in September 2011, bringing the theater’s physical history to an end after roughly 95 years. The Oak Street Cinema name remains associated with a Minneapolis cultural venue that combined film exhibition, education, festival activity, and repertory programming.

• 2011

  Building demolished

  [1]Oak Street Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The Oak Street Cinema building is demolished in September, ending the venue’s physical operation.

• 2009

  Redevelopment threat reported

  [1]Oak Street Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  Local reporting indicates that the theater may be sold and demolished for condominium development.

• 2006

  Sale considered and preservation campaign begins

  [1]Oak Street Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  Minnesota Film Arts considers selling the theater, while supporters organize Save the Oak to oppose the proposed disposition.

• 2005

  Debt and management crisis

  [1]Oak Street Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  Reported debt rises above $145,000, Jamie Hook is dismissed, and Tim Grady provides a loan to support Minnesota Film Arts.

• 2004

  Bob Cowgill steps down

  [1]Oak Street Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  Cowgill leaves his leadership role, after which the theater enters a period of worsening financial difficulty.

• 1995

  Reopens as Oak Street Cinema

  [1]Oak Street Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The theater reopens under the Oak Street Cinema name with Bob Cowgill, Barry Hans, and Randy Carpenter involved in its direction.

• 1989

  Campus Theater closes

  [1]Oak Street Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The Campus Theater ceases operations.

• 1935

  Renamed Campus Theater and remodeled

  [1]Oak Street Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  The venue is renamed the Campus Theater and remodeled in an Art Deco style by Liebenberg & Kaplan.

• 1916

  The Oak opens

  [1]Oak Street Cinemaen.wikipedia.org

  A movie theater building is constructed in Minneapolis’s Stadium Village neighborhood under the name the Oak.

A community-oriented independent and repertory cinema serving Minneapolis audiences, university film communities, and local film festivals.

• Film exhibition · 1995

  Independent-film screenings

  Oak Street Cinema presented first-run independent films, serving audiences seeking releases outside the mainstream multiplex circuit. These screenings formed one part of a broader program that also included repertory titles, special series, and festival events.

• Film exhibition · 1995

  Repertory screenings and retrospectives

  The theater programmed older and historically significant films, including retrospectives devoted to filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Akira Kurosawa. It also organized genre-based retrospectives that complemented its independent-film schedule.

• Film exhibition

  Film festival programming

  The venue hosted local film-festival activity, including screenings connected with the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival. Festival use reinforced the cinema’s role as a community cultural facility rather than only a regular commercial theater.

• 2006Save the Oak

  Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

  Bob Cowgill and community supporters organized Save the Oak after Minnesota Film Arts began publicly considering a sale of the theater. The campaign sought to preserve the cinema as a local independent-film and repertory venue.

  Outcome. The building was ultimately demolished in September 2011.

  Source

• 2006

  Consideration of a property saleStrategy

  Background

  Minnesota Film Arts faced substantial debt and continuing operating problems, including reported liabilities exceeding $145,000 by the end of 2005.

  Action taken

  The board publicly considered selling the theater, leading supporters to organize the Save the Oak preservation campaign.

  Aftermath

  The venue continued operating for several more years but remained financially vulnerable and was eventually demolished in 2011.

  Reported debt. More than $145,000 (End of 2005)

  Source

• 1995

  Reopen as an independent and repertory cinemaStrategy

  Background

  Following the Campus Theater’s closure in 1989, a new operating structure associated with Minnesota Film Arts brought the venue back into service.

  Action taken

  The theater reopened under the Oak Street Cinema name with programming centered on independent films, repertory titles, retrospectives, and film-community events.

  Aftermath

  The venue became a recognized local home for independent-film exhibition and festival programming.

  Source

1. 1Oak Street Cinemaen.wikipedia.org