Abandoned in 1987, NE Minneapolis's Hollywood Theatre now has new lease on life
MINNEAPOLIS -- An old, single-screen movie house tucked in a northeast Minneapolis neighborhood is starting its next act, after one man took on the massive project to bring the Hollywood Theatre back from the dead.
For decades, the Hollywood Theatre at 2815 Johnson Street was anything but glamorous. Abandoned and shuddered, the one-time darling of the neighborhood long ago fell out of favor. With the advent of VHS, many single-screen theatres faded to black.
Just because a building is on the National Register of Historic Places, doesn't mean anyone is forced to come to its rescue. But in fact, someone did.
"There was standing water in the basement. The roof had failed in multiple locations," Andrew Volna said. "It looked like something out of a horror movie."
The city actually sold the theater, which was built in 1935, to Volna for just a dollar.
"But I like to tell people that it was probably too much," Volna said.
The history buff and design lover passed it by like everyone else for decades, recalling his own memories. He thinks he saw the last film ever shown there back in 1987. The once iconic marquee wilted, the inside decaying, Volna got to work to restore the Art Deco gem to its former glory.
"These circular porthole lights with sort of a nautical theme -- which are consistent with an Art Deco era -- these were rebuilt and salvaged," he said. "The project started out as a labor of love, and then it sort of eventually became just a labor."
The project took several years, but Volna reached the finish line. He overcame delays and navigated red tape and mounting costs to restore a piece of the neighborhood he and his father grew up in.
It now exists as an event center. The names on the marquee reveal the theater's next act: the wedding of Joe and Jessica, whose nuptials mark the Hollywood Theatre's next lease on life.
"It went great. The bride and groom seemed happy," Volna said.
In the end, not unlike the films shown in this theatre's golden era, there's promise for this nostalgic neighborhood notable. A Hollywood ending for the once-forgotten Hollywood theater.
