Sheldon Theater 1904 Red Wing, MN
Sheldon Theater, Red Wing, MN 1904
The T.B. Sheldon Memorial Auditorium was dedicated in 1904 as a gift to the city of Red Wing. It was constructed at 443 West Third Street, Red Wing Minnesota of Gray Brick. The architect of the building was Lowell Lamoreaux from Minneapolis, who designed it in the Renaissance Style
The large rectangular building also included an additional area off the back for dressing rooms. On each side of the building was a portico for carriage traffic to come directly to the doors. The front entrance, a triple doorway flush with a gray brick wall, was covered by a shallow balcony of the same design and windows above which let light into the mezzanine. The grounds on either side of the building allowed for a garden area. The inside was embellished with gold and ivory. Marble walls glittered with the spark of two many-tiered chandeliers and with the light from the ceiling beams heavily studded with electric lights. Playgoers are surrounded by plaster bursts of Shakespear, Goethe, Beethoven, and Wagner in ornate niches as well as a large oil of Sheldon.
The stage itself was framed in a heavy gold proscenium arch and hung with a drop curtain. The curtain presented a painting of a classic view of ancient Rome executed by Peter Claussen of Minneapolis, one of the best-known mural painters of the time. The theater provided a seating capacity of 864; 363 in the parquet section; 241 in the first balcony; 108 in the rear balcony; 120 in the second balcony; and 32 in eight boxes. The stage was well equipped to handle any company that might be using the theater. Included was the fly gallery containing many useful pieces and an orchestra pit. The theater stands essentially as it did after it was built. The auditorium was twice gutted by fire and each time reconstruction took place. The auditorium interior was, in the 1930s, gutted and rebuilt with fireproof materials at an inconsiderate expense. A foyer has been added to the outside of the building to provide an entrance before the lobby. This was added in the 1930s. The balconies were re worked to provide a better and safer structure; the boxes were removed when the organ was installed in 1926.
T.B. Sheldon Memorial Auditorium Souvenir Program 1918
Art in Red Wing, by Laurence Schmechibier, Univ of Minnesota Press 1946
Red Wing Arts Association 1971
Curtis Gruhl, Auditorium Board 1975