ALBERT LEA, Minn. — By November the historic Broadway movie house in downtown Abert Lea, built in 1902, will be no more. City leaders had hoped to restore the 255-seat theater as part of historic district restorations. That goal vaporized in 2023 when a 500-pound sandstone slab unexpectedly broke loose and crashed to the sidewalk. No one was injured. But City building inspector Wayne Sorensen called the crash “a wake-up call.” Restoring the theater took on new urgency. It soon was obvious that the cost of essential structural repairs and new mechanical and electrical system was a shocker. The City Council voted to demolish.
Eager matinee queuing. It was the 1955 premiere of Elia Kazan’s “East of Eden” with heart-throb James Dean, whose car-racing death coincided with the movie’s release.