“Publix May Build 2,400 Seat Theatre in Minneapolis; Competition Foreseen”

Headline: “Publix May Build 2,400 Seat Theatre in Minneapolis; Competition Foreseen”

RUMOR which spread quickly through Minneapolis film circles last week has it that Publix is planning to construct a big theatre in that city. Northwest Theatres, Inc. (Finkelstein & Ruben), which now controls the first-run exhibition field in the Twin Cities, will be given its first real competition if this rumor proves true.

According to the report which is circulating in Minneapolis, Publix has obtained an option on a site at La Salle Avenue and Ninth Street, a very desirable down town location, and is planning to build an elaborate structure having a seating capacity of 2,400, exceeding that of the State, Minneapolis’ largest picture theatre at present, by nearly 400.

If competition develops in Minneapolis, there is every likelihood that it would extend to other cities in the northwest, where Northwest Theatres, Inc., controls about 122 houses. F. & R. now controls the five first-run theatres in Minneapolis, the State, Garrick, Lyric, Strand and Astor.

The site upon which Publix is said to have an option is located within two blocks of Minneapolis’ two largest theatres, the State and the Hennepin-Orpheum.