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Grand Theater, Crookston

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Color image of the Grand Theater outside, 2017.

Grand Theater outside, 2017.

For over one hundred years, the Grand Theater of Crookston has kept up with the times, transforming itself from a venue for vaudeville and plays to a movie palace for silent films and, finally, “talkies.” By evolving to keep up with technology and the demands of the public, the Grand has remained a vital part of Crookston community life.

After the first upscale opera house in Crookston, on Main Street, was closed in 1908 due to new fire and safety regulations, the Commercial Club began plans to build a new opera house. Unwilling to lose business to surrounding towns, residents began contributing money from their own pockets to raise $10,000 in “bonus funds” to attract a builder.

In April 1910, Theodore L. Hays and J. A. Van Wie of the Twin Cities Scenic Company of Minneapolis invested in the theater and became its proprietors. The structure, which cost $50,000, was built in classical style and was erected about one block from the major business district. The theater originally seated 875 people in four different areas, including a horseshoe-shaped balcony and box seats. The proscenium opening was thirty feet wide, and the height from the stage floor to the rigging loft was forty-two feet. There were nine dressing rooms.

The first sign that the Grand would help bring prosperity to Crookston arrived in September of 1910, when the State Butter and Cheese Makers held their convention in the new building. Following that event, on November 5, 1910, the theater’s grand opening was held, featuring Margaret Illington of New York in the play “The Whirlwind.”

As a convenient stopping-off point for players between the towns of Minneapolis and Winnipeg, the Grand in its early days hosted everything from vaudeville shows to operas. Magician Harry Blackstone appeared at the theater several times.

The arrival of Charles “Ducky” Hiller with his wife, Louise Hanna Hiller, in 1918, marked a turning point in the ownership of the theater. The Grand would be in the hands of the Hiller family for the next eighty-seven years.

Charles Hiller was a veteran of the vaudeville circuit. He played various instruments, including the saxophone, drums, and violin, before taking up theater management. During vaudeville shows at the Grand, Hiller would join the touring players’ orchestra if needed. Louise worked long hours making fudge and divinity to sell to the audience.

By 1913, silent films from the Edison Film Company were added to live performances at the Grand. They were accompanied by piano music chosen to match the action.

The 1929 advent of “talkies,” movies with synchronized sound, brought big changes to entertainment at the Grand. The Crookston Daily Times conducted a survey to determine the interest of Crookston residents in this new type of film. In response to the interest, in 1932 Hiller installed a new sound system and projection booth, with the resultant loss of the box seats. In the remodel, Hiller kept the classical plaster castings, but the new lighting and ceiling of the building took on the influence of the art deco period.

The Hiller family was an active part of the community, sponsoring a benefit for the unemployed during the Depression and hosting an annual children’s Christmas party beginning in 1921. They offered free screenings of movies featuring the likes of the Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy followed by a visit from Santa and candy and fruit for the children. To keep up with the times, they installed equipment to show films in Cinemascope in 1954. The first movie shown in this format was “The Robe.”

Charles Hiller died in 1955, and the theater business was subsequently run by his son Ernotte, followed by Ernotte’s son Jeff. After Jeff’s death in 2005, the family sold the theater to Bob and Jan Moore.

Jeff Hiller added a new section to the theater in 1984 called the Grand II. He also added one hundred and ten rocker-style seats and allowed for additional movies to be shown.

In 1997, high school art teacher Gary Stegman painted an eye-catching mural on the theater’s back wall. The colors of red, brown, yellow, black, and white represent the different ethnic groups of the area—united yet retaining their identities.

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  • Related Resources

Altepeter, Twyla. “What a Grand Theater It Is!” Crookston Daily Times, March 31, 1989.

“Arts Council to Try to Save Grand Theater.” Crookston Daily Times, September 26, 1977.

“Associated Charities Thanks Manager and Employees of Grand for Fund Show.” Crookston Daily Times, May 6, 1932.

“Day Light Motion Pictures for Crookston.” Crookston Weekly Times, March 29, 1913.

“Grand Installs Fine New Equipment.” Crookston Daily Times, March 10, 1954.

“Grand Theater History…Former Echoes of Grandeur.” Crookston Daily Times, March 12, 1975.

Gray, Kristina Torkelson. Legendary Locals of Crookston. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2014.

“Hiller to Receive Paramount Medal for Theater Record.” Crookston Daily Times, January 7, 1937.

“Juniors Make a Big Hit: Both Playlets Given at the Grand Last Night Were Most Creditable.” Crookston Weekly Times, April 26, 1913.

“Large Audience Sees ‘Bringing Up Father’ Here.” Crookston Daily Times, October 10, 1925.

Marsnik, Mike. “Grand Appropriate Title for Theater.” Crookston Daily Times, March 29, 1985.

McCulla, Dorothy, and Cathy Wright. Footprints of Yesterday. [Crookston, MN]: Crookston Centennial Committee, 1979.

“New Grand Joins U.S. for Needy: Hiller Announces Proceeds to go to Unemployed.” Crookston Daily Times, November 17, 1931.

“Opera House to be Completed by the First of Next October.” Crookston Weekly Times, May 21, 1910.

“Party is ‘Grand’ Tradition.” Crookston Daily Times, December 20, 1993.

“Players Make Hit at Grand Friday Night.” Crookston Daily Times, May 9, 1931.

“Progress of the Grand.” Crookston Daily Times, March 25, 1977.

“Survey Made on ‘Talkies’ in Crookston.” Crookston Daily Times, May 21, 1929.

Related Images

Color image of the Grand Theater outside, 2017.
Color image of the Grand Theater outside, 2017.
Black and white photograph of the Grand Theater, 1913.
Black and white photograph of the Grand Theater, 1913.
Black and white photograph of Louise Hiller, ca. 1915.
Black and white photograph of Louise Hiller, ca. 1915.
Coupon asking for public opinion on “talkies” in the Crookston Daily Times, May 21, 1929.
Coupon asking for public opinion on “talkies” in the Crookston Daily Times, May 21, 1929.
Ad for the movie “The Border Legion” in the Crookston Daily Times September 17, 1930.
Ad for the movie “The Border Legion” in the Crookston Daily Times September 17, 1930.
Black and white photograph of Charles and Louise Hiller sitting in theater seats, ca. 1940s.
Black and white photograph of Charles and Louise Hiller sitting in theater seats, ca. 1940s.
Black and white photograph of Marge McKenzie, Louise Hiller, and Charles Hiller at the Grand Theater, ca. 1940s.
Black and white photograph of Marge McKenzie, Louise Hiller, and Charles Hiller at the Grand Theater, ca. 1940s.
Black and white photograph of the Children at a Christmas matinee at the Grand Theater, ca. 1950s.
Black and white photograph of the Children at a Christmas matinee at the Grand Theater, ca. 1950s.
Black and white photograph of Ernotte and Ardis Hiller (seated), holding Mary Hiller; in the back are Chuck Hiller (right) and Jeff Hiller (left), 1961.
Black and white photograph of Ernotte and Ardis Hiller (seated), holding Mary Hiller; in the back are Chuck Hiller (right) and Jeff Hiller (left), 1961.
Black and white photograph of the Art deco design in ceiling, Grand Theater, date unknown.
Black and white photograph of the Art deco design in ceiling, Grand Theater, date unknown.
Color image of Jeff and Jeanie Hiller, ca. 2000.
Color image of Jeff and Jeanie Hiller, ca. 2000.
Color image of the exterior of the Grand Theater with marquee, 2005.
Color image of the exterior of the Grand Theater with marquee, 2005.
Color image of the lobby and concession area of Grand Theater, 2005.
Color image of the lobby and concession area of Grand Theater, 2005.
Color image of the screen and proscenium, Grand Theater, 2005.
Color image of the screen and proscenium, Grand Theater, 2005.
Color image of the Grand Theater showing seats and balcony, 2005.
Color image of the Grand Theater showing seats and balcony, 2005.
Color image of front of theater showing arch and edge of balcony, 2005.
Color image of front of theater showing arch and edge of balcony, 2005.
Color image of Muses in plaster on arch, 2005.
Color image of Muses in plaster on arch, 2005.
Color image of the back of Grand Theater, showing mural, March 2017.
Color image of the back of Grand Theater, showing mural, March 2017.

Turning Point

The Hiller family takes over the management and ownership of the Grand Theater in 1918, beginning a family-run business that continues in the family until 2005.

Chronology

1908

Crookston’s opera house closes due to fire-safety concerns.

1910

Early in the year, Crookston’s Commercial Club helps raise bonus funds for a new opera house.

1910

J. A. Van Wie and Theodore Hays of Minneapolis build the Grand Theater.

1910

The convention of the State Butter and Cheese Makers is held at the Grand on September 17.

1910

Margaret Illington of New York stars in “The Whirlwind” at the theater’s grand opening on November 5.

1913

The Grand shows animated silent films accompanied by a full orchestra.

1918

Charles Hiller moves to Crookston to manage the Grand.

1929

The Grand conducts a survey to determine local residents’ interest in “talkies.”

1932

Hiller remodels the Grand to add a projection booth and art deco designs.

1954

Cinemascope is installed at the Grand.

1984

The Grand II is added onto the west side of the original building.

1997

Gary Stegman paints a mural on the theater’s back wall.

2005

The Grand Theater is purchased by Bob and Jan Moore.