The Miner Theatre in Ladysmith, a city of 3,400 in northwestern Wisconsin, has been chosen as the grand prize winner in the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation’s (WEDC’s) Main Street Makeover Contest. The single-screen movie theater, which has been open continuously since 1948, will receive $10,000 in assistance toward realizing the owner’s vision for upgrades to the theater. Plans include restoration of the historic façade and lobby space, as well as other improvements, including adding a second screen to allow the theater to show more than one movie at once. Owner Brian Herrick, who purchased the theater in 2011, said the addition also will enable the theater to offer other types of events such as concerts. A total of 37 applications were received from businesses in 19 of Wisconsin’s 36 designated Main Street districts. The winners were announced Friday night at the 24th Annual Wisconsin Main Street Awards ceremony at St. Norbert College in De Pere. The runner-up in the contest, Driftless Café in Viroqua, will receive $5,000 in assistance from WEDC to help further the owner’s business expansion plans. All eligible applicants will receive outreach and technical assistance from WEDC community development staff and their local Main Street staff to help them achieve their business goals. There also were three finalists in the contest: Schroeder’s Department Store, a fourth-generation business in Two Rivers that was founded 1891; The Bagelmeister, a sandwich shop and bakery in Fond du Lac; and The Looking Glass, a rapidly growing vintage merchandise store in Osceola.
