Fond du Lac's 1925 Rapp & Rapp vaudeville house
1 N Main Street, Fond du Lac, WI 54935
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
The Retlaw Theater has had multiple later occupants including Bravo Theater and Fusion Cafe. Exterior viewing is free; current interior access varies.
Access
Limited Access
Downtown Fond du Lac sidewalks
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1925 · Rapp & Rapp architecture · Walter Schroeder commission · Louis Grell murals · 1925 vaudeville and movie palace
The Retlaw Theater opened to the public on Christmas Day 1925 in downtown Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, designed by the Chicago firm Rapp & Rapp for owner Walter Schroeder at a cost of approximately $1.5 million. The 1,100-seat venue was considered the finest theater in Wisconsin at the time of its opening and was located on a single floor, hosting both vaudeville and films. Its interior was decorated with hand-painted murals of Italian lakes by Chicago artist Louis Grell, who based the work on his 1912 travels in Italy.
'Retlaw' is Walter Schroeder's first name spelled backwards. Schroeder, born in 1878 to German immigrants in Milwaukee's Third Ward, built a hotel and theater empire across Wisconsin in the 1920s and died in 1967, leaving a $20 million estate to Milwaukee County charities.
The building has had multiple later occupants, including Bravo Theater and Fusion Cafe. The companion Hotel Retlaw, also built by Schroeder, has been restored to its 1920s appearance.
Sources
Workers and volunteers at the Retlaw and its successor businesses have reported footsteps on the stage when no one is present, seats creaking and moving on their own, applause heard at night when the building is empty, and figures glimpsed offstage and in the basement storage area. The hinged trap door on the stage floor has been reported left closed at night and found open the next morning.
Local Fond du Lac tradition associates the activity with Walter Schroeder himself and with former performers who appeared at the theater during its vaudeville and early film years. The Wisconsin Frights writeup compiles staff reports across the building's later occupants.
Notable Entities
View the 1925 Retlaw Theater exterior in downtown Fond du Lac. Pair with a stay or visit to the Hotel Retlaw, also built by Walter Schroeder, which has been restored to its 1920s glory.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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