The Airway Theatre
The Airway Theatre founded by Eugene Goderski in 1949. Inspired by his time as an army airman stationed in the South Pacific.
Located at 4001 S. Howell Avenue Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Researched by Raven Blackwood, edited by Julia Rose
Today if you travel to 4001 S. Howell in Milwaukee, you will find yourself at a US Bank location. However, over seven decades ago, the property was a beautiful movie theatre called The Airway Theatre, the last movie palace of its kind in Milwaukee.
Eugene Goderski founded the Airway Theatre was founded by in 1949. He first got the idea of having a theatre while he was an Army Airman stationed in the South Pacific. He fancied this idea due to his experience as a young projectionist for his father, Casimir, who owned a theatre called the Avenue Theatre back in 1919. Casimir purchased the theatre and re-opened it as the Aragon Theatre after remodeling.
Eugene worked for his father as a projectionist until the devastating event at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which also happened to be Eugene’s 36th birthday. That was when he decided at the age of thirty-six to enlist in the Army to fight in WWII.
When he returned from serving in the Army, Eugene commissioned Myles Belongia, a little-known architect, for the theatre’s design. Belongia was accustomed to designing churches but met the family at a trade show and they set their dreams in motion.
The Airway seated 625 people and was designed with an air hangar theme and the walls were decorated with historical photos of air flight. There were nine murals - one depicted two birds in flight beside the stage, another, a man flying a kite. There was a mural of a hot air balloon and the Wright Brothers “Kitty Hawk”, a helicopter, P-38 military plane, and the Flying Wing which was an aircraft sensation at the time. The theatre also had an innovative marquee that was a new modular type. The façade of a one-story entry was composed of “Los Rancheros” brick from the West, crab orchard stone from the Cumberland Mountains and Lannon stone, a limestone from Lannon, Wisconsin.
The grand opening was January 18,1949 and the first film shown was “On Our Merry Way” starring Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Paulette Goddard, Burgess Meredith, Fred MacMurray and Dorothy Lamour. Each ticket cost only 50 cents per person.
Unfortunately, the theatre struggled because it was not allowed to show the new movies because it was not a studio-owned theatre. Studio-owned theatres were given first rights to show the brand-new, sought-after movies.
Eugene and his staff tried many different gimmicks to draw people in, including free dinnerware, raffle prizes and talent shows. Another issue that kept people from attending his theatre was the popularity of television. People were simply attending movies less than they used to.
The Airway closed April 20th, 1966, and the last movie shown at the Airway was “Father Goose,” starring Cary Grant, Leslie Caron, Jennifer Berrington and Stephanie Berrington. They also showed two short films, “What’s Peckin” (a cartoon) and “The Land.”
Eugene sold the building and land to First Wisconsin National Bank (Now U.S. Bank) for $100,000. Eugene went on to become a shoe sales associate for Gimbels with a regular paycheck. He had a dream and had made it happen with Myles Belongia. This dream brought architectural significance to this area and made a mark in the history of theatre architecture.
Photo Credits: https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/2506/photos/410901