Milwaukee Film Buys Downer Theatre Building, Launches Renovation Campaign
Nonprofit aims to give new life to city's oldest operating theater.
Downer Theatre. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
Two years after leasing and reopening the shuttered Downer Theatre, Milwaukee Film has now bought the building outright. It’s step one in a renovation plan.
The nonprofit announced Monday that it has purchased the historic cinema at 2589 N. Downer Ave. from Bridge33 Capital. The move gives the film organization long-term control of the 111-year-old movie house, the city’s oldest.
As part of the acquisition, the organization announced a multiyear capital campaign to fund preservation, renovations and upgrades to the East Side landmark.
“Owning the Downer Theatre is a dream-come-true for Milwaukee Film,” said Executive Director Susan Kerns in a statement. “It affords our organization stronger financial footing and ensures our ability to provide the city we love with the film festivals and year-round programming it deserves. We’re delighted to close this deal in time for this April’s Milwaukee Film Festival.”
The three-phase campaign includes installing a new projector in 2026, improving the restrooms, lobby and projection booths in 2028, and replacing the seats in 2029. Naming rights may be sold to fund the renovation.
“Buying the building is just the beginning,” Kerns said. “We have ambitious plans to restore this historic cinema in a way that honors its legacy while ensuring it serves today’s audiences.”
Milwaukee Film has operated the two-screen theater since April 2024 under a rental agreement with Bridge33. The theater was previously operated by Landmark Theatres until the national chain closed the cinema in September 2023. Milwaukee Film reopened it in April 2024.
The Downer, which opened in 1915 and is the city’s oldest operating movie theater, has 465 seats in its current configuration. It anchors the Downer Avenue commercial strip on the Upper East Side.
“Our goal for the Downer Theatre was always to foster a vibrant neighborhood hub and eventually transition the asset to a sustainable, long-term owner,” said Matt Galas, asset manager at Bridge33 Capital. “By revitalizing the surrounding retail mix and maintaining a flexible partnership with Milwaukee Film over the last two years, we were able to bridge the gap to permanent local ownership.”
Bridge33 said it worked over the past six years to stabilize the Downer Avenue corridor, adding tenants including Salon Nova, Rohr Jewelers, SereniTea and Tropical Smoothie Cafe, and developing new apartments. The Las Vegas-based company acquired much of the strip, including the theater, in 2020 for $11.25 million.
The purchase was supported by private donations and a low-interest loan from Tulsa-based The Helmerich Trust.
“This is an exciting new era for Milwaukee Film,” said board chair Lacey Sadoff. “We can’t wait to show you what’s in store.”
Citing industry data from Cinema United, Milwaukee Film believes its operation of the theater is a boon for the neighborhood. The organization said that for every $1 spent at a movie theater, an additional $1.50 is spent at nearby businesses. In 2025 alone, Milwaukee Film’s operation of the Downer generated an estimated $952,500 in additional neighborhood spending.
The acquisition further expands Milwaukee Film’s role in preserving the city’s historic theaters. In 2017, the nonprofit acquired the lease to the three-screen Oriental Theatre, another former Landmark property. The larger property is owned by New Land Enterprises. The film nonprofit previously led a capital campaign to replace the seats, upgrade the projection and audio systems and modernize the bathrooms in the historic complex.
The 2026 Milwaukee Film Festival, the 18th year of the annual event, runs from April 16-30.
Terms of the sale were not immediately disclosed, and the transaction does not yet appear in the state’s real estate transfer database. While the theater was previously part of a larger parcel that included neighboring commercial storefronts, the nonprofit purchased just the theater from Bridge33.
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