East side of South Burdick Street, north of South Street (143 South Burdick Street).
Opened 3 July 1906 as a combination penny arcade and novelty act theater. Operated until 20 July 1907.
“Kalamazoo is to have a second vaudeville theater, which it is planned to have completed and in operation within thirty days.
The location of the new playhouse will be at 143 South Burdick street — one door north of the Bijou theater.
In connection with the vaudeville feature will be a “Penny Arcade,” a form of amusement which has sprung into great popularity throughout the country within the past few years and a number of which are already in successful operation in Detroit, Grand Rapids and other Michigan cities.
The men back of the enterprise are H.W. McCormick and W.W. Steele of Detroit, well know promotors of vaudeville-arcade amusement resorts, who are pioneers in catering to the public taste for inexpensive entertainment of this sort.
Will Occupy Large Space.
The property which will be converted into a place of amusement is owned by Horace J. Fuller of the Kalamazoo Hack & Bus company and recently was occupied by the Hub Clothing company. The building in the rear, likewise owned by Mr. Fuller, will also be used by the Detroit promotors as part of their establishment. The floor space of the completed vaudette (that is the name it will go by), it is understood will be 25 by 160 feet.
The deal was closed Friday, but was kept secret until yesterday when it was common talk on the streets. Messrs. McCormick and Steele signed a five-year lease and will spend between $5,000 and $10,000 in remodeling the store and converting the building in the rear into a vaudeville house, seating about 700 people.
Work on the theater-arcade will be commenced tomorrow and it will be rushed to completion by a large force of men. It is the purpose of the owners to have it in full operation by June 15.
Description of Arcade.
The arcade will be 25×60 feet. This will occupy the store room, ground floor, facing ton the street. The entire front will be open, the entrance being the full width of the Arcade. At the rear of this auditorium will be installed a huge orchestrion, which will grind out music from the time the place opens early in the afternoon until late at night when it closes. On each side and in the center penny amusement devices of all sort will be arranged. These will embrace phonographs, moving pictures, candy and fortune telling machines, etc. Admission to the arcade will be free.
Lighting a Feature.
The furnishings of the place, while not gaudy, will be neat, it is promised, and particular attention will be paid to the lighting feature.
In the remodeling of the place the larger part of the money will be expended on the theater, which will be patterned after the vaudettes in Detroit and Chicago, it is said.
Messrs. McCormick and Steele will be in the city the first of this week to oversee the beginning of the work and to make plans for the opening of Kalamazoo’s newest and most novel amusement resort.”
—Kalamazoo Gazette, 13 May 1906, p.1
A project to enlarge the theater was begun in late 1906, but was taken over by other interests when funds ran dry. (See Fuller.)
“Plans have been perfected for the building of a new theater in Kalamazoo—or rather, the little Wonderland theater on North[sic] Burdick street will be entirely remodeled and greatly enlarged, making it, when completed, one of the pettiest playhouses in the state.
In this work $10,000 will be expended by the present manager, F.D. McCormick, and the plans he has in hand call for an up-to-date, beautiful and complete theater, to seat between 700 and 800 and equipped with the latest devices known to theaterdom.
Additional land has been secured in the rear of the Wonderland and the work of building the new theater will be commenced within two weeks. The dimensions will be 40×120 feet and all the seats will be on the ground floor – the same arrangement as now exists in the playhouse, only on a much larger scale.
Above Street Level.
An elaborate staircase of easy ascent will lead to the auditorium, the level of which will be about six feet higher than the street. There will be a gradual slope down to the stage, which will be 28×40 feet with a thirty foot proscenium arch.
There will be no gallery, all of the seats being on the ground floor, as at present.
The seats will be of leather and will be comfortable and roomy-the same kind as are now used in the Wonderland.
The side walls of the building will be high, giving the theater a roomy and airy effect. The decorations will be in old ivory, red and gold, the color scheme being rich and harmonious. The furnishings throughout will be the best obtainable, pleasing to the eye and artistic.
Scenery is Purchased.
Part of the scenery has already been purchased in Chicago and is said to be exceedingly ornate. A considerable portion of it is now being painted in Kalamazoo.
Neither the curtain nor any of the scenery will roll; all will be hoisted direct into the space above the stage. The principal curtain will be of asbestos.
The house will be equipped with hose on the stage and an unusually large number of fire extinguishers will be placed in different parts of the theater. Nothing will be left undone by Mr. McCormick to insure complete fire protection.
Numerous wide exits will be provided and everything done to make it the safest theater in the state.
Finely Appointed.
There will be a ladies’ waiting room and a gentlemen’s smoking room and lavatories.
Particular attention will be paid to the heating and ventilation. William Thompson, now of Battle Creek, but formerly a Kalamazoo newspaper man, will be the manager of the new Wonderland.
During the regular season high class vaudeville will be played. During the summer months a stock company will furnish amusement for the theatergoers.
When work is once started on the theater it will be rushed and it is expected to have the new Wonderland ready to open the later part of February.
—Kalamazoo Gazette, 11 December 1906
Manager McCormick of the Wonderland theater states that work on the new structure will be started directly after Christmas. It was expected to begin operations this week, but owing to a delay in getting his stage plans from Chicago Mr. McCormick has been obliged to postpone the commencement of actual construction work until the latter part of next week, when the plans will be here, he is assured.
It was originally intended that all the seats should be on the ground floor, but the plans have been altered and now provide for a balcony seating 100, bringing the entire seating capacity of the house up to 900.
The first work to be done will be the raising of the roof. The theater as now is, will be left standing as long as possible, the work of construction being conducted around the little playhouse until it becomes absolutely necessary to demolish it.
—Kalamazoo Gazette, 21 December 1906