If Any Good Came From the Holloway Scandal...

It's this.

The old OIC building was sold to the Greater Philadelphia COGIC (Church of God in Christ). It seems to be... to simplify it: a blessing.

If you are an old Milwaukee buff like I am or love to see history unearthed, unplastered, undrywalled...un-noise-reduction-tiled.... you will be inspired by this story by local photographer and historian Larry Widen.

How I would love to visit the building and see it in its open and rough state - and see the amazing ceiling and all it's glory - through the gaping hole of awful 60's tiles. Apparently much of the existing features are well preserved after all these years. I'm not an architect but it surprises me that the ceiling features have held up under the force of extreme heat and cold over the decades.

I don't know all the details of the deal (after April 23 it will be public). But after driving past OIC for the past few years and wondering what it was like inside, I'm tickled to see that preservation and restoration is underway. The new owners will spend more in restoration than we would have spent to prosecute Holloway. And a piece of our history will be returned in the process.

They've posted a short video and it's worth the time. Click here to view.

UPDATE: A big thank you to Larry Widen for use of the photos. For more information about Milwaukee theaters and historical photos, visit his site at http://www.larrywiden.com"

Credits also to JS online where the photos are published.