The Baehr building on 437 Third Street dominated the skyline and the nightlife of International Falls for much of the past 73 years before it was demolished last week.
The building was constructed in 1936 by Frank Keyes, who sold it to the Baehr brothers that same year. Eva Baehr became sole owner and leased the building to Frank Matzke, president of Home Theaters Company in 1949. It was renovated into a theater including an extension at the back. There were also other tenants.
The other theaters in town included the Grand Theater (now the Union Hall), and the Falls Theater, which is now the Elks Club.
Ron Langton and the late Lloyd Anderson owners of the Border Barber Shop in the Border Theater building, opened their operation in May 1959 and were the last tenants.
A barber shop was on the right hand side of the lobby since 1936. Langton recalled that a Mr.Payquen ran the shop with his two sons, Ivan and Leonard “Frenchy,” until the boys enlisted in the U.S. Navy during WWII. Payquen retired in 1946 and sold the business to Frank Gilbert, who was forced to move out of his space when the State Bank expanded.
Langton recalled a music store across the theater lobby that was operated by a blind man. In 1969, he said Reverend Lilly opened the Bernina Sewing Machine shop, and that 40 years later, his wife still sews on her machine, which was purchased there.
There were also two third-floor apartments.
The second floor was Dr. Authur Ojala’s dentist Office. He was there from the 1950s until the late 1970s and just recently passed away. Also on the second floor was Marie Carlson’s income tax and bookkeeping service. When she moved to the Burbis building, Ojala expanded to bring in Dr. Hoffman.
In 1979, Baehr would sell the building outright to Tentelino Entertainment of Alexandria, Minn., and later as Border Entertainment under Arthur Ojala.
Langton recalls that Ray VonderHaar managed both the Border and Grand Theater for Tentelino Entertainment, and Benedix noted that the projectionist was a Mr. Wold.
Around 1980, the company expanded with a second screen to show double features. They renovated the big theater with gold tapestry.
The Grand Theater closed first and eventually became the Union Hall. The Border Theater would close permanently in late 1982. Langton recalls that when Tentelino sold the building, there was an agreement that it would not be used for a theater again.
As the only remaining business in the building, the barber shop moved soon after, Langton said. The owners planned to raise the rent because they were heating the entire building just for the little shop in front.
Eventually, the building held a drug and alcohol rehabilitation clinic, political campaign offices and even a pet store, for a short time. Salon 437 would take over what was the lobby area until they moved to a nearby location.
When the neighboring real estate company needed a parking lot, just the exended auditorium section of the theater was torn down. Langton recalled that workers left the seats in place and filled in the sunken floor with clay, then gravel and blacktop.
Koochiching County Land Commissioner Dennis Hummitzsch said the building went tax-forfeit in September 2005. During the summer of 2007, the county hired the removal of asbestos. The county considered selling the property, but it wasn’t approved by the Falls City Council because of the poor condition of the building. The collapsing air conditioning tunnel beneath the building was causing it to sink.
Because the building shared a wall with the real estate company and also towered above the Penny Strongman Travel Agency on the other side, demolishing the building was a delicate mission. When completed, the $25,000 project was a bargain, said Hummitzsch, noting that the demolition went off without any damage. The empty lot measures 36 feet by 50 feet, which creates development issues, he added.
The county is filling the hole and will most likely lay sod or gravel over it — leaving a hollow space and almost a half-century of movie memories to live in the minds of Borderlanders.
