OSHKOSH, Wis. – The Wisconsin Historical Society has announced the listing of the Baumann Block in Oshkosh on the State Register of Historic Places. The commercial building was added to the State Register on May 24, 2024. State Historic Preservation Officer Daina Penkiunas presented a certificate to Megan Beer Pemberton.

The Baumann Block is notable as an intact example of a Queen Anne style commercial building and as the home of the Star Theater, one of the last remaining movie houses in south Oshkosh. The two-story, brick-veneered building was built for Charles Baumann in 1894 with two storefronts at 1124 and 1128 Oregon Street, and apartments above. Baumann and his wife, Amanda, initially operated a grocery and a butcher shop in the building.

In 1910, they converted the north half of the first floor into the Star Theater, a small neighborhood movie house that played second-run films after they left the large downtown theaters, low-budget westerns, and film serials. The interior of the theater was damaged by fire in 1926 and renovated the same year. The Star Theater closed in 1955 and a series of businesses have occupied the building since that time. The Baumann Block was restored to its original appearance in 1994. The ticket booth for the Star Theater remains as do double doors to the seating area, and the projection booth.

Additional information for the Baumann Block is available at https://wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Property/HI42666.