Two theaters under one roof? A new idea in 1972.

In January of 1972, the Marcus Theater group, which owned the Rivoli, was planning to build a twin-screen theater on Ward Avenue between the Pizza Hut and the New Villa restaurant.  The Cinema Theaters would be completed by June.  Not long after that, another twin theater would open on King Street downtown.  The Cinema has several more screens at its Ward Avenue building now…and the New Villa was torn down years ago to make way for theater parking.
 
President Richard Nixon was getting ready to run for a second term.  Nixon told Dan Rather of CBS that he would announce his plans by mid-January, but hinted that he would run again with Spiro Agnew staying on as his vice-president.  The president led the list of most admired men in a Gallup poll at the end of 1971.  Billy Graham came in second, followed by Ted Kennedy.  Also in the top 10…Ralph Nader, the Pope, and Bob Hope.
 
Fans of TV game shows had plenty of choices on daytime TV early in ’72.  Those shows included The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, Password, Jeopardy, Hollywood Squares, Let’s Make a Deal, and The Who, What. or Where Game.  Forty-five years ago, Yesterday in La Crosse.