University Square Shopping Center

University Square as it looked in the 1980s, when its lineup included a B. Dalton bookstore and a copy shop. University Archives

In May 1975, the UW community became the center of Madison’s cinematic universe with the opening of the University Square Four: “Madison’s 1st Four-Theatre Entertainment Center,” according to ads. Patrons could go to just one address — the corner of University Avenue and Park Street — and have their choice of four different films.

A newspaper ad for the theater’s opening. University Archives

Or rather three films, on the day the theater opened. Screens one and two both showed Gone in 60 Seconds, while three had Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore and four had Chinatown. Not everyone was upbeat about the opening. Projectionists Local 251 picketed in front of the doors, asking for higher pay from U Square Four’s owner, American Multi-Cinema (AMC). AMC responded that U Square was fully automated and so didn’t need full-time projectionists. But in spite of the unpromising start, U Square Four lasted 30 years.

The University Square shopping center contained more than a movie theater, of course. Its single story covered 60,000 square feet, taking up much of the south side of the 700 block of University Avenue. It hosted the Discount Den (later just the Den); it was the original home for Madhatter bar; and it was the longest-lived of the many locations for Paisan’s Italian restaurant.

In 2001, U Square’s ownership announced a plan to redevelop the old shopping center, replacing it with a multistory structure that includes an apartment building (The Lucky) and UW offices. It took a few years for that plan to become a reality, but in 2006, U Square closed. The Den shut down in 2005. Madhatter moved to West Gorham, where it lasted another decade. Paisan’s moved to West Wilson, where it kept going until 2022.

But the theater had nowhere to go. Perhaps it was the revenge of Projectionists Local 251.

Published in the Winter 2024 issue