Al. Ringling Theatre

The Al. Ringling Theatre in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States, opened its doors in November 1915 and has been operating continuously ever since.

Over the years, it has featured performances from vaudeville and silent movies to grand opera starring such notables as Lionel Barrymore and Mary Pickford.

The decor of the auditorium is said to have derived from Ange-Jacques Gabriel's opera house of 1763-1770 in the Palace of Versailles but some believe it to be at least equally based on Victor Louis's 1780 Grand Théâtre de Bordeaux.

Later a 9 rank, 3 manual Barton with a "circus wagon" style console replaced the Wurlitzer.

The Al Ringling Theater was featured in an episode of PBS's History Detectives, where they investigated whether it was the country's first great movie palace.

The Al. Ringling's Barton theater pipe organ console