The Cowles Center: Highlights in a 101-year lifespan

1910: Designed in the Classic Revival architectural style by William Albert Swasey, the 1,300-seat Sam S. Shubert Theater opened Aug. 28 on 7th Street between Hennepin and 1st Avenues.

1915-33: Became home of the Bainbridge Stock Co., whose showman manager, Buzz Bainbridge, later was elected mayor of Minneapolis.

1934: Renamed the Alvin Burlesque Theater, it became a house of vaudeville and striptease.

1953: Leased for a couple of years to an evangelistic association and used for revival meetings.

1957: Renamed the Academy Theater, a moviehouse.

1983: Closed and boarded up.

1989: Bought by Minneapolis Community Development Agency, amid debate over what to do with it.

1997: Members of the Save Our Shubert group staged a candlelight vigil at the threatened theater.

1998: Artspace Projects Inc. proposed to relocate the 2,900-ton theater a block-and-a-half north on Hennepin Avenue S.

1999: Moved to its current location at a cost of more than $4 million. A long fundraising process began.

2009: The Cowles Center secured $2 million in federal stimulus funds.