In 1941, The 500 seat, $30,000, Tonka Theater opened at the end of the main drag in Excelsior. The auditorium was decorated with murals of steamboats on the nearby lake. Meet Dr. Christian was the first movie. Just three years later, however, the little place was gutted by a fire. It took an appeal to the War Production Board, as this occurred during WW II, and there were strict regulations on building materials. As it was the town’s sole movie house, the owners of the Tonka Theater were allowed to rebuild, and during the summer of 1945, it was reopened. In the 1970′s, the Tonka Theater was twinned, and at the same time, received a new name, the Dock 1 & 2, with the main floor being Dock 1 and the former balcony, Dock 2. The theater was triplexed during the 1980′s and remains a popular destination, screening a mix of first-run, art and foreign features.
