Wheaton Grand Theater

Wheaton Grand Theater, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The Wheaton Grand Theater (or just the Grand) opened in 1925, with one screen and 1,000 seats. It first closed in the late 90's as a second run theater, but new owners re-opened and ran classic films, concerts, and other shows until 2006. The Grand has sat empty since, although a new owner is in the process of renovating and hopes to re-open in 2014.

I think this sign has been lightly refurbished in the last year or so-the paint looks nice and bright, even though the glass is mostly broken and missing. I hope the restoration of this cool old theater is successful-the exterior is still in nice shape and has lots of great period detail. It should look great.

We all scream for ice cream!

Cock Robin Ice Cream-Wheaton, IL, originally uploaded by William 74.

Cock Robin was a Chicago area chain of ice cream restaurants, and was a fixture for many years. Originally known as Prince Ice Cream, the chain was started in the late 20's in DeKalb, and was renamed Cock Robin Ice Cream in the early 50's. For a time both names were in use, and legend has it that, even though the ice cream was the same, people would say "I don't want that Cock Robin stuff, get me Prince Castle!"

Cock Robin was best known for it's steakburgers, the One-In-A-Million-Malted, and it's square shaped ice cream scoops. By the 50's they were widespread in the area (everyone I know "of a certain age" seems to have eaten at one back in the day), but by the 90's there were only a few left. The last one, in Brookfield, closed in 2006. This one's in Wheaton, and is still open as a burger joint/ice cream shop, but doesn't call itself Cock Robin, even though the sign is still on the top.