Tivoli

Tivoli, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I believe we've visited Downers Grove's historic Tivoli Theater before. It's a nice old building, but it's marquee is kind of hard to shoot. It's only one-sided, and sticks out at a weird angle from the building. Plus you have to stand in the middle of the street to get a clear shot at it. Fortunately, even on a Saturday night, traffic's fairly light.

The Ringling Theatre

Ringling Theater, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I suppose that I should have some sort of interesting, year ending post for you, but instead I have this, a shot I took on a sunny October afternoon. First, some history.

Opened in 1915, the Al. Ringling Theatre is located in the town of Baraboo, Wisconsin. Built by Albert Ringling (of the circus family - Baraboo was the winter headquarters of the circus for many years), this fantastic house was designed by noted theater architects Rapp & Rapp. Originally a vaudeville and silent film palace, the Ringling is still operating today, as a movie house (Lincoln was opening when I shot this). The Ringling is one of the oldest continuously operating theaters in the United States.

Anyway, I'd never heard of the place till I saw it. I was grinding along the highway, returning to my Chicago area home from a brief visit to Minneapolis. I'd gotten a late start on the drive up, ending up spending much of it on the road after dark, putting paid to my plans of doing some shooting along the way. So, I made sure I had the time to make at least one stop on the return trip-and was greeted with a spectacular day. I looked at my map and decided on the town of Baraboo, Wisconsin.

Why Baraboo? I liked the name - I remember seeing a picture in a book about trains, showing the station with a big sign on the side that said "BARABOO". It stuck in my mind as one of those classic upper Midwestern names, like Sleepy Eye or Oconomowoc, and I had a good feeling that Baraboo would have a great downtown.

I wasn't disappointed - Baraboo's downtown is quite charming, and I passed a nice hour looking around at stuff on this lazy fall afternoon. But really, to find a grand old vaudeville house, complete with neon sign, right downtown? I wouldn't have thought it, but there it was.

So there you have it, a short story to round out the year.

The Tivoli Theater

The Tivoli Theater, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The historic Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove, Illinois. A classically styled old school movie palace.

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.

The Catlow Theater

The Catlow Theater, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Vintage neon at the Catlow Theater in Barrington, Illinois. Opened in 1927, this single screen gem also hosted stage shows, and still has most of its vintage charm. I believe this sign dates from the postwar period, probably the fifties. It has that look about it.

And, in a bright bit of news, until late last year, the Catlow was facing an uncertain future, due to the movie studios moving towards all-digital formats over old fashioned film. Upgrading costs typically go to about $100,000 per screen, something the Catlow's owners couldn't afford. Fortunately, a Kickstarter campaign raised the necessary funding, and this absolute gem of a theater can continue to serve the Barrington area (as evidenced by the fact that Skyfall is on the marquee!).

The Majestic

The Majestic, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Streator's fine Art Deco style Majestic Theater. Opened as a vaudeville house in 1907, the Majestic has undergone numerous changes, as well as openings and closings, in it's history. Most recently restored and re-opened in 2002, the Majestic currently shows first run films as well as musical shows.

Mann's Chinese Theater

Mann's Chinese Theater-Los Angeles, CA, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I took this some years ago on a trip to Los Angeles. If memory serves, I just set my camera on the ground and pressed the button. I can't tell what movie they were promoting, but I do remember walking up the street, past the El Capitan, and barging through a live commercial for the Jimmy Kimmel show.

The Paramount Theatre-Aurora, IL

The Paramount Theatre-Aurora, IL, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

We've visited Aurora's historic Paramount Theater a couple of times now, so I'll spare you the history lesson and just let you bask in the beauty of this building.

Okay, now go click the links and read up!

The Egyptian

The Egyptian, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Some more TtV goodness of the Egyptian Theater in DeKalb, IL.

The Egyptian

The Egyptian, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

The historic Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb, Illinois. Opened in 1929 at the height of the public's fascination with Egyptian culture and at the beginning of the Depression, it's one of six similar theaters from this time period that are believed to still exist. Originally hosting silent films and vaudeville, the Egyptian eventually moved over to films full time, and remained a popular venue until the late sixties.

By the early 70's the theater was in some disrepair, with plaster flaking off the walls and fading paint on it's exterior terra cotta. The owner handed the building over to the city of DeKalb, and in 1978 a group of citizens banded together to save and restore the building. The theater's placement on the National Register of Historic Places helped this cause, and the Egyptian stands today as an excellent example of this style of movie house.

The DeKalb

The DeKalb, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Closed for movies but open for other stuff, the DeKalb Theater still has this awesome, if inoperative, sign out front. I don't know how long it's been out of the movie business, but there's a beauty school there now.

The Hub

The Hub, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

We've visited Rochelle's Hub Theater once before. Sadly, this vintage movie house has closed permanently, having had a brief reprieve last year. The building is, as of this writing, still for sale. Hopefully someone will buy it, and save this classic.

Oregon Theater

Oregon Theater, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

A former movie theater marquee in Oregon, Illinois. I have no idea how this sign looked originally-I think it probably said "Oregon", as the holes for the neon tubes seem to match up nicely. Clearly it had some extra decoration at one time, though, and it appears to be hand painted.

The theater has long since closed-the storefront is now home to an appliance store.

Fading Glory

Fading Glory, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

I haven't visited the old Caddy in a while, so I felt that the new Argus was as good a reason as any to drop by and see the old girl again.

The Hub

Rochelle, Illinois is known as the "Hub City", due to it's location at the intersection of two major highways-the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental road, and Rt. 51, one of the first to go north/south. Although the Lincoln and 51 have diminished in importance through the years (they're known as State Routes 38 and 251 respectively), the town is still crossed by major routes going in both directions. It's also the center of the universe for local area train buffs, with both Union Pacific and BNSF having major lines that intersect in town. It's proven to be such a draw that the city put up a park just for rail fans.

Anyway, that's how the Hub Theater got it's name. It's been around forever, and features a well weathered neon sign atop the marquee. I believe it still works. Sadly, the Hub is currently out of business and is up for sale-hopefully someone can save it.

The Paramount

Paramount Theatre TTV-Aurora, IL, originally uploaded by William 74.

TtV Tuesday! Here's a shot of Aurora's historic Paramount Theater. I can't tell if the TtV magic makes it look cool and retro or old and shabby. The former, I hope.

Texaco

Texaco TtV, originally uploaded by William 74.

TtV Tuesday! This week we have a vintage Texaco sign. Sadly, it's not on a vintage Texaco station somewhere in the desert Southwest, or even at a restored vintage station somewhere along Route 66, but hanging outside a local restaurant.

I suppose I've just ruined it for you!

The Music Box

The Music Box Theatre-Chicago, IL, originally uploaded by William 74.

Opened in August of 1929, the Music Box Theater is a little gem of a place. At a time when the big palaces in Chicago all had seating for 3,000 or so, the Music Box sat a mere 800, giving a much more intimate experience. It was also one of the first theaters in Chicago that was designed expressly for motion pictures-other joints like the Uptown or State-Lake had stages, and were meant to host live performances as well as movies. The Music Box had none of this, although it did have accommodations for an orchestra and an organ-sound films were just starting to become common, but the necessities for silent films were included, just in case that newfangled technology didn't catch on. Amazingly, the Music Box's first known silent film showing-the 1927 classic Wings-wasn't until 1983!

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DeKalb Theatre

DeKalb Theatre-DeKalb, IL, originally uploaded by William 74.

I don't know what it is, but there's something about movie theaters and neon signs I like. I've shown a couple others here (the Chicago Theatre and the Sterling), and here's another for this week's Neon Friday.

This is the DeKalb Theater in DeKalb, Illinois. I know absolutely nothing about this theater, except that when I shot this back in '09 it wasn't in use and was looking kind of shabby. I've been past since and there seems to be something going on there, but I haven't been able to stop and look. Either way, the DeKalb has this excellent vintage sign out front-surely it deserves to be restored to it's former glory?