Granada Theatre

This theater was on the local news in early March. It is being restored for use as a community center.

The Granada was designed by the Boller Brothers in 1937.

The address for the Granada Theatre is: 104 North Ninth Street, Mount Vernon, Il. 62864.

Melders by any chance do yu hae any updates on the Granada. I have some great photos that I took back in 1997 when the Add A Photo goes back online.

No, I haven't heard anything about this theater since I first saw it on the news.

Heard on the news tonight that the Mt. Vernon High School choir(I hope that is the choir) sang here today for a Rotary Club luncheon. The owner(or at least the man in charge of restoration) said that things have been going ok and that people are starting to get interested in restoration. It was mentioned though that several thousand dollars was still needed to reopen the theater to the public.

Glad to see so much interest in the Granada. There is no single owner, and it is not for sale. The group is updating bathrooms right now (Feb 2005) and have installed fire doors in the rear of the building. Anyone with resources or who would like to make a donation may e-mail the group at granada@mvn.net The group is trying to get the building up to code in order to hold fund-raising events. Another theater in Mt. Vernon, the Plaza, is also being renovated but not as a theater. It had been converted to an office, and the tin ceiling had been covered. That is being opened up now. It's been hidden behind a false ceiling for 30 years.

The Granada Theatre was operated by Fox Midwest Amusement Corp. in the 1940's. The Film Daily Yearbook, 1941 gives a seating capacity of 1,000. In the 1950 edtion of F.D.Y. seating is given as 1,200.

There was an article in the paper today that a marquee restoration drive is underway.

This is a larger photo of the Granada Theater. I also found the following info on this building:

Granada Theater
108 North 9th Street
Mt. Vernon, IL 62864

Legal Description:
Lot 37 in Block 16 and the 20 feet off the South side of Lot 36 in Block 16 in Storm's Survey of the town, now city, of Mt. Vernon, in the County of Jefferson and State of Illinois.
Lot Size: 79 feet north and south by 223.25 feet east and west.
Building Dimensions: 79 feet north and south by 183 feet east and west; approximately 14,656 square feet floor space.
Former Use: Theater with two adjoining retail spaces.
Composition:
Interior walls: plaster and paneling
Exterior walls: brick
Roof: composition
Floors: concrete and carpet
Restrooms: two
Heating: hot water boiler.
Air Conditioning: central
Property Zoning: B-1, Primary Business District and within the Mt. Vernon, IL/Jefferson County Enterprise Zone.

More photos:
http://www.agilitynut.com/05/10/granada1.jpg
http://www.agilitynut.com/05/10/granada2.jpg

I wish I was still in the area so I could volunteer to help restore the Granada Theater. I am so proud of the work that has been do so far. I wish you all the best of luck in re-opening the theater and finding events that will make the Granada the social hub of downtown Mt.Vernon, Illinois.

Join the Granada Theater group on Yahoo! to read current events or to post questions, comments, stories, or pictures concerning the granada Theater in downtown Mt.Vernon, Illinois.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/granadatheater

There did not appear to be a lot of work going on presently at the theater, but there was a scissors lift in the lobby and a front end loader in back, so perhaps something is going on. This looked like by far the coolest of the three theaters along this street, and seems to retain an abnormal amount of decor, at least in the lobby. The chandeliers are particularly fantastic. I hope this project pulls through, it looks like a very worthy theater!
Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid3205/

This December 17, 2007 article claims that the Granada Theater re-opened for its 70th anniversary. Anyone know if that was a special one time event, or is this theater currently open?

I used to work at this theater when I was a kid ... closed the doors on its last day as a movie house. Good to see that there are people working to fix it up as it has lots of potential to be a beautiful landmark for the area.

Does anyone have any contact info for the people who are working to fix it up?

Astromonkey, David Lister can be reached at david@wdml.com He's the guy in the know. The group also has a list serve: granada@mvn.net If you want to be added to the list serve, you can e-mail john@mvn.net with that request.

Here are photos from 1983 and 1985:
http://tinyurl.com/rdzpkp
http://tinyurl.com/oj5rf6
http://tinyurl.com/q8r7n5
http://tinyurl.com/r9ov6v

This is a website for the Granada.

Here is a recent photo.

status should be open