Raue Center for the Arts
26 N. Williams Street,
Crystal Lake,
IL
60014
26 N. Williams Street,
Crystal Lake,
IL
60014
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Here is a photo of the Raue Center that I took yesterday.
In the early 1950’s, the organ from this theater was purchased by Leon Berry and installed in his basement. One of the very first stereo album releases was “Leon Berry at the Giant Wurlitzer Pipe Organ, volume 3” released March 31, 1958 on Audio Fidelity records – AFSD, 5844.
What happened to the organ? Where is it?
Here is a recent close up.
View link
A 2/4 Wurlitzer was installed in the theatre in 1929.
Another 2009 photo is here.
Here is a nice recent photo.
This is a 2008 photo.
And the correct pronunciation of “Raue” is?
Here is an updated link for the vintage postcard view of the El Tovar posted on Apr 23, 2004.
This is a 2007 photo.
I think it was called the Lake in the 1950’s and 1960’s during a span when it only showed movies. Sometime in the 1970’s Rhyne Management bought the building and named it Showplace 8, which was a sister theater to the old Showplace 1-7 on Rte 14 near Rte 31.
I have an employee pay logbook from the 1950’s that I took out of one of the basements while I worked there in the mid-90’s. I also have part of the marquee that was hung out front “Downtown Showplace” in white and black letters, which was the incarnation before the massive renovation.
I was in the building this year and went up into the control room above the balcony. The original movie projector and film platters were still up there and functional, so perhaps they are still considering movies from time to time.
Also, the Crystal Lake historical society notes that it was also named the Lake at one point and includes more info at View link
It was indeed an Elmer F. Behrns theater. Note, his name is properly spelled ‘Behrns’, not ‘Behrens’. Also notable is that Behrns was with Rapp & Rapp from 1917-1923. He also lived in Crystal Lake. In addition to the theaters listed at this site, he built St. Luke’s Church in Chicago (http://www.elca.org/archives/chicagochurches/stluke_gc.html) and apartments which no longer stand on W. Washington Blvd. Chicago Tribune, August 19, 1928, B3
I think this might’ve been from Elmer Behrens, plans originally for an unbuilt Lombard cinema look relatively close to the Raue, although different (cheapened?) in a few ways. See the Chicago Tribune, “Cinema for Du Page County Suburb”, July 24, 1927. This was part of the Polka Brothers circuit in the 1930s.
I worked at this theater from 1993-1996 when it was known as Showplace 8. It was affiliated with Showplace 1-7 located on Rt 14, which was rebuilt in the mid 90’s as a 16 screen modern megaplex. My teenage career as an usher began with “The Firm” and ended with “Twister”. Often priding myself on pursuing 80 work weeks in the summer, I spent more time in the building than I did at home. Who could pass up the draw of $4.75/hour? The theater was one screen and could seat close to 900 when the balcony was open for big shows.
The new link is here
A vintage postcard view of the El Tovar with its vertical sign can be seen here.