Varsity Theatre
1216 W. Main Street,
Peoria,
IL
61606
1216 W. Main Street,
Peoria,
IL
61606
No one has favorited this theater yet
Showing all 15 comments
Here is a photo circa 1948:
http://tinyurl.com/ycc335y
Here’s a link to a photo of the Varsity:
View link
Boxoffice of November 5, 1938, ran an item saying that George Kerasotes was planning to build a theater called the Varsity in Peoria. The Varsity was being designed by one of Peoria’s leading architects, J. Fletcher Lankton.
A photo of the foyer of the Varsity appeared on the cover of the Modern Theatre section of Boxoffice for March 30, 1940. The Varsity was located in an existing building, formerly a garage, which was extensively altered to serve as a theater.
1982 Photo
1985 Photo
1985 Photo
Yeah, but this theater was in Peoria, IL. :)
Here’s a whopper. I’ve never been to Memphis, but it looks amazingly like San Francisco:
http://tinyurl.com/5k5wy8
I also found a few of those photos labeled incorrectly. If I can’t identify the theater, I don’t post them.
Looks like Racine, BW. I will check.
Couldn’t say where that was, but there was never a Varsity in Chicago. It’s worth noting, however, that this is clearly NOT Chicago. So that Varsity is probably somewhere in the Midwest, perhaps WI or IL.
All the parade photos were in Chicago, according to the caption. Perhaps an AKA for a Chicago theater that’s already been listed.
Well it’s definately not the Evanston Varsity. Too modern looking. Good luck in the hunt.
This is supposed to be a Varsity Theater in Chicago in 1951. I don’t know where to put this theater as I don’t see any Chicago Varsities. Any help would be appreciated.
http://tinyurl.com/5t7a2z
In the Varsity’s last years, the balcony was closed of to create a very small second screening area. I believe this theater went out of business in late ‘87.
Here is a haargis photo.
The Varsity opened in l939 and was the last new theater to open in Peoria until the Fox in 1965. The style was very much art deco. It lasted longer than most single-screen theaters because of its proximity to Bradley University. It was considered sort of a “twin” to the Beverly, opened just 2 years earlier and located on the other side of the “bluff” area of Peoria.