Fox Eastgate Theater
712 E. Walnut Street,
Carbondale,
IL
62901
712 E. Walnut Street,
Carbondale,
IL
62901
2 people
favorited this theater
Opened in 1966 at the Eastgate Shopping Center, located on Walnut Street, the Fox Eastgate was closed in June of 2001 by the last chain to operate it, Kerasotes. A gymnastics academy was located in the former theater until 2010. Any further information on this theater would be appreciated.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 19 comments)
The gymnastics school that is currently in the Fox is closing. It is being replaced by a Gold’s Gym. Gold’s says its stay is only temporary until it can build a new building. That means that the building will probably be empty again in the near future.
I went to SIU-C in the late 70s and I remember the Fox well. Rven saw the now-infamous Andrea True X-rated MASH ripoff film there!
I recall catching a double bill midnight show in September 1972 of “The Maltese Falcon” and “Casablanca” at the Fox Eastgate. The big surprise was that the final scene of “Casablanca” was missing from the print! The theater was across the street from the Golden Bear Pancake House, now also long departed from the Carbondale landscape.
Mann Theatres was operating the Fox Eastgate in September 1980, Wehrenberg’s was operating it by July 1982.
David Daly was also the Springfield News-Leader’s film critic during his tenure at SMSU (now Missouri State University).
Just an update. I said nearly 2 ½ years ago that Gold’s Gym was only expecting to stay in the theater for a short time until they could build their own building. Well, they are still there, and I expect they probably will be for while.
I revisited the Carbondale area in 2007. At least the building for the old Varsity downtown was still standing. They are trying to remake it into a performing arts center now. Saw “Flashdance” there back in 1983 I believe.
The recent opening of the single-screen Fox Eastgate was noted in Boxoffice of August 1, 1966. Neither this nor two earlier items about the house had any photos, but shots of the auditorium and the projection booth appeared this page of the April 22, 1968, issue of Boxoffice. The Fox Eastgate was designed by the local architectural firm Fischer-Koscher-Bowden.
Gold’s Gym moved to the west side of town in the fall of 2010, and now the former Fox is now vacant again…
tlogan, neat story,often late shows would come in sorry shape.