Normal Theater

209 W. North Street,
Normal, IL 61761

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Normal Theater

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Opened on November 17, 1937 with an original seating capacity of 691, the Normal Theater is owned by the Town of Normal, Illinois and is operated as a non-profit movie theater devoted to showing classic, independent and foreign films in an historically restored, Art Moderne movie palace. It has been completely restored and is open Thursdays through Sundays weekly.

The Normal Theater is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and has won the Illinois Landmarks Preservation Council’s Preservation Project of the Year 1995. The theater is 100% restored to it’s original look. Black Vitrolite glass and a cream stucco exterior showcases the flashing red and green neon marquee. Inside, streamline design motifs include geometric wall sconces, a recessed double neon ceiling hoop through the auditorium, pluch carnelian vintage seats and a replica of the original carpet design, comprised of swirling swatches of cyan, yellow and magenta shapes.

Contributed by Dawn Riordan

Recent comments (view all 45 comments)

lostmemory
lostmemory on July 17, 2009 at 6:25 pm

The year given for this photo is 2001.

lostmemory
lostmemory on November 14, 2009 at 11:55 am

Here is a nice recent photo of the Normal at night.

Bruce C.
Bruce C. on November 17, 2009 at 5:49 am

Here’s another one of my recent pictures of the Normal Theatre:

View link

jwballer
jwballer on January 12, 2010 at 2:30 pm

Theatre appears on the 150 places to visit if you are in illinois at # 94
http://www.illinoisgreatplaces.com/

jwballer
jwballer on February 3, 2010 at 8:11 pm

View link

jwballer
jwballer on March 1, 2010 at 5:23 pm

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B6V6LOdQF4

TLSLOEWS
TLSLOEWS on March 1, 2010 at 5:38 pm

What a great name.What is normal.

kpdennis
kpdennis on April 15, 2010 at 11:18 am

Chuck, doesn’t look like the Normal, but the Castle in the posted link…

kpdennis
kpdennis on January 20, 2011 at 11:12 am

How things continue to change…while the theater looks the same in those recent shots vs mine from 1995, the neighborhood around it has grown. In the 1995 shot, you can see a small older building next to the theater; the more recent shots, that structure is gone and something much bigger has replaced it.
1995: View link

Trolleyguy
Trolleyguy on October 23, 2011 at 6:00 am

A shot of this theater with the marquee and blade sign lit appears in a new Mitsubishi Automobile commercial.

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