Lorraine Theatre
324 East Main Street,
Hoopeston,
IL
60942
324 East Main Street,
Hoopeston,
IL
60942
14 people
favorited this theater
The Lorraine not to be confused with the newer Lorraine II, originally opened in 1922, but was rebuilt in the Art Deco style in 1937, when it received its current appearance. This included the addition of a balcony, and an elegant Art Deco style marquee.
In 1998, a state of the art sound system was added. It is one of the few theaters in the state of Illinois (outside Chicago) which has such a high tech sound system.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 42 comments)
The current website of the Lorraine Cinemas including photos and all other information can be found here;
www.CineMajesticLTD.com
What a grand looking facade, especially the marquee and lights!
Question… If folks cannot afford $5 for a ticket then how much do these ‘yuppies’ blow on a late' coffee or their nails?.
Get a life by removing your fat rear end out of your couch and go see a first-run movie before the cinema is gone… and then you’ll wish you had!
Right on Simon!
Well said!
This is by far the best theater in the country. The best sound system the best leg room. I have been in the industry for years. I am extreamly saddened to here it may close. I understand what it takes to keep an older theater in operation. I understand the community needs as well. If Hoopeston looses this theater that will not only be a nail in the coffin for the theater but for the city as well. How many articles are out there boasting about the grandure of the Lorraine? I would bet hundreds. Even with the economy the way it is the city leaders MUST do what it takes to keep this icon open. Even if it means the tax payers supporting this wonderful theater. If the town looses this theater, it will be extreamly difficult to get families and businesses to re-locate to Hoopeston. Businesses look at other successes in the town and other failures. If the community and leaders of a community will not assist or unable to help keep a theater open for the people. The city doesn’t attract other potential businesses. The death of a theater often telss the future of a community. Businesses also look at the enrollment of schools in the area. If enrollment continues to decline new businesses tend not to re-locate to that area. Wake up – do not let this wonderful theater close. Do what ever it takes.
If this place is indeed for sale, why don’t the sellers post a link with the sale information? Price, yearly taxes etc. Then anyone who may have other buyers who might be interested, would have some type of link to forward. Why all the mystery between this page, and the story on CT’s “For Sale” page?
I’m afraid the end is near here
Some 2008 photos of the Lorraine Theatre both day and night courtesy Julia.
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Although the interior of this theater could certainly be classed as Art Deco, the facade, apart from the marquee and boxoffice, is not. The building’s front is splendidly classical, and deserves to be noted as Beaux Arts in style.
Should the Lorraine close, it won’t be the first theater Hoopeston has lost. The August 14, 1915, issue of The Moving Picture World mentions a Princess Theatre and a Lyric Theatre in operation at Hoopeston. I would assume that both are long gone. There was also the McFerren Opera House, which was listed in the 1906 edition of Julius Cahn’s Theatrical Guide. A booklet published for Hoopeston’s centennial in 1977 said that the opera House had burned down on February 20, 1937.
The Lorraine theater closed a few months ago.