The Morton Theatre was placed in the Yentes Motor Sales building’s spot and erected by the Mathis Lumber Company in the Spring and Summer of 1937. The theatre opened on August 5, 1938 with Janet Gaynor in “A Star is Born” for Phil C. Hauter and Clarence F. Gury. Times were challenging as the theatre not only hosted “Bank Night” offering a a cash prize but “Job Night” trying to match employers to prospective employees. One of the biggest moments for Hauter was booking “Gone with the Wind” on May 30, 1940. E.F. Pope of Minonk took on the Morton Theatre on March 23, 1944 for a year.
The Morton was purchased and run the longest by Mr. and Mrs. Alfred B. & Marjorie Carious. They took it on on a 15-year lease operating it from 1945 to closure. They are likely better known for the seasonally-operated Dairy Queen and A&W Drive-In which they ran until 1975. In July In 1955, they transitioned the Morton Theatre to widescreen projection to present CinemaScope films. Despite “scope,” the television age had already killed small-town movie theaters everywhere. The Cariouses closed temporarily in 1959 and reopened for its final stretch to April 23, 1960.
One of the last bookings was “The Miracle” which they listed on the marquee along with the opening of the Dairy Queen on April 14, 1960 - likely indicating a hard winter season and springtime relief. The Cariouses shuttered permanently with “The Wreck of the Mary Deare” with a few patrons showing up (picture from closing day, April 23, 1960 in photos). In July of 1960, building owner Oscar Mathis removed the theatre seating, the marquee, and leveled the floor for retail use purposes. The local newspaper surmised that the town might not get another movie theater but that changed when the Jerry Lewis Cinema opened in the early 1970s - a theatre that morphed into a more modern complex and still was operational in the 2020s.
One of ten founding members of the Orpheus Club, Henry M. Standmeyer built a venue for live music and plays called the Majestic Theatre opening on December 21, 1906 with Hap Ward in “Not Yet… But Soon.” Peoria brewer E.C. Leisy took it over keeping it live and owned the new-build Orpheum, as well. Between live dates, Leisy programmed some film content. One of the first shows was on May 19, 1913 with a five films for a penny each: “A Woman Loved,” “The Adventures of Captain Hatteras,” “The Greater Love” and two comedy shorts. But the venue was never a dedicated movie house.
This was punctuated when the Maj was not wired for sound. As live events became more challenging in the era of sound films, the Majestic scuffled. Wrestling and boxing matches were staged there. It was turned over to the WPA which staged live Federal Theatre plays there during the Depression to keep actors and technical staff gainfully employed. Publix Great States Theatres acquired the lease of both the Orpheum and Majestic and they basically acquired the Majestic to prevent others from opening a movie theater there. They sublet it to WMDB which took it over in 1947 for live radio shows and then the television studios coming next as WMDB had signed on August 1, 1948. WMBD ran their 30-year leasing agreement downtown from 1947 to 1977. (This was fairly common for early TV/radio combos from smaller to the largest of media markets.)
In June of 1977, the WMBD studios moved to new digs and the former Majestic space was essentially torn out and made into open space. The studio/theatrical space was gutted for an open air attribute for the Jefferson Building turned Jefferson Center in a $2 million facelift. (Looking at the photos, it is fair that that is the theater’s demolition date despite much of the building’s main elements remaining.) But if there was any question about the building’s status, that was made clear in 1998. The entire Jefferson Building / Center structure was razed for One Technology Center, an Internet/Telecom era project. That project was a modern parking, retail and technology center for the 21st Century.
On July 3, 1981, Charles Thomas of the Del-Van Theatre acquired the lease. The Morton Cinema became an X-rated location by the Morton Cinema Corp. The venue’s X-rated and, finally, its unrated “XXX” got it kicked out of the Field Shopping Center in March of 1983.
The venue opened as the Palace Theatre in 1910. It didn’t become the Little Palace Theatre until Ascher’s Palace Theatre opened and caused some confusion in 1921. So the operators decided, “Little” Palace. The LP scuffled in the movie palace era so veered to burlesque with exploitation films and fourth-run Hollywood fare mixed in. Burley performer and operator Billy “Bozo” Stone gave it an improved sound system and new name as the Grand Theatre operating with just films. (Boz moved the burley shows to the Majestic until being shut down for lewdness in 1941; lewd under the radar at the Little Palace was one thing…)
It got a minimal streamline makeover becoming the Warner Theatre in 1941. It closed on March 13, 1954 with “Sound Barrier” and “Nevada Buckaroo.” It was offered for sale or lease as a theater in 1954 and all of 1955. In March of 1956, three very young boys (ages 10-12) admitted to seriously vandalizing the theatre including destroying a projector pretty much sealing its fate. The vacant building faced condemnation until it was cleaned up and transitioned to a house of worship in 1959 reducing its taxing liabilities. The former theater turned church was later converted to a garage.
The Szold Family created the Southside business district of Peoria, Illinois in 1880 from corn fields to Szold’s & Son first retail store operated first by Joseph and son, Jacob followed by Jacob and son, Adolph - a commercial legacy of over 100 years. But Adolph liked movie theaters co-creating the Garden Theatre under the Apex Theatre Co. nameplate in 1913. The competing Imperial Theatre here was its contemporary and the Gem about a mile south were the silent Southside movie houses of Peoria.
In 1927, Szold purchased the Imperial and the Gem to rid the area of competition. And it was the Garden that transitioned to sound. Both the Imperial and the Gem scuffled during the Depression. But conditions improved in the latter part of the decade an Szold concentrated on updating the Imperial building with a major upgrade in 1937 to the plans of architects Lankton & Ziegele. It included a colorful foyer and unconventional lobby, Simplex projectors with Peerless lamps, and a name change to the Avon Theatre on May 6, 1937 with Clark Gable in “Call of the Wild.” Despite having a concession stand, some preferred Eto Monterastelli’s Roxy’s Sweet Shop or the Szold’s Department Store for the sneak-in snack variety.
Adolph W. Szold then became Peoria’s drive-in theatre champ creating both the Peoria Drive-In and the Bellevue Drive-In, the latter of which was so successful that it was expanded in size. But television was not the South Side’s movie friend. The Szold’s retail store across the street continued but he closed the Avon Theatre on April 15, 1956 with “Secret Venture” and “Sabuka.” The venue was turned into a house of worship in the 1960s as the Peoria Revival Center.
It then became The Circus in the 1970s, a nightclub that did have a few animated film matinees indicating that the projection capability was still there. As was its near foray into porno chic when the lightning rod of adult film exhibition, the Del-Van got approval to move to the location in 1986 only to be denied a permit to operate months later in a case decided by the Illinois Supreme Court.
The Avon became a short-lived, independent home video store, Avon Unlimited Video - a nod to its theatrical past. When Avon Unlimited closed, the building was offered at a “give away price" in 1985. The Szold’s store closed in 1987 after more than 106 years leaving the Jefferson/Adams/Western/Garden Southside commercial district as a greyfield area. The Avon Theatre building was demolished clearly to remove it from the tax rosters with the lot’s taxing valuation basis dropping significantly and - now - valued at just over $3,000 as a vacant lot in the 2020s.
Dean M. Duboff was the architect with a capacity of 700 seats. The Metro Cinema I & II Twin Theaters opened for Kerasotes Theatres Circuit on Feb. 9. 1973 with “Pete ‘n’ Tillie” and “1776.” On November, 19, 1982, the twins were twinned making it the Metro Cinema 1 / 2 / 3 /4 In October of 1985, a reorganization split the Peoria venues into the newly-created portfolio of GKC Theatres (George Kerasotes Corporation). The venue became the Metro Cinemas 4 under GKC on Nov. 8, 1985.
Dee Robinson of Robinson Theatres Co. opened on October 16, 1920 with Gaston Glass in “Humoresque.” Peoria Mayor Edward Woodruff proclaimed it Madison Theatre Day: A holiday. The building of the theater was anything but - falling a full year and a half behind its target. But the Adam architectural style of Frederick J. Klein on the $500,000 house wowed patrons. The Ascher Circuit was quicker to building its palace, Ascher’s Palace, across the street but wound up opening behind the Madison.
The reason that the Mayor came out so hot for the Madison? It featured local builder Fred Harbers & Son, local architect in Klein and a local operator in Robinson - to say nothing of its manager and conductor (both from Peoria). The Palace featured Chicago architect John Edmund Oldaker Pridmore, Chicago’s Harry Rogers as conductor and Charles Manzing as manager. It was on!
In 1928, the Madison converted to Western Electric sound to remain viable. It also went to widescreen as a Christmas gift to Peorian movie-goers with “How to Be a Millionaire” in that format beginning on Christmas Day 1953. Plitt Theatres took on the venue on May 20, 1974 and the Madison proved to be the survivor. It continued all the way to July 21, 1983 when Plitt Theatres closed it with “Breathless.”
After a successful live stint, the theater has returned to questionable future as the Madison Theater Preservation Association had a challenging and almost surreal $35 million renovation project that gained momentum in 2022/3 but seems to have slowed significantly.
The Landmark Plaza was announced in 1979 and built by Becker Brothers containing and containing the Landmark Bowling Lanes, the Fun City Arcade, Landmark Restaurant and Lounge, and a movie theater as a family fun destination center. The Kerasotes Landmark Cinema 3 launched with “Kramer v. Kramer” on December 19, 1979 with “The Rose” and “Roller Boogie” two days later honoring those opening dates.
Kerasotes bumped that up to a five screener as the Landmark Cinema 5 on October 3, 1980. Under GKC (George Kerastoes Corporation) operation in November 8, 1985, the venue was changed to the Landmark Mall Cinemas 5 (plural). On October 7, 1988, it expanded to an 8-plex simply as Landmark Mall Cinemas though January 1992. They moved on at the end of lease.
Formerly operated by Nova Cinemas as the Nova Cinemas Peoria, it had a stretch as an independently run cinema. That included a drive-in screen beginning in 2012. The venue closed as Landmark Cinemas at Landmark Recreation Center on August 1, 2023.
The Pekin Mall was announced in 1967 to be anchored by a P.A. Bergner’s Department store. The long-gestating project added a JCPenney anchor and finally launched on August 2, 1973 theatre-less. But that would change quickly. General Cinema Corp. entered the market with a double cinema. The GCC Pekin Mall I & II opened with 701 seats on Feb 8, 1974. “American Graffiti” and “A Touch of Class” were the opening titles.
General Cinema left the Mall on October 28, 1987. Kerasotes took on the venue the next day, October 29, 1987, as the Pekin Mall Cinemas beginning the next day. The 25-year leasing deal was coming toward its end and Kerasotes went big building a new multiplex. It opened on November 19, 1999 and the Mall undoubtedly gave Kerasotes a month-to-month sweetheart deal to keep the space filled with the mall reaching greyfield status.
The venue was repositioned on November 19, 1999 as the Discount Movies at Pekin Mall with all seats a dollar. Kerasotes bailed on the dying mall on January 27, 2000 with just a single auditorium functioning and “Double Jeopardy.” The Pekin Mall was demolished in December of 2003.
The trade press reports that the Sievers Amusement Co., of Peoria opened the Duchess Theatre on December 15, 1913 running only movies. He was trying to corner that market as best as he could with the Empress, Princess, Duchess, Crescent opening in early 1914.
In 1976, the Peoria Civic Center project targeted a number of longstanding Peoria downtown buildings including the Rialto Theatre. With demolition all but guaranteed and business down to 142,000 annual tickets (roughly 97 people per show in a 1,400 seat capacity house), the Rialto was DOA.
Give Kerasotes credit for booking “Star Wars” there as that title, alone, sold over 110,000 tickets in a 27 week run making it the highest grossing film in Rialto history. A plan and a Save the Rialto movement started and a plan to retain the Rialto was proffered. It seemed to make sense and was within the realm of possibility. So actions hastened to remove the buildings in the Civic Center’s path. The Rialto was to have closed with a vaudeville show and classic movie but those plans were scrapped. 20 people attended the last showing of “Every Which Way Bit Loose” on January 18, 1979.
The salvage auction was held on January 25, 1979. In that prep for the auction, they found an archive of movie posters that were in a “lost” closet in the basement. In early February 1979, the demolition began.
The Beverly Theatre opened March 17, 1937. Effective with its GKC (George Kerasotes Corp.) operation, on November 8, 1985, it was rebranded as the Beverly Cinema. It closed as the Beverly Cinema on January 30, 1992 with “Star Trek VI.” It had 734 seats in its final capacity, down from 936 in its final stretch. It was demolished in 1993.
National General Corp. circuit opened the Fox Theatre on July 2, 1969 with “Funny Girl” on a 20-year leasing agreement. The venue owed its name to Fox Eastern Theatres, the subsidiary responsible for planning and opening the Fox - reportedly its 293d location. It was announced in June of 1967 - a $500,000 replacing the Risius Greenhouse facility. (The sister Fox Midwestern Theatres had nearby locations in Champaign, Jacksonville, Springfield, and into Southern Illinois at the time.)
The 821-seat luxury suburban single-screen theater was everything the aging downtown Peoria theaters weren’t. They had comfy new seating, lots of free parking (250 spaces), modern HVAC designed for the building at opening, and - when the Northwoods Mall opened four years later - was near the fastest growing part of retail in Peoria. The venue was announced and construction started by Becker Bros. in 1968. It was the city’s first hardtop, new-build theater since the Crest in 1939.
The venue’s booth left space for 70mm platters but opened and stuck with 35mm projection. Also, despite what it says above, this one remained stubbornly single-screen despite operating into the multiplex era and being outpaced. It’s opening location was 4025 W. War Memorial Drive in Peoria and its successor - the Red Roof Inn was 1822 West War Memorial Drive in an address switch (should you want to pay your respects in person).
Effective July 1, 1973 Mann’s Theatres took over the National General Corp. portfolio - here as Mann’s Fox Theater. Wehrenberg Theatres took on the Mann portfolios in the area effective July 1, 1982. Union projectionists were picketing on July 3, 1982 at the Fox Theater. On May 18, 1984, the Illinois portfolio of theaters was sold by Wehrenberg to Kerasotes Theatres. In 1985, those venues were under the GKC moniker (George Kerasotes Theatres) and, for reasons unclear, GKC actively marketed the portfolio including the Fox as “cinemas” with this venue as the Fox Cinema from November 1985 to closure despite not changing the exterior signage of “Fox Theater.”
As the leasing expiry was coming at January’s end in 1989, the building was sold outright to the parent company of Red Roof Inn. The theatre closed as the Fox Cinema on January 22, 1989 with “Twins.” The City Council approved of plans to raze the theatre which may have started in December of 1989 but completed in 1990. As noted, the Red Roof Inn’s operational cycle was primarily at 1822 West War Memorial Drive after the area was renumbered. And it was also knocked over with that patch of commercial area in turnaround.
The Galesburg Drive-In launched on March 27, 1953 with “Abbott & Costello Meet Capt. Kidd.” but had a free screening of “Ivory Hunter” the night before. Kerasotes closed at the end of its 30-year leasing agreement with “Spaceship” and “Galaxina” on September 4, 1983
The Varsity Theatre closed on February 1, 1990 with “Tango and Cash,” “Mask of the Red Death,” and “The Wizard.” Capacity was 764 as a two-screener with 484 in the main floor and 280 in the upstairs. The closing gives John N. Ziegele co-architect credit as part of Lankton & Ziege e. The Varsity had opened in 1939 with “Out West” and a full house. Five people showed up for the final screening of “Tango & Cash.
According to the reports on its demise, GKC said it had no choice in closing the venue as they could either sell out or get imminent domained as the Campustown project was coming through their building no matter what.
The Orpheum circuit brought Al Jolson, Will Rogers, Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor, and Fannie Brice to Peoria. And this was known when the demolition crew found the log of everyone who had been on the stage in the wreckage in January of 1952.
The building was stout in its defense - the project took longer than expected at six months and it took a big bite out of the neighboring Elks Club in a noon-time accident that crushed a pinball machine, damaged the bar, and injured two patrons. The space was used for a 55-car parking lot for Terminal Parking Co.
The Skyway appears to have opened June 29, 1949 with “I Shot Jesse James.”
Opened on April 23, 1954 with “Inferno” and “It’s a Pleasure.”
The Dixie Drive-In Theatre opened on May 11, 1949 with Abbott & Costello in “Pardon My Sarong.”
Three screens for two different kinds of audiences
The Morton Theatre was placed in the Yentes Motor Sales building’s spot and erected by the Mathis Lumber Company in the Spring and Summer of 1937. The theatre opened on August 5, 1938 with Janet Gaynor in “A Star is Born” for Phil C. Hauter and Clarence F. Gury. Times were challenging as the theatre not only hosted “Bank Night” offering a a cash prize but “Job Night” trying to match employers to prospective employees. One of the biggest moments for Hauter was booking “Gone with the Wind” on May 30, 1940. E.F. Pope of Minonk took on the Morton Theatre on March 23, 1944 for a year.
The Morton was purchased and run the longest by Mr. and Mrs. Alfred B. & Marjorie Carious. They took it on on a 15-year lease operating it from 1945 to closure. They are likely better known for the seasonally-operated Dairy Queen and A&W Drive-In which they ran until 1975. In July In 1955, they transitioned the Morton Theatre to widescreen projection to present CinemaScope films. Despite “scope,” the television age had already killed small-town movie theaters everywhere. The Cariouses closed temporarily in 1959 and reopened for its final stretch to April 23, 1960.
One of the last bookings was “The Miracle” which they listed on the marquee along with the opening of the Dairy Queen on April 14, 1960 - likely indicating a hard winter season and springtime relief. The Cariouses shuttered permanently with “The Wreck of the Mary Deare” with a few patrons showing up (picture from closing day, April 23, 1960 in photos). In July of 1960, building owner Oscar Mathis removed the theatre seating, the marquee, and leveled the floor for retail use purposes. The local newspaper surmised that the town might not get another movie theater but that changed when the Jerry Lewis Cinema opened in the early 1970s - a theatre that morphed into a more modern complex and still was operational in the 2020s.
One of ten founding members of the Orpheus Club, Henry M. Standmeyer built a venue for live music and plays called the Majestic Theatre opening on December 21, 1906 with Hap Ward in “Not Yet… But Soon.” Peoria brewer E.C. Leisy took it over keeping it live and owned the new-build Orpheum, as well. Between live dates, Leisy programmed some film content. One of the first shows was on May 19, 1913 with a five films for a penny each: “A Woman Loved,” “The Adventures of Captain Hatteras,” “The Greater Love” and two comedy shorts. But the venue was never a dedicated movie house.
This was punctuated when the Maj was not wired for sound. As live events became more challenging in the era of sound films, the Majestic scuffled. Wrestling and boxing matches were staged there. It was turned over to the WPA which staged live Federal Theatre plays there during the Depression to keep actors and technical staff gainfully employed. Publix Great States Theatres acquired the lease of both the Orpheum and Majestic and they basically acquired the Majestic to prevent others from opening a movie theater there. They sublet it to WMDB which took it over in 1947 for live radio shows and then the television studios coming next as WMDB had signed on August 1, 1948. WMBD ran their 30-year leasing agreement downtown from 1947 to 1977. (This was fairly common for early TV/radio combos from smaller to the largest of media markets.)
In June of 1977, the WMBD studios moved to new digs and the former Majestic space was essentially torn out and made into open space. The studio/theatrical space was gutted for an open air attribute for the Jefferson Building turned Jefferson Center in a $2 million facelift. (Looking at the photos, it is fair that that is the theater’s demolition date despite much of the building’s main elements remaining.) But if there was any question about the building’s status, that was made clear in 1998. The entire Jefferson Building / Center structure was razed for One Technology Center, an Internet/Telecom era project. That project was a modern parking, retail and technology center for the 21st Century.
She went for $650, in case you were wondering and said to be in perfect condition.
On July 3, 1981, Charles Thomas of the Del-Van Theatre acquired the lease. The Morton Cinema became an X-rated location by the Morton Cinema Corp. The venue’s X-rated and, finally, its unrated “XXX” got it kicked out of the Field Shopping Center in March of 1983.
New Gem (sorry)
The venue opened as the Palace Theatre in 1910. It didn’t become the Little Palace Theatre until Ascher’s Palace Theatre opened and caused some confusion in 1921. So the operators decided, “Little” Palace. The LP scuffled in the movie palace era so veered to burlesque with exploitation films and fourth-run Hollywood fare mixed in. Burley performer and operator Billy “Bozo” Stone gave it an improved sound system and new name as the Grand Theatre operating with just films. (Boz moved the burley shows to the Majestic until being shut down for lewdness in 1941; lewd under the radar at the Little Palace was one thing…)
It got a minimal streamline makeover becoming the Warner Theatre in 1941. It closed on March 13, 1954 with “Sound Barrier” and “Nevada Buckaroo.” It was offered for sale or lease as a theater in 1954 and all of 1955. In March of 1956, three very young boys (ages 10-12) admitted to seriously vandalizing the theatre including destroying a projector pretty much sealing its fate. The vacant building faced condemnation until it was cleaned up and transitioned to a house of worship in 1959 reducing its taxing liabilities. The former theater turned church was later converted to a garage.
The Szold Family created the Southside business district of Peoria, Illinois in 1880 from corn fields to Szold’s & Son first retail store operated first by Joseph and son, Jacob followed by Jacob and son, Adolph - a commercial legacy of over 100 years. But Adolph liked movie theaters co-creating the Garden Theatre under the Apex Theatre Co. nameplate in 1913. The competing Imperial Theatre here was its contemporary and the Gem about a mile south were the silent Southside movie houses of Peoria.
In 1927, Szold purchased the Imperial and the Gem to rid the area of competition. And it was the Garden that transitioned to sound. Both the Imperial and the Gem scuffled during the Depression. But conditions improved in the latter part of the decade an Szold concentrated on updating the Imperial building with a major upgrade in 1937 to the plans of architects Lankton & Ziegele. It included a colorful foyer and unconventional lobby, Simplex projectors with Peerless lamps, and a name change to the Avon Theatre on May 6, 1937 with Clark Gable in “Call of the Wild.” Despite having a concession stand, some preferred Eto Monterastelli’s Roxy’s Sweet Shop or the Szold’s Department Store for the sneak-in snack variety.
Adolph W. Szold then became Peoria’s drive-in theatre champ creating both the Peoria Drive-In and the Bellevue Drive-In, the latter of which was so successful that it was expanded in size. But television was not the South Side’s movie friend. The Szold’s retail store across the street continued but he closed the Avon Theatre on April 15, 1956 with “Secret Venture” and “Sabuka.” The venue was turned into a house of worship in the 1960s as the Peoria Revival Center.
It then became The Circus in the 1970s, a nightclub that did have a few animated film matinees indicating that the projection capability was still there. As was its near foray into porno chic when the lightning rod of adult film exhibition, the Del-Van got approval to move to the location in 1986 only to be denied a permit to operate months later in a case decided by the Illinois Supreme Court.
The Avon became a short-lived, independent home video store, Avon Unlimited Video - a nod to its theatrical past. When Avon Unlimited closed, the building was offered at a “give away price" in 1985. The Szold’s store closed in 1987 after more than 106 years leaving the Jefferson/Adams/Western/Garden Southside commercial district as a greyfield area. The Avon Theatre building was demolished clearly to remove it from the tax rosters with the lot’s taxing valuation basis dropping significantly and - now - valued at just over $3,000 as a vacant lot in the 2020s.
Dean M. Duboff was the architect with a capacity of 700 seats. The Metro Cinema I & II Twin Theaters opened for Kerasotes Theatres Circuit on Feb. 9. 1973 with “Pete ‘n’ Tillie” and “1776.” On November, 19, 1982, the twins were twinned making it the Metro Cinema 1 / 2 / 3 /4 In October of 1985, a reorganization split the Peoria venues into the newly-created portfolio of GKC Theatres (George Kerasotes Corporation). The venue became the Metro Cinemas 4 under GKC on Nov. 8, 1985.
Dee Robinson of Robinson Theatres Co. opened on October 16, 1920 with Gaston Glass in “Humoresque.” Peoria Mayor Edward Woodruff proclaimed it Madison Theatre Day: A holiday. The building of the theater was anything but - falling a full year and a half behind its target. But the Adam architectural style of Frederick J. Klein on the $500,000 house wowed patrons. The Ascher Circuit was quicker to building its palace, Ascher’s Palace, across the street but wound up opening behind the Madison.
The reason that the Mayor came out so hot for the Madison? It featured local builder Fred Harbers & Son, local architect in Klein and a local operator in Robinson - to say nothing of its manager and conductor (both from Peoria). The Palace featured Chicago architect John Edmund Oldaker Pridmore, Chicago’s Harry Rogers as conductor and Charles Manzing as manager. It was on!
In 1928, the Madison converted to Western Electric sound to remain viable. It also went to widescreen as a Christmas gift to Peorian movie-goers with “How to Be a Millionaire” in that format beginning on Christmas Day 1953. Plitt Theatres took on the venue on May 20, 1974 and the Madison proved to be the survivor. It continued all the way to July 21, 1983 when Plitt Theatres closed it with “Breathless.”
After a successful live stint, the theater has returned to questionable future as the Madison Theater Preservation Association had a challenging and almost surreal $35 million renovation project that gained momentum in 2022/3 but seems to have slowed significantly.
1,100 seats capacity - the original capacity was 520 for Audi 1 and 290 for Audi 2 & 3. As a five-plex, capacity stayed about the same with splitting.
The Landmark Plaza was announced in 1979 and built by Becker Brothers containing and containing the Landmark Bowling Lanes, the Fun City Arcade, Landmark Restaurant and Lounge, and a movie theater as a family fun destination center. The Kerasotes Landmark Cinema 3 launched with “Kramer v. Kramer” on December 19, 1979 with “The Rose” and “Roller Boogie” two days later honoring those opening dates.
Kerasotes bumped that up to a five screener as the Landmark Cinema 5 on October 3, 1980. Under GKC (George Kerastoes Corporation) operation in November 8, 1985, the venue was changed to the Landmark Mall Cinemas 5 (plural). On October 7, 1988, it expanded to an 8-plex simply as Landmark Mall Cinemas though January 1992. They moved on at the end of lease.
Formerly operated by Nova Cinemas as the Nova Cinemas Peoria, it had a stretch as an independently run cinema. That included a drive-in screen beginning in 2012. The venue closed as Landmark Cinemas at Landmark Recreation Center on August 1, 2023.
(BTW: The Landmark Lanes closed September 2025.)
The Pekin Mall was announced in 1967 to be anchored by a P.A. Bergner’s Department store. The long-gestating project added a JCPenney anchor and finally launched on August 2, 1973 theatre-less. But that would change quickly. General Cinema Corp. entered the market with a double cinema. The GCC Pekin Mall I & II opened with 701 seats on Feb 8, 1974. “American Graffiti” and “A Touch of Class” were the opening titles.
General Cinema left the Mall on October 28, 1987. Kerasotes took on the venue the next day, October 29, 1987, as the Pekin Mall Cinemas beginning the next day. The 25-year leasing deal was coming toward its end and Kerasotes went big building a new multiplex. It opened on November 19, 1999 and the Mall undoubtedly gave Kerasotes a month-to-month sweetheart deal to keep the space filled with the mall reaching greyfield status.
The venue was repositioned on November 19, 1999 as the Discount Movies at Pekin Mall with all seats a dollar. Kerasotes bailed on the dying mall on January 27, 2000 with just a single auditorium functioning and “Double Jeopardy.” The Pekin Mall was demolished in December of 2003.
The trade press reports that the Sievers Amusement Co., of Peoria opened the Duchess Theatre on December 15, 1913 running only movies. He was trying to corner that market as best as he could with the Empress, Princess, Duchess, Crescent opening in early 1914.
In 1976, the Peoria Civic Center project targeted a number of longstanding Peoria downtown buildings including the Rialto Theatre. With demolition all but guaranteed and business down to 142,000 annual tickets (roughly 97 people per show in a 1,400 seat capacity house), the Rialto was DOA.
Give Kerasotes credit for booking “Star Wars” there as that title, alone, sold over 110,000 tickets in a 27 week run making it the highest grossing film in Rialto history. A plan and a Save the Rialto movement started and a plan to retain the Rialto was proffered. It seemed to make sense and was within the realm of possibility. So actions hastened to remove the buildings in the Civic Center’s path. The Rialto was to have closed with a vaudeville show and classic movie but those plans were scrapped. 20 people attended the last showing of “Every Which Way Bit Loose” on January 18, 1979.
The salvage auction was held on January 25, 1979. In that prep for the auction, they found an archive of movie posters that were in a “lost” closet in the basement. In early February 1979, the demolition began.
Wasn’t twinned and likely should be the Fox Cinema aka Fox Theater
This venue became the Varsity Cinemas under GKC Theatres on November 1, 1985 and closed under that name in 1990.
The Beverly Theatre opened March 17, 1937. Effective with its GKC (George Kerasotes Corp.) operation, on November 8, 1985, it was rebranded as the Beverly Cinema. It closed as the Beverly Cinema on January 30, 1992 with “Star Trek VI.” It had 734 seats in its final capacity, down from 936 in its final stretch. It was demolished in 1993.
National General Corp. circuit opened the Fox Theatre on July 2, 1969 with “Funny Girl” on a 20-year leasing agreement. The venue owed its name to Fox Eastern Theatres, the subsidiary responsible for planning and opening the Fox - reportedly its 293d location. It was announced in June of 1967 - a $500,000 replacing the Risius Greenhouse facility. (The sister Fox Midwestern Theatres had nearby locations in Champaign, Jacksonville, Springfield, and into Southern Illinois at the time.)
The 821-seat luxury suburban single-screen theater was everything the aging downtown Peoria theaters weren’t. They had comfy new seating, lots of free parking (250 spaces), modern HVAC designed for the building at opening, and - when the Northwoods Mall opened four years later - was near the fastest growing part of retail in Peoria. The venue was announced and construction started by Becker Bros. in 1968. It was the city’s first hardtop, new-build theater since the Crest in 1939.
The venue’s booth left space for 70mm platters but opened and stuck with 35mm projection. Also, despite what it says above, this one remained stubbornly single-screen despite operating into the multiplex era and being outpaced. It’s opening location was 4025 W. War Memorial Drive in Peoria and its successor - the Red Roof Inn was 1822 West War Memorial Drive in an address switch (should you want to pay your respects in person).
Effective July 1, 1973 Mann’s Theatres took over the National General Corp. portfolio - here as Mann’s Fox Theater. Wehrenberg Theatres took on the Mann portfolios in the area effective July 1, 1982. Union projectionists were picketing on July 3, 1982 at the Fox Theater. On May 18, 1984, the Illinois portfolio of theaters was sold by Wehrenberg to Kerasotes Theatres. In 1985, those venues were under the GKC moniker (George Kerasotes Theatres) and, for reasons unclear, GKC actively marketed the portfolio including the Fox as “cinemas” with this venue as the Fox Cinema from November 1985 to closure despite not changing the exterior signage of “Fox Theater.”
As the leasing expiry was coming at January’s end in 1989, the building was sold outright to the parent company of Red Roof Inn. The theatre closed as the Fox Cinema on January 22, 1989 with “Twins.” The City Council approved of plans to raze the theatre which may have started in December of 1989 but completed in 1990. As noted, the Red Roof Inn’s operational cycle was primarily at 1822 West War Memorial Drive after the area was renumbered. And it was also knocked over with that patch of commercial area in turnaround.
The Galesburg Drive-In launched on March 27, 1953 with “Abbott & Costello Meet Capt. Kidd.” but had a free screening of “Ivory Hunter” the night before. Kerasotes closed at the end of its 30-year leasing agreement with “Spaceship” and “Galaxina” on September 4, 1983
The Varsity Theatre closed on February 1, 1990 with “Tango and Cash,” “Mask of the Red Death,” and “The Wizard.” Capacity was 764 as a two-screener with 484 in the main floor and 280 in the upstairs. The closing gives John N. Ziegele co-architect credit as part of Lankton & Ziege e. The Varsity had opened in 1939 with “Out West” and a full house. Five people showed up for the final screening of “Tango & Cash.
According to the reports on its demise, GKC said it had no choice in closing the venue as they could either sell out or get imminent domained as the Campustown project was coming through their building no matter what.
The Orpheum circuit brought Al Jolson, Will Rogers, Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor, and Fannie Brice to Peoria. And this was known when the demolition crew found the log of everyone who had been on the stage in the wreckage in January of 1952.
The building was stout in its defense - the project took longer than expected at six months and it took a big bite out of the neighboring Elks Club in a noon-time accident that crushed a pinball machine, damaged the bar, and injured two patrons. The space was used for a 55-car parking lot for Terminal Parking Co.