This building was recently bought by a church. About a month ago, the church ripped down the 85-year-old masonic compass symbol off of the beautiful Greek Revival facade about five stories above street level. They also ripped out the 1923 corner stone out of the side of the building which also included a masonic date. A time capsule was recovered behind the cornerstone but even after a month, a large hole still remains in the side of the building where it once was.
They replaced the compass symbol with a black and white thing that says “JESUS” on it. It totally does not match the light tan colored building.
There is now an office on the first floor of this building – I believe they make maps; so the function for this property should be listed as ‘office space.’
A similar thing like that happened at the Crocker Theater in my hometown. The building had been sitting empty for over 20 years and one night the marquee was lit. I guess they were doing some renovations inside but it never went anywhere. The lights remained on for months before fizzling out. The theater, of course, was torn down for redevelpement; that was three years ago and the site still remains a vacant lot.
I don’t know where these number are coming from, but according to the book I have right beside me and the Elgin history web site, the correct seating capacity for the Crocker should be 1,600.
Proof can be found under “.4 Silver Screen and Crystal Sets” under chapter VII at this web site:
The Crocker mainly showed first-run movies and the seating capacity was 1600, rather than 1347. For most of the Crocker Theater’s years, it was operated by Balaban & Katz chain.
Actually, when the original DuBois Opera House burned down in 1886, it was rebuilt using the same name but was later changed to the Grand. So the DuBois Opera House that I have listed and the Grand Theater are the same building.
I suppose I could have listed it as “The Grand Theater” but the reason why I chose to list it as the DuBois Opera House is because that is what most of the people in Elgin refer to it as.
I suppose it wouldn’t be a problem if this information was listed under the Rialto, but I still think it would be better to leave it as is since it is a different building.
Every auditorium built on this site met a tragic end. The DuBois Opera House, opened in 1870, was destroyed by fire in the mid 1880’s. The Opera House was rebuilt and later destroyed again by a tornado on Palm Sunday 1920. It was again rebuilt and later named the Rialto. When the Rialto burned down in 1956, there were plans to rebuild but nothing ever became of it.
As the Rialto was burning, two firemen were injured when they were figthing the fire through holes in the roof. As they were fighting the fire the roof started to cave in and they jumped off and fell over 10 feet onto the building next door.
The site is now occupied by the Fountain Square Condominiums.
This theater was originally called the Star Vaudeville Theater.
This building was recently bought by a church. About a month ago, the church ripped down the 85-year-old masonic compass symbol off of the beautiful Greek Revival facade about five stories above street level. They also ripped out the 1923 corner stone out of the side of the building which also included a masonic date. A time capsule was recovered behind the cornerstone but even after a month, a large hole still remains in the side of the building where it once was.
They replaced the compass symbol with a black and white thing that says “JESUS” on it. It totally does not match the light tan colored building.
There is now an office on the first floor of this building – I believe they make maps; so the function for this property should be listed as ‘office space.’
A similar thing like that happened at the Crocker Theater in my hometown. The building had been sitting empty for over 20 years and one night the marquee was lit. I guess they were doing some renovations inside but it never went anywhere. The lights remained on for months before fizzling out. The theater, of course, was torn down for redevelpement; that was three years ago and the site still remains a vacant lot.
Here is a picture of the Grove Theatre is it looks today:
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Later on in the Star’s history, a large balcony was added bringing the total seating capacity to 1,100.
Thanks for clarifying that up for me.
I don’t know where these number are coming from, but according to the book I have right beside me and the Elgin history web site, the correct seating capacity for the Crocker should be 1,600.
Proof can be found under “.4 Silver Screen and Crystal Sets” under chapter VII at this web site:
http://www.elginhistory.com/eaah/
Who changed the seating capacity? Its not right at all. The correct seating capacity for the Rialto should be 1,350.
Proof can be found at under “.4 Silver Screens and Crystal Sets” under Chaper VII at this website:
http://www.elginhistory.com/eaah/
The Globe was located at 57 S. Grove Avenue in downtown Elgin and had a seating capacity of about 200.
The Temple Theater was located at 16 N. Spring Street and had a seating capacity of 300
The seating capacity for the Globe was 200.
Here are some recent exterior shots of the former New Temple Theater.
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The Crocker mainly showed first-run movies and the seating capacity was 1600, rather than 1347. For most of the Crocker Theater’s years, it was operated by Balaban & Katz chain.
You are very welcome.
Actually, when the original DuBois Opera House burned down in 1886, it was rebuilt using the same name but was later changed to the Grand. So the DuBois Opera House that I have listed and the Grand Theater are the same building.
I suppose I could have listed it as “The Grand Theater” but the reason why I chose to list it as the DuBois Opera House is because that is what most of the people in Elgin refer to it as.
I suppose it wouldn’t be a problem if this information was listed under the Rialto, but I still think it would be better to leave it as is since it is a different building.
I wouldn’t think that this building would be listed under the Rialto because the DuBois was a totally different building.
Every auditorium built on this site met a tragic end. The DuBois Opera House, opened in 1870, was destroyed by fire in the mid 1880’s. The Opera House was rebuilt and later destroyed again by a tornado on Palm Sunday 1920. It was again rebuilt and later named the Rialto. When the Rialto burned down in 1956, there were plans to rebuild but nothing ever became of it.
As the Rialto was burning, two firemen were injured when they were figthing the fire through holes in the roof. As they were fighting the fire the roof started to cave in and they jumped off and fell over 10 feet onto the building next door.
The site is now occupied by the Fountain Square Condominiums.
This was the last theater built in Elgin until the Marcus Fox Theatre opened more than 70 years later.
Here is a picture of the Star Theatre, just south of the Crocker Theatre. I appologize for the bad picture quality
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