I went here with a friend yesterday to see “Up”. Granted the auditoriums are a little tacky, but they did a GREAT JOB on the rest of the place. They put in a new box office, a new concession stand, new carpeting, etc. The hallway connecting theatre #2 with the lobby has nice chandeliers in it. The restrooms are now towards the back by theatre #2 and are spacious and clean. And they uncovered the ceiling murals in this area. They are absolutely spectacular, these murals.
Oh yes, they shortened theatre #1 in order to accomodate the rest rooms.
Where exactly was this theater? I tried to find it using “Streetview” on Google Maps. Was it on the East side of Halsted behind the AM-PM Mini Mart, the Jiffy Lube, the Popeyes, or the Wendy’s?
I’ve been a little out of the loop lately. Village Theatres has bitten the dust? Yeah, I’ll shed a tear for them. They were one of the worst chains ever.
I was never in the 3 Penny when it was a single-screener. The two times I was in there, I was very uncomfortable. I was getting claustrophobia in there—something that normally never happens to me.
The Glenwood is another Village Entertainment cinema that’s up for lease, but apparantly still operating.
Village had some cinemas in the south. The Pemberton was clsoed a few years ago, but apparantly has re-opened. And Nova Cinemas (according to Yahoo Movies) now operates either the one in Blountville or the one in Bristol.
My husband and I went to see Svengoolie and a screening of “Son Of Dracula” last night. And we doubt we will EVER come back to the Portage for an event like this again. The audience was extremely ill-behaved during the film. They talked on their cel phones and out loud to one another. They were taking flash photos of the screen and of each other with their cel phone cameras! Kids were running up and down the aisles. People brought crying infants to the movie. Good Gravey—can’t people sit and watch a classic film anymore?
At one point I had considered finding the manager and demanding our money back. The sad thing is that this reflects poorly on the good people who worked hard to make the Portage viable again. And I’m sorry to say this, but this is why home theatre has become so popular!
So is Village Entertainment now officially out of business? Their website has not been updated since July. And I called the Village North and the recording now says the theatres name is “Visionary Theatres”.
I called the Village North’s telephone number. According to the recorded message, it is no longer the “Village North”. Instead, it’s now called “Visionary Theatres”.
I was in Lake Geneva recently, and it does appear that this place will be used for live performances from now on. I’m surprised it lasted as a cinema for as long as it did, because the nearby Showboat of Lyons is right on the edge of town.
I went here with my husband to see “Tropic Thunder”, which was playing in theatre #3. The others on this site are correct. The renovations are very tacky. The above person who said “the former wooden beltline below the wall curtains having been raised to approximately 6' with what appears to be a florecent backlighting over the murals.” is absolutely correct.
Having the curtains at a hieght of over 6' is detrimental in many ways:
1) Your eye now gravitates upwards.
2) The glare from the screen bounces off these murals. Having the belt rail closer to the floor used to give the place a more pleasing subdued tone.
3) The sound now bounces off the walls. Again, having the curtains lower was acoustically beneficial because they absorbed the sound better.
They would have been better off cleaning and repairing the place. The curtains should have remained as they were, either cleaned or replaced, but at the same level.
This is really a shame because I like this theatre. The staff is very friendly, the prices are good and the LaGrange books good 2nd run films. I’ve even seen “Letters From Iwo JIma” and “The Counterfeiters” here. I’ll probably still patronize the place, but I wish someone like Classic Cinemas would take it over.
This theatre is no longer under Eagle Theatre’s management. Their website says so. It is now simply called The Eagle Theatre and the website is View link
Per Kerasotes' website, they have already abandoned the short-lived reserved seating policy. That didn’t last too long! I guess at the movies people wanna sit where they wanna sit.
I went here with a friend yesterday to see “Up”. Granted the auditoriums are a little tacky, but they did a GREAT JOB on the rest of the place. They put in a new box office, a new concession stand, new carpeting, etc. The hallway connecting theatre #2 with the lobby has nice chandeliers in it. The restrooms are now towards the back by theatre #2 and are spacious and clean. And they uncovered the ceiling murals in this area. They are absolutely spectacular, these murals.
Oh yes, they shortened theatre #1 in order to accomodate the rest rooms.
Anything happening with this place?
There’s a ‘Weber Grill’ sign on the marquee, but I couldn’t tell if it’s an advertisement or if Weber’s going in there. I was about ½ a block away.
So glad to see it re-opened. I’ll jave to check it out.
My husband and I stopped in here yesterday to see “Up”. We had a little time to kill. This place is okay—not much to get excited about.
I’m heading south on Amtrak from Chicago next week. Which side of the train would it be visible from?
Wow! What an eclectic combo on the marquee!
Where exactly was this theater? I tried to find it using “Streetview” on Google Maps. Was it on the East side of Halsted behind the AM-PM Mini Mart, the Jiffy Lube, the Popeyes, or the Wendy’s?
Is this theater slated to be demolished? Or is Cheder Lubavitch moving in to the extant building?
Per MPol’s comment above, it reminds me of the Gateway’s (Chicago—Lawrence Ave. near Milwaukee Ave.) old marquee.
I’ve been a little out of the loop lately. Village Theatres has bitten the dust? Yeah, I’ll shed a tear for them. They were one of the worst chains ever.
Sounds great. I’ll have to try it once they re-open.
Per Yahoo Movies, FunAsia is now running this place and it’s known as “FunAsia Bloomingdale”.
I was never in the 3 Penny when it was a single-screener. The two times I was in there, I was very uncomfortable. I was getting claustrophobia in there—something that normally never happens to me.
Update, the one in Blountville is now a Nova Cinemas, per Yahoo Movies.
The Glenwood is another Village Entertainment cinema that’s up for lease, but apparantly still operating.
Village had some cinemas in the south. The Pemberton was clsoed a few years ago, but apparantly has re-opened. And Nova Cinemas (according to Yahoo Movies) now operates either the one in Blountville or the one in Bristol.
My husband and I went to see Svengoolie and a screening of “Son Of Dracula” last night. And we doubt we will EVER come back to the Portage for an event like this again. The audience was extremely ill-behaved during the film. They talked on their cel phones and out loud to one another. They were taking flash photos of the screen and of each other with their cel phone cameras! Kids were running up and down the aisles. People brought crying infants to the movie. Good Gravey—can’t people sit and watch a classic film anymore?
At one point I had considered finding the manager and demanding our money back. The sad thing is that this reflects poorly on the good people who worked hard to make the Portage viable again. And I’m sorry to say this, but this is why home theatre has become so popular!
jimpiscitelli,
So is Village Entertainment now officially out of business? Their website has not been updated since July. And I called the Village North and the recording now says the theatres name is “Visionary Theatres”.
I called the Village North’s telephone number. According to the recorded message, it is no longer the “Village North”. Instead, it’s now called “Visionary Theatres”.
Methinks Village Entertainment is no more.
If you go to Classic Cinemas' website, you’ll see that this place still had its “Cineplex-Odeon” decor.
I was in Lake Geneva recently, and it does appear that this place will be used for live performances from now on. I’m surprised it lasted as a cinema for as long as it did, because the nearby Showboat of Lyons is right on the edge of town.
I went here with my husband to see “Tropic Thunder”, which was playing in theatre #3. The others on this site are correct. The renovations are very tacky. The above person who said “the former wooden beltline below the wall curtains having been raised to approximately 6' with what appears to be a florecent backlighting over the murals.” is absolutely correct.
Having the curtains at a hieght of over 6' is detrimental in many ways:
1) Your eye now gravitates upwards.
2) The glare from the screen bounces off these murals. Having the belt rail closer to the floor used to give the place a more pleasing subdued tone.
3) The sound now bounces off the walls. Again, having the curtains lower was acoustically beneficial because they absorbed the sound better.
They would have been better off cleaning and repairing the place. The curtains should have remained as they were, either cleaned or replaced, but at the same level.
This is really a shame because I like this theatre. The staff is very friendly, the prices are good and the LaGrange books good 2nd run films. I’ve even seen “Letters From Iwo JIma” and “The Counterfeiters” here. I’ll probably still patronize the place, but I wish someone like Classic Cinemas would take it over.
This theatre is no longer under Eagle Theatre’s management. Their website says so. It is now simply called The Eagle Theatre and the website is View link
Per Kerasotes' website, they have already abandoned the short-lived reserved seating policy. That didn’t last too long! I guess at the movies people wanna sit where they wanna sit.
Belated reply to Cinemark Fan.
So the Dearborn Cinemas did show some mainstream blockbusters!
I vaguely recall that M&R re-opened the Hyde Park at about the same time and with the same intentions, but I could be mistaken.