Lakehurst was the first multi-screen theatre in northern Lake County, and ironically, helped speed up the demise of the two single screen theatres in downtown Waukega: the Genesee and the Academy.
It opened up with ‘The Exorcist’, ‘The Three Musketeers’, and ‘Serpico’.
It also had only two union projectionists on staff running all three shows: one day shift and the night shift. At GCC’s Deerbrook Cinema, there were two projectionists for each theatre, so you could have at least four union guys at one time. Part of the reason was the type of equipment used. Lakehurst was more modern and there were far less reel changes to be made. They were paid pretty well, and as a result, matinees were dropped during the week during non-summer months, since attendance wasn’t large enough to offset the labor costs. However, the Lakehurst theatre did not drop matinees because their union contract maintained the same staffing. The Deerbrook union local was run out of Chicago, while the Lakehurst local was run out of Milwaukee. If the Chicago local had prevailed, there would have been at least 6 projectionists in the booth, and more than likely Lakehurst would also have restricted matinees to weekends and holidays.
I made a slight error on the street name. It’s actually Deerfield Road, not Deerpath. I was thinking of the Lake Forest theatre I also used to go to. That one was on Deerpath.
Technically, the theatre was called Cinema I & II, but GCC theatres were usually refered to by their locations (Lakehurst, Randhurst, Deerbrook, etc.).
Blind adherance to ‘company policy’ will kill a business. I’m surprised the managers didn’t stick up for their employee, and remind the corporate honchos about this gentleman’s many years of service and the good will that he maintained with theatre patrons.
This is one of the last few drive-ins left in the southeastern Wisconsin/northeastern Illinois area.
The problem is that they sit on land that has risen in value so much, that either the real estate taxes will kill you, or the offers to buy the site are just to tempting.
The Keno has avoided this by quite frankly, sitting on land that was not as desirable as spots north and west. With a number of housing developments being built in the area, within the next couple of years the Keno may not last.
The Deerbrook was the only theatre I knew of that one time, actually had a smoking section! The seat backs had small ashtrays for smokers to stick their cigs (although a lot of the butts ended up on the floor). In the mid-70’s, the Fire Inspector had that practice discontinued, and the ashtrays were quickly removed; but the theatre still had a cigarette vending machine set up near the north auditorium.
The Dunes was a stand-alone single-screen theatre. There were some unique features about the building. It included space for two small places of business on opposite sides of the building, with the theatre entrance in the middle. For years a barber shop occupied the north shop, while the south end had a tv repair shop, a currency exchange, and a baseball/collectibles store.
It used to have a vertical neon sign outside, but that was removed back in the 60’s. The theatre had no balcony, but the washrooms were on the second floor. A large single wall of glass block served to let sunlight in during the daytime for both washrooms. At night, the the glass lock wall was illuminated by the washroom lights and you could barely make out the people in the washroom…(Just shadows mind you, the stalls were no where near the block wall.)
I believe it’s currently run by the Rhyans, who still own the Liberty in Libertyville, and the Antioch Theatre. As there are few first-run theatres close by the communities of north Waukegan, Zion and Beach Park, it seems to draw a respectable number of patrons.
The Belvidere was originally a single-screen theatre built and run by the General Cinema chain. It stayed a single screen for quite some time, even years after the 3 screen GCC Lakehurst was opened up. The last film I remember seeing at the Belvidere when it was a single screen was ‘A Bridge Too far’.
The theatre is still near the bowling alley, and between a Tires Plus and a McDonalds (which was constructed on a part of the theatre’s parking lot).
The theatre building will eventually be demolished, once it finally closes. A motel is supposed to be built there.
Lakehurst was the first multi-screen theatre in northern Lake County, and ironically, helped speed up the demise of the two single screen theatres in downtown Waukega: the Genesee and the Academy.
It opened up with ‘The Exorcist’, ‘The Three Musketeers’, and ‘Serpico’.
It also had only two union projectionists on staff running all three shows: one day shift and the night shift. At GCC’s Deerbrook Cinema, there were two projectionists for each theatre, so you could have at least four union guys at one time. Part of the reason was the type of equipment used. Lakehurst was more modern and there were far less reel changes to be made. They were paid pretty well, and as a result, matinees were dropped during the week during non-summer months, since attendance wasn’t large enough to offset the labor costs. However, the Lakehurst theatre did not drop matinees because their union contract maintained the same staffing. The Deerbrook union local was run out of Chicago, while the Lakehurst local was run out of Milwaukee. If the Chicago local had prevailed, there would have been at least 6 projectionists in the booth, and more than likely Lakehurst would also have restricted matinees to weekends and holidays.
I made a slight error on the street name. It’s actually Deerfield Road, not Deerpath. I was thinking of the Lake Forest theatre I also used to go to. That one was on Deerpath.
Technically, the theatre was called Cinema I & II, but GCC theatres were usually refered to by their locations (Lakehurst, Randhurst, Deerbrook, etc.).
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Blind adherance to ‘company policy’ will kill a business. I’m surprised the managers didn’t stick up for their employee, and remind the corporate honchos about this gentleman’s many years of service and the good will that he maintained with theatre patrons.
This is one of the last few drive-ins left in the southeastern Wisconsin/northeastern Illinois area.
The problem is that they sit on land that has risen in value so much, that either the real estate taxes will kill you, or the offers to buy the site are just to tempting.
The Keno has avoided this by quite frankly, sitting on land that was not as desirable as spots north and west. With a number of housing developments being built in the area, within the next couple of years the Keno may not last.
The Deerbrook was the only theatre I knew of that one time, actually had a smoking section! The seat backs had small ashtrays for smokers to stick their cigs (although a lot of the butts ended up on the floor). In the mid-70’s, the Fire Inspector had that practice discontinued, and the ashtrays were quickly removed; but the theatre still had a cigarette vending machine set up near the north auditorium.
The Dunes was a stand-alone single-screen theatre. There were some unique features about the building. It included space for two small places of business on opposite sides of the building, with the theatre entrance in the middle. For years a barber shop occupied the north shop, while the south end had a tv repair shop, a currency exchange, and a baseball/collectibles store.
It used to have a vertical neon sign outside, but that was removed back in the 60’s. The theatre had no balcony, but the washrooms were on the second floor. A large single wall of glass block served to let sunlight in during the daytime for both washrooms. At night, the the glass lock wall was illuminated by the washroom lights and you could barely make out the people in the washroom…(Just shadows mind you, the stalls were no where near the block wall.)
I believe it’s currently run by the Rhyans, who still own the Liberty in Libertyville, and the Antioch Theatre. As there are few first-run theatres close by the communities of north Waukegan, Zion and Beach Park, it seems to draw a respectable number of patrons.
The Belvidere was originally a single-screen theatre built and run by the General Cinema chain. It stayed a single screen for quite some time, even years after the 3 screen GCC Lakehurst was opened up. The last film I remember seeing at the Belvidere when it was a single screen was ‘A Bridge Too far’.