Park Theatre

LOVES PARK MUSIC STORE DESTROYED BY EARLY MORNING FIRE North 2nd Street was closed from Grand Avenue to Riverside Boulevard while firefighters battled the blaze. The building is a total loss and will be demolished, Evans said. The 3,500-square-foot structure was built in 1947 and is one of Loves Park’s oldest buildings, according to Evans. The building was originally a movie house called Park Theater. CD Source sells used compact discs, records, stereo equipment, video games and gaming systems. The business relocated from Rockford to Loves Park about four years ago. Calls and messages to the business were not returned Tuesday morning. (See photos.)

The theatre has been repurposed to a music shop called CD Source, buying and selling CDs, DVDs, and the like. The marquee has been retained. Website: https://cdsourcerockford.com/

I worked for nearby WLUV radio in 1970 and it had already been renamed the PARK ART Theatre with an adult format. Its management insisted on sponsoring WLUV’s Noon News, but the station refused to announce anything but the double-entendre film titles and times. In an attempt to assuade community objections, the PARK ART offered G-rated matinees on weekends.

The seats and screen are gone, the floor is leveled, and the whole interior is essentially one big room. Also, as the description states, the building itself is an old Quonset hut; except for the marquee, there isn’t a hint that this was ever a theater. It also happens to be functioning as a successful antiques/crafts mall.

A woman who works in the antiques mall said it was called the Loves Park Family Theater, though I can’t verify that.