Glen Art Theatre

There was a previous Glen theater in Glen Ellyn. It opened in 1914 at 481 Main Street, designed by George Awsumb for T. Stuart Smith. It was operated by Sam Bowden. In 1923 Polka Brothers took over the lease, intending to demolish it and build a new 1000 seat theatre. However, voters shut down Sunday movies, which killed these plans, but they proceeded without Polka Brothers. Later, a theater was proposed for Main & Duane streets, but went unbuilt, as did a proposed theater in conjunction with a Masonic Lodge. The Glen opened February, 1927.

What a horrible movie"MONSIGNOR" we played it first run,but wasn’t charging $1.50 a seat like GlenArt was doing.

Here is another photo:
http://tinyurl.com/deb2fx

Here is a 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dzxbdw

A scene in the movie “Lucas” (1986) was shot outside with 2 clear shots of the marquee and also inside one of the theaters.

In the late seventies, I lived in one of the small apartments above the Glen. Just before film time the smell of popcorn would waft through the building. The projectionist’s booth was a short walk across the flat roof. In the theater’s basement was a small shuttered bowling alley. That arrangement reminded me of the old Villard theater in Villa Park, designed by the same people, Betts and Holcomb.

Was the original auditorium entirely gutted or is it hidden behind sheetrock and drapes? The interior of the theatre looks a bit drab and uninviting.

The theater was built by the same firm that built the des plaines, catlow and deerpath theaters, the latter two of which share many exterior similarities. From the looks of it, I would guess the 60s modernization craze took its toll on the Glen. In the photo on this page you can see details like divided-pane windows, scrollwork over the brick, and detailed columns adding to the unusual tudor revival look. In the current photos, the brick has been replaced with plain, non-matching brick, one-over-one windows, storefronts modernized. A shame it’s lost so much of its architectual integrity.

Brian: Upon closer inspection I do now see some similarities i.e. the above windows and exterior moldings so these theatres are ‘one in the same’!

In Popcorn Palaces there is an art deco theatre with curved marquee listed on page 121 called the Glen which also in Glen Ellyn, Illinois at 540 Crescent Boulevard, but it is not this one!