Liberty Theater
1333 Walnut Street,
Murphysboro,
IL
62966
1333 Walnut Street,
Murphysboro,
IL
62966
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Liberty Theater (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Kerasotes Theatres, Marlow Brothers
Functions: Community Arts Center, Live Performances, Movies
Previous Names: Tilford Theater, Marlow's Tilford Theater
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
618.684.5880
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The Tilford Theater, later renamed Liberty Theater, was operated as a motion picture theater from 1913. From 1918 to the early-1960’s by the Marlow Brothers. It had suffered damage from a fir in 1954. It was taken over and reopened by Kerasotes Theaters (1968 to 1998).
The small theater’s huge wall-to-wall, 32' CinemaScope screen provided a quasi-IMAX experience long before the IMAX process was introduced.
The Liberty Theater is now frequently used as a community arts center featuring concerts, stage shows and an occasional motion picture.
The theater has a new marquee and the stage area – never intended for more than a motion picture screen and its accompanying speakers – has been enlarged.
Contributed by
Michael Ellis
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Recent comments (view all 30 comments)
I suspect Kerasotes installed a platter to reduce operating costs. Previously, it was a two-projector, change-over booth.
Here’s a recent picture of the interior, taken during the Big Muddy Film Festival in 2010:
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A fairly recent Murphysboro American article on the Liberty. There are some exterior and interior pictures from 1950. Notice the interior looks completely different than it currently appears. The reason is the theater suffered a major fire in 1954 and reopened the following year, hence the remodel.
http://www.murphysboroamerican.com/entertainment/x1797084383/James-Marlow-The-Impresario-of-Murphysboro
I shot a few photos of the Liberty Theater when I passed through Murphysboro last summer. Here’s a link to the first one of the set. The others are there on my Flickr photostream as well.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormdog42/9492871186/
Thanks very much! The Liberty is a hard one to shoot, with the jet blacks and the bright whites together!
The Liberty was sold to the Kerasotes chain in August 1969.
Improvements to the Liberty Theatre were planned in 1918, according to this item from the May 18 issue of The Moving Picture World: “MURPHYSBORO, ILL. — Extensive improvements will be made to Liberty theater, costing about $15,000.”
Funny all this and not one word of Jean Dagle. Who owned the Tilford- Liberty theater for many years.
Fact is if you lived in Murphysboro the theater was closed for several years. And was reopenrd in 1968 with true grit. And it was called the Tilford after the owner before he sold it to Jean Dagel who sold it in 1921 to Marlow.