Antioch Theatre

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(May, 2014) The Antioch Theatre lies in disrepair. The old roof leaks. The rusty seats creak. The dusty drapes smell musty. The carpeted floors feel sticky. The single screen has seen better days. And the technology is practically in a state of emergency.

But a determined fight is underway to keep flocking to the glowing marquee. Just as it was nearly 100 years ago, the theater is still a hot spot to bring a Friday night date for under $15. Cuddled in the antique seats, couples watch movies from the unique balcony seating Antioch has to offer, making it feel like a private screening.

Families, too, seek the theater to watch cartoon movies with their kids. The cheap prices for admission, popcorn and candy outweigh the trek to one of the larger, more costly modern multi-screen movie theaters in nearby Gurnee, Fox Lake or Round Lake. The feeling guests get watching a flick in the quaint confines of Antioch Theatre is more than just going to see a movie. It’s an experience that only small towns can offer.

But nostalgia is not enough to keep the doors open and the popcorn popping. The current owner, Cindy Kottke, hasn’t been able to pay the mortgage or taxes on the property for two years because the business hasn’t been profitable.

Single-screen theaters, like Antioch’s, struggle to pay bills because the facilities can only show one film at a time and movie studios require a theater to show a film for 2-3 weeks. Movie-goers usually hit the theater to see a film the first week it opens. Business dies down during week two. By the third week, barely any tickets are sold.

Limited ticket sales during each film cycle are something Antioch’s theater has dealt with for years. The biggest problem currently forcing it into debt is the looming cost of repairs and improvements it needs to stay open.

Hollywood studios will discontinue 35-millimeter films this year and all theaters must evolve to a digital projector, if they haven’t already. Absorbing the cost of a $60,000 piece of equipment is just one line in the growing bill it will cost to keep Antioch Theatre open.

It needs more than $700,000 to repair the existing building, add a smaller, second screen (so they can show more than one film at a time), and convert to digital technology. The structural improvements include things like a new roof, sound proofing, seats and the new addition of a sprinkler system, something legally required in the modern age of movies.

The building was remodeled into a modern movie theater back in 1919. It’s marquee has been a hallmark of downtown Antioch ever since.

Local historian and Lakes Region Historical Society Museum Director, Ainsley Wonderling says she doesn’t go to see movies now, but she remembers parading around for the costume party every Halloween at the theater. As a young girl, her parents would take her to watch cartoons at the Saturday morning cereal shows.

“The theater is of vital importance to downtown,” Wonderling said. “People come to see a movie and eat in town. It would be a big loss if it closed, that’s for sure.”

“Antioch has one of the best downtowns,” said Kottke. “There are so many opportunities to bring people to the area.”

Antioch Theatre is one of the main attractions. The business is so important to the downtown landscape, the Chamber of Commerce has stepped in to help save it.

“It’s important that we have a viable downtown movie theater, especially one with as much history as ours,” said Barbara Porch, Chamber Director. “It provides recreational fun and foot traffic to the rest of the town.”

The theater was on the verge of foreclosure until a local resident decided to make it his mission to rescue it.

55-year-old real estate investor, Tim Downey, doesn’t know a thing about running the movie theater, but he knows that it’s worth saving.

“I’ve seen tons of downtowns that have lost their theaters,” said Downey. “They’re almost impossible to bring back.”

He plans to purchase the theater from Kottke’s bank and keep her on as manager. Downey plans to finance the purchase with a personal loan and funds secured through local business sponsorships.

“Theaters are the heart beat of a small town,” Downey said. “There’s constantly something new and fresh showing that brings people in town. Those people spill over to other businesses.”

Downey says the theater brings 40,000 people out every year. They catch a movie and grab a pizza at Anastasia’s or dinner at Oliverii North. They wander through the pet store and buy candy at Something Sweet.

So it only seems natural that the local businesses that benefit from the theater’s presence play a major role in saving it. With encouragement from the Chamber of Commerce, Downey has secured two large sponsorships from Something Sweet candy shop and Raymond Chevrolet car dealership.

But Downey needs at least one more large commitment, or several small ones, before he feels financially prepared to take out the large loan.

“The bank is growing impatient,” Downey says. “But it hasn’t foreclosed on the property because a bank doesn’t want to own a 100-year-old theater.”

Downey’s biggest fear is that someone else will buy it before he can arrange his financing and turn it into something other than a theater. He says that would just be another step towards Antioch’s downtown decline.

“It would be a travesty to lose our downtown movie theater,” Mayor Lawrence Hanson told Lake County News-Sun. “We should do everything we can to make this happen, and I think our community will support this effort.”

After the loans are secured, Downey plans to raise the rest of the money by creating an online Kick Starter that collects private cash donations from community members.

The Village of Antioch posted an update on its Facebook Page in February asking for help to secure the last sponsorship. It got a big response: 305 people shared the post on their own Facebook profiles, 139 people liked it and 20 people commented on it. An overwhelming voice of encouragement booms from the page.

If Downey can secure his last sponsorship, things are looking good if he is left to rely on the community for the last dollars.

The marquee is just one of the structures that will get a facelift. Some people suggested that Downey go the cheaper route and install a flat sign against the building, but he insists a new dynamic marquee that looks like it did back in the 1920s is the way to go.

“To see those lights shining every night, reminds people that there’s something happening here,” he says.

With the support of local businesses, Downey fights to preserve a piece of Antioch’s history so the lights will keep shining for many more Friday night dates.