VIP Lincoln Grand 8
225 S. Kickapoo Street,
Lincoln,
IL
62656
225 S. Kickapoo Street,
Lincoln,
IL
62656
1 person
favorited this theater
Related Websites
VIP Cinemas (Official)
Additional Info
Operated by: VIP Cinemas
Previously operated by: Carmike Cinemas, GKC Theatres
Architects: Edward P. Rupert
Firms: R. Levine & Co.
Functions: Movies (First Run)
Styles: Colonial Revival
Previous Names: Lincoln Theatre, Lincoln Cinemas
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
217.732.9600
Nearby Theaters
The 900-seat Lincoln Theatre was built in 1922 by Steve Bennis, who later founded the Bennis chain of theatres which included the Lincoln Theatre, the Vogue Theatre, the Grand Theatre and the Auto-Vue Drive-In. The Lincoln Theatre opened on February 12, 1923 with Lon Chaney in “John Quincy Adams Sawyer”. The Lincoln Theatre featured a Geneva 2 manual 9 ranks organ and live stage shows well into the 1930’s.
The Lincoln Theatre was twinned in 1985, and about a decade later, turned into a quad. The theatre was a first-run house, and part of the GKC Theatres chain. By 2016 another four screens had been added. It was closed in March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Its closure is permanent. In 2021 it was taken over and reopened by VIP Cinemas.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 9 comments)
A local operator expects to purchase this theater from Carmike; it will be renamed the Lincoln Theater 4: View link
I love the exterior of this theater! Here are some recent views.
View 1 View 2
I took a number of photos of the Lincoln in July of 2012 that I’m just getting to posting. Here’s a link to one of them; more are nearby in my Flickr photostream.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/stormdog42/12158678146/
Now called the Lincoln Grand 8. Looks like they added 4 more screens. Website: http://www.lincolngrand8.com/location/1996/Lincoln-Grand-8
what are the details about the theater’s projector’s and audio systems? I gather at least one theater can playback 4K content as last Fall they premiered these two new 4K DCP’s
• The animated features PRINCE OF EGYPT and A GOOFY MOVIE with special Q&As with the film’s directors. Both projected for the first time in the updated 4K Digital Cinema Package.
Closed permanently during the COVID-19 pandemic
Exhibitors Herald, March 3, 1923: “Steve Bennis of Lincoln, III., opened his beautiful new Lincoln theatre on Lincoln’s birthday. The house represents an investment of $250,000.” So you don’t have to look it up, that would be Monday, Feb. 12, 1923.
this now reopened as the VIP Lincoln Grand 8 in 2021 per https://vipcinemas.com/vip-lincoln-cinemas
The March 4, 1922 issue of Moving Picture World said that the plans for the new theater to be erected at Lincoln, Illinois by Steve Bennis were being prepared by “…the Levine Company, 217 Chamber of Commerce Building, Chicago….” This must have been R. Levine & Co., the Chicago design-construction firm for whom Edward P. Rupert served as principal architect during this period. The Lincoln Grand bears a strong resemblance to the Washington Theatre at Quincy, Illinois, which was designed by Rupert.