Madison Theatre
107 NE Madison Avenue,
Peoria,
IL
61602
107 NE Madison Avenue,
Peoria,
IL
61602
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The Madison is on the East side of Main St. and the Palace was across from it and down a bit on the West side.
My grandparents lived in Peoria, IL which was a first-run theatre town. Thus we were able to see films well ahead of their release in our town at the Palace and the Madison Theatres. At this point my memory is fuzzy separating the two but I do remember the wide sight lines, excellent projection, air conditioning (all-important during hot Peoria summers) and sound, and lovely lobbies. The years when I visited the two theatres were approximately 1961-1975.
And some additional historic info:
Madison Theater architect Klein was based in Peoria and his main offices were just a couple blocks down from this theater on Main St.
The original general contractor for this building was a local firm – Fred Harbers and Sons.
The first general manager of this theater was Herbert D. McNally, formerly of the old Empress theater which was a couple blocks down from the Palace Theater.
Here’s a photo circa 1925
The old show-biz saying,Will it play in Peoria.
Another website for the Madison Theater:
View link
Here is a 1985 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/db4kbs
Go to www.JackFritscher.com and, using the SEARCH feature, type in “Madison Theater” for an historical reference to the Madison Theater in Peoria, Illinois.
Does anyone happen to have pictures of this theatre?
Accpording to the 1936 Motion Picture Yearbook, the Madison seated 1,746.
While this theater still hosts an occasional event, it’s a shadow of it’s former self. The original Main St. entrance as well as 2/3 of the entrance hall/concession area have been sectioned off as a seperate business (bar). My understanding is that it is still equipt to show films but mainly hosts live music. The main floor seating area has had all of it’s original theater seats removed.
According to the book “The CORONADO THEATRE, Rockford’s Crown Jewel” we have architect Klein to thank for a number of other theatres also: the HIPPODROME, DUCHESS, APOLLO, and COLUMBIA all in Peoria, as well as the PRINCESS in Ottawa, Ill. I do not know any details of these theatres, but his CORONADO is enough reason to go down in history!