LaGrange Theatre

80 S. La Grange Road,
La Grange, IL 60525

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Showing 76 - 91 of 91 comments

FredEinsle
FredEinsle on October 14, 2006 at 3:18 pm

The current upgrade puts used seats from closed theaters in screens one and two so far. Seats are wider and have cup-holders. # 1. theme is patriotic. Screen # 2. theme is Rock and Roll. Looks like paintings done by a local high school, odd lighting scheme seen no-where else. the remaining 3 and 4 are stated to be completed by 2007 on the theater’s website.

FredEinsle
FredEinsle on October 14, 2006 at 3:16 pm

By looks of the theaters, LaGrange was divided in to two screens. Later the South Screen was divided in two – current theaters 1 and 2. The second screen was cut for a long hallway to a theater built on the stage and backstage area of the building. This is theater 3, and looks like a 1970’s vintage multiplex screen. Remaining number 4 screen has the most seats, but is odd in that hallway part having cut the original split smaller. Theaters 1,2, and 4 all have screens that are now not wide enough for current movies. I often notice that titles and credits go off the edge of the screens, number 3 I don’t think is any better.

Broan
Broan on March 29, 2006 at 9:34 pm

Remodeling was done by Roy B. Blass in the 1940s.

barryr
barryr on February 9, 2006 at 8:56 pm

I remember seeing “The Ten Commandments” at the LaGrange with my mom when it was re-released in the 70’s. I think the last movie I saw there while it was still a single screen venue was “Xanadu.” They showed a Tom and Jerry cartoon to start, which was pretty cool—and a damn sight better than the movie. Saw some pretty good films there after it was split in two: “The Right Stuff,” “Out of Africa” (during which the management force-fit an intermission by simply stopping the movie halfway through!), and one particularly memorable double feature of “Never Say Never Again” and “Return of the Jedi.”

Haven’t been back too many times since it was split into four screens. Saw “Goldeneye” there, and took a bunch of neighborhood kids to see “The Phantom.” One time I took the kids there to see an animated film (can’t remember the title—something with penguins), and after the coming attractions, the film broke. They couldn’t get it fixed, so we got our money back and left.

Broan
Broan on January 29, 2006 at 9:27 pm

Sounds like #2 might be on the old stage?

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini on January 29, 2006 at 9:02 pm

Theatre #4 has been closed for some time. Apparantly, it is being remodeled with new seating. As a four-plex, it is oddly configured (but then again, name one chopped-up ex-single-screener that isn’t). I saw Oliver Twist in theatre #2, which is accessed via a l-o-n-g corridor to the rear. Presumably, this was where the original rear of the theatre was. #2 is perpendicular to the other theatres, which is to say that it is on a north-south orientation, whereas the #1 and #3 are on an east-west. I’ve never been in #4, so I cannot say how that is.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini on December 2, 2005 at 4:02 pm

Thank you Brian, this answers my question. Until the Portage re-opens, the LaGrange may very well be the only one still operating strictly for movies.

Broan
Broan on December 2, 2005 at 1:35 pm

Well, there’s the Gateway still showing films fairly regularly, the Portage is set to reopen apparently. There are of course lots of others still standing and used for other purposes, like the Congress, Riviera, Oriental, Chicago, Lakeshore etc. There are ones that have been entirely repuposed. Then there’s H&E Balaban theaters like the Esquire, Pickwick, and Des Plaines.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini on December 2, 2005 at 11:42 am

Is this the last Balaban & Katz theatre still operating in Chicago?

sqevans
sqevans on October 18, 2004 at 11:30 pm

It was showing first-run movies in the 70s. I remember seeing Inframan there. The last time I went there, a couple of years ago, it looked like it needed some work. I think they’re trying to raise money for renovation. I don’t know why the Village of LaGrange doesn’t help out. Instead, they let national bookstore chains raze architectural landmarks. You’d think they’d want to preserve their history.

geovhill
geovhill on February 9, 2004 at 11:55 am

Great to see that this is still around.
George Vreeland Hill.

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli on January 31, 2004 at 3:01 pm

Not usually, but it is rare if they do. Here some theaters that I go to that usually show foreign films so you don’t have to travel to downtown Chicago:

  • Marcus Cinema Addison in Addison
  • Yorktown 18 in Lombard
  • Lake Theater in Oak Park
  • Crown Village Theaters in Skokie
  • Rivertree Court in Vernon Hills
  • Century Theaters in Evanston (sometimes I go)
Florence
Florence on January 31, 2004 at 2:10 pm

I too saw “Snow White” there. But one more question, does LaGrange show foriegn films? Thanks

jimpiscitelli
jimpiscitelli on January 31, 2004 at 1:58 pm

I remember going to LaGrange in 1983 to see “Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs” and “Trading Places” when it was a single screen. In 1984, the theater was split into two, and in the 1990’s became a quad. To answer Florence’s question, I am not sure if the LaGrange will show “Whale Rider” again on the big screen, you may want to contact the manager of the theater. I saw it at the Oakbrook Theaters just before they closed down (Good movie). The movie is available on VHS videocassette and DVD.

Florence
Florence on January 31, 2004 at 1:30 pm

Did you or will you run “Whale Rider"
Any chance it will come through again?
Thank you, florence

MovieMan26
MovieMan26 on January 28, 2004 at 11:05 pm

Plitt theaters once operated the LaGRANGE theater from the 1970’s to the early 1980’s.