DuPage Theater

Well, I somehow doubt the foundation will be building the condos themselves. It would require a PRIVATE condo developer to build condos for PRIVATE citizens and owned by a PRIVATE landlord, and additionally need PRIVATE businesses to make PRIVATE investments in their PRIVATE ventures to operate their PRIVATE retail.

Seriously, concerned taxpayer, you’re wasting your time here. Maybe you don’t have an ulterior motive. Maybe you are just concerned with not paying a cent more on your taxes, damn the consequences. Maybe your rhetoric can convince some people to support you and your cause, but the people here have seen enough destruction and redevelopment that we can spot your fallacies a mile away.

Also, this article in the satirical paper “The Onion” reminded me of you. Perhaps you’ll enjoy it. View link

TIF is designated to entice continued PRIVATE investment…not public. Give the TIF funds to PRIVATE development initiatives and go to town. Reread the post to undersatnd that we support TIF investment in the theatre but want PRIVATE ENTERPRISE to take the lead…not the “foundation”:
Let the village give away the building, the land (worth well over a million), and the remaining $900,0000 in TIF to a private investor and all will support the plan. The issue is that 99 percent of the restoration is coming from TAX sources one way or another. The village simply cannnot afford to be in the theatre business. But they sure can afford to give away the gift if some private venture is willing to take on all the risks. That has been our mantra for years now.

And if you visit the other website, you will see for yourself the nonsense the so called “friends” drag into this. Enjoy!

So, as one of the largest under-developed sites in Lombard, how is it NOT blighted? It looks to me like this particular TIF is being used precisely as intended.

Ray…this plan seems to satisfy all interested parties. What axe is left to grind at this point?

Paul…as I understand it the building has been stripped of all systems…wiring, ventiliation, etc. If this is the case, it would be difficult to stage community rock concerts and the like.

The village of Lombard currently owns the theatre. A development proposal for $30+ million was received by the village that incorporates a restored theatre (for over $8 million) and condos, retail space, and parking for about $25 million. The deal has not been approved by the village at any level and will face an uphill battle given density, zoning, and TIF issues. The deal is supposed to be formally presented to the village board in a few weeks. Time will tell what happens next. And you are so right, the Wheaton Grand is an excellent example of what could happen with the Dupe…only problem is the Dupe is not habitable at this point and will take more than a little elbow grease to get it to a usable condition again. Read and paricipate in lively discussion of the DuPage Theatre issues at www.lombardvilagevoice.com and get updates on the latest efforts at www.dupagetheatre.net

Well, the sum includes all the new development. I would imagine proper programming is included.

The plan is to renovate/restore the theatre, add a new aesthetically pleasing arched roof, add new space to the rear of the building, and then build a new multi-story condo/retail structure directly south of the theatre building. The old building will be renovated to convert old aparments into new condos and the old retail space into truly leasable space. The cost is estimated at well over $30 million for the entire project with over 80 new condo units and 20,000 square feet of new retail space. It will require village approval for site variances and TIF extensions. Time will tell what happens next..but it is an impressive and aggresive plan

In reply to Bert Kimball and Tom Scott’s query about O.J. Roath, here is part of an article I wrote as part of the 75th anniversary celebration of the DuPage Theatre. I had the pleasure of interviewing one of Mr. Roath’s grandsons for the article.
Cindy Ward
One Mans Dream:
The Theatre Review / Summer 2003 edition

Seventy-five years ago the dream of OJ Roath was fulfilled with the opening of a Paramount Deluxe Movie Palace on Main Street in downtown Lombard. In 1926 his Realty Company purchased the Elkins property on Main at Parkside, which had been zoned for commercial use after a fire destroyed the landmark home. Mrs. Ekins was the noted film critic for the Chicago Tribune whose pen name was Mae Tinee (get itâ€"matinee?). Roath moved a bronze deer from the property to Lilacia Park so everyone could enjoy the deer now known as Rastus. He expanded his concept of a theater by adding shops and apartment space, thus creating a commercial focal point for the village.

The shops filled rapidly. The Ida Lee Sweet shop opened March of 1928.
Mrs. J F Crintenden and Mrs. Ann Lee McCorkel made their own candies on the premises. Butler’s Delicatessen opened in June of ’28 and Roath Realty moved to the corner store. By July of 1929 an ad in the local paper for “Lombard’s Bright Spot” advertised The Nora Hat Shoppe, Lombard Shoe Store, Theatre Service Station, Ray C Allen Linoleum-Tapestries, Glenbard Radio Sales, in addition to the deli, sweet shop and of course, O J Roath Realty. The anchor of the commercial corner would be the Fisher Paramount Deluxe Theatre, since it was a Paramount affiliate. As the concept progressed it became known as the Lombard Theater. Ultimately, as it took on more the form of a deluxe movie palace, Roath changed the property name to the DuPage Theatre and Shoppes, because its appeal reached beyond the Lombard village limits. The $300,000 theater opened on July 26, 1928 with a showing The Yellow Lily, a silent film accompanied by Travis (Tommy) Nesbit on the Barton organ. As part of the festivities, Mr. Nesbit led a community sing. There were vaudeville acts and a live orchestra.

Building Boom
The burgeoning popularity of movies during the 20’s stimulated the construction of palatial cinemas in cities and towns throughout North America. By the end of the decade Paramount Pictures controlled 1,600 movie theaters. There were four other industry leaders who owned and operated theaters. They then contracted with independently owned theaters, such as the DuPage and by 1930 there were 20,000 movie theaters in the U.S.

In the spirit of ‘excess’ two other movie complexes were also proposed for the Lombard area. J A Cruger, the published of the Lombard Spectator, laid the foundation for a theater on St Charles across from the old downtown hotel. Roath moved so quickly, that Cruger did not complete the project. In August of 1928 the Chicago Tribune announced that an third, even larger theater complex was proposed for the Westmore area. It would consist of a 1000 seat theater, 8 stores, 64 offices and 124 apartments. Although the developer had obtained $900,000 in loans the project never broke ground. This is all in addition to a small theater that had opened before any of the others were considered.

The Depression Hits Hard
The euphoria of the business boom came to a sudden halt when events on ‘Black Thursday’ October 24, 1929, signaled the start of the Great Depression. It took more than a year for movie theaters to feel the impact. In 1930 national attendance of theaters hit a peak of 80 million a week. However, by 1931 with 28% of the population unemployed and 85,000 businesses failed, movie attendance fell rapidly. Ticket prices dropped from $.30 to $.20, and attendance continued to decline. Movie houses were rapidly closing. Paramount Corporation struggled financially. It closed one of its major studios, laid off workers and cut salaries. The film distribution and operating company servicing the DuPage went bankrupt. Roath kept the theater going by mortgaging real estate holdings, so determined was he to keep the theater open. However, on July 4, 1931 Roath finally closed his theater and it went into foreclosure.

Resurgence

The DuPage Theatre was reopened four months later by A. C. Hoy who purchased the Theatre and Shoppes. Roath’s real estate business remained in the building as a renter. Hoy was among those who were able to take advantage of the times, and bought several other properties in foreclosure, including two other theaters in the area. Hoy upgraded the facility by installing the “Grandeur screen” claimed to be the world’s largest and finest talking screen. At the time the DuPage was the only theater in the country to have this feature. He did what many other theater operators did to keep their theaters open. He offered incentives such as ‘dish night’, double features, vaudeville acts. Some theaters even gave away cars. In 1935 Gene Autry and his Round Up gang appeared on the stage. The movie industry as a whole began recovery in 1934, when 1000 theaters reopened. Box office receipts rose steadily from then on. However, OJ Roath did not return to the theater business. He, in fact did not recover from the loss. Upon his death in the late 30’s, his son Leroy assumed considerable debt. Although he ran a real estate business, he was unable to purchase a home until 1945.

Would you have any other details about the Dupage and Roath that isn’t mentioned on the Dupage website?

The original owner of the DuPage Theatre was O.J. Roath. DuPage was not the initial name chosen for this theatre. During construction in 1926-1927 two other names were considered. The first was Paramount Deluxe Movie Palace which was just too long and the other name considered was Lombard because of Lombard Village. The Lombard name was rejected because Roath wanted the theatre to appeal to people outside of Lombard.
I don’t believe you will find this data on the Dupage history page.

Thanks Artspeak. I just cannot fathom why we are in such a hurry to tear down our landmarks which make our cities and towns unique. I mean, if this keeps up, why bother travelling at all, when after a few more years, we will all look the same, with strip malls and such coast to coast! How BORING….

It’s funny that so many Are against tax dollars to restore a landmark that would brighten an otherwise dead part of downtown, but think nothing when the tax payers of Chicago had to subsidize Soldier Field and its' ugly renovation, along with the new Sox Park. Remember when Arlington Park Racetrack burned down in the 70’s or 80’s and Springfield gave poor little rich boy Richard Duchoiss a handout to rebuild? At least with a theater, it can be a multi-purpose building. Can’t we think of a plan to play all, or MOST sports in the same arena and save some bucks?

Go here: http://www.dupagetheatre.net