Wheaton Grand Theater
123 N. Hale Street,
Wheaton,
IL
60187
123 N. Hale Street,
Wheaton,
IL
60187
18 people
favorited this theater
Showing 176 - 200 of 369 comments
Hey Uncle Paul! I’m curious. Did you charge those people who organized the Gomez fundraiser? You know, the one that was put on to help a local Wheaton man injured in Iraq? Or was your participation strictly free of charge?
If anyone on this site was lucky enough to go to the event at the Wheaton Theatre when they displayed their new historic marker, you would have got to see what I did. Mr. Shepardson had an entire lobby filled, as well as the area under the marquee with photos and pictures of his numerous successful projects. For someone with such a checkered past as Warshauer to have the nerve to insult a man like Shepardson is beyond ridiculous. Shepardson has a resume full of successful accomplishments, Warshauer has a track record of judgments won against him and failure. Kicked out of theatres, hounded by creditors, owing thousands of dollars in judgments, failure to pay employees, accusations of impropriety. Where does it end? Probably in prison one of these days. It couldn’t come too soon. You’re a horrible little man, Uncle Pauly.
Here’s some help for those who don’t know what indigent means.
in·di·gent
adj.
Experiencing want or need; impoverished. See Synonyms at poor.
Archaic. Lacking or deficient.
n.
A needy or destitute person.
Pose as a 501c-3 not-for-profit, collect donations, deposits, and gate receipts, ignore your bills, parse, bluster, threaten, and then disappear amid a cloud of lawsuits and finger-pointing. Sounds plausible, if a bit bush-league. After all, why get busted by the Feds for a few thousand dollars? Besides, it seems Uncle Paul’s ego won’t let him keep his mouth shut long enough to take the money and disappear. Unless, of course, he touches the proverbial third rail, as the earlier links about Klamath Falls would seem to indicate.
If Uncle Paul were as smart as he claims, he’d forget about this nickel and dime theater stuff for awhile and go for the REALLY BIG SCORE. Does he have the talent and skill to pull it off? I wonder. Decades of grifting, flying under the radar of the authorities, scamming just enough here and there for a room, a case of Bud, a pack of smokes, and a bag of Doritos. Life’s indeed too short to live it as a troubador of smoke and mirrors, and have nothing to show for it but petty lawsuits and indigence motions. What kind of existence is that?
Uncle Paul could take his act on the road to Florida and scam all those seniors out of their retirement accounts. Now we’re talking real money! Uncle Paul wouldn’t need a partner anymore. He could pay his bills and outstanding judgements, and even have enough left over to buy his very own theater to run into the ground. That is, if he could stay out of jail.
An indigence motion…now THAT’S funny. Yes, where is Paul’s capital? Tied up in a vast network of restored American theatres that nobody in the preservation community has heard of?
Paul stays in business because he has the nerve to keep going out there and finding new opportunities. It would be an admirable quality were he not an apparent sociopath. But know this is true: every bad business man I have ever met got his in the end. The math is simple: the more people you jerk around, the more people there are out there who want to get you. Eventually one of them has a chance and takes it. Fortunately, Paul has never done me harm. But it seems he has blazed a trail of hatred from coast to coast.
I’m guessing that the tax ID numbers for Paul’s various enterprises lead to some interesting stories as well. The IRS is slow to figure these things out because of their vast case load. But once they do, they don’t forget about you. It very well could be the government that destroys Paul.
OK: Thank you. Let’s talk about this theatre. What will make the Wheaton Grand successful when it opens? What programming will work in Wheaton? Let the disucssions begin!
Paul-
No attacks? You first.
No attacks just let us engage in productive dialogues about theatres. That is what this site is all about. Stifle and peace be with you, as well.
The only lawsuits are yours. It is quite interesting that YOU can attack but heaven help anyone who makes a comment back. I suppose that I will now be accused of attacking you.
Stifle, Paul. Stifle. Peace and goodbye.
Dear Prowler and KZA: Actions speak louder than words. Stop attacking me and look at the Wheaton Grand Theatre’s record. I am the easy scapegoat but those who run the theatre for the past five years bear the prime responsibility for failing to deliver the goods. These blogs do not address many of my successes and I do not need to prove myself to anyone. Our company gets many calls and contracts for consultation. They look past this petty crap and look at the issues! For the record there are NO lawsuits against GVI. You are wasting your time attacking me. Use your energies to get the GTC board to move forward. That is why our company, GVI sued the useless GTC board. That is why we will prevail. We do not want to sell the theatre. We want to restore it and make it successful. Substantive issues should be explored here: One vs. three venues inside the Grand should be the discussion of the day NOT let’s gang up on Warshauer. Let’s get the issues on the table and stop wasting everyone’s time here with petty lawsuits that do NOT involve the Wheaton Grand. You clearly fail to remember that we did programming in the theatre for SIX MONTHS. We know what we are talking about. Do you? Have YOU run programming in a theatre and made money? We did. THAT’S successful.
Paul-
With that kind of attitude I don’t understand how you expect to stay in business. A classy professional would have congratulated the Wheaton Grand and moved on without condescending remarks. All of these comments are searchable on the Internet. When you make a business proposition and show them your resumé in the next town to run/restore a theater all of this information is available for the reading. Don’t you think that the prospective client is going to do a search on the Internet? Don’t you think that they will have second thoughts about hiring your company when they read the kind of statements you post here on this site? You can keep posting…it’s a free country. But in the end you are only hurting yourself and your business.
Here’s that link again:
link
It seems ol' “Uncle Paul” has been accused of far worse than a con job, but hey, at least he loves restoring (destroying?) old theaters. Too bad he can’t seem to name one that he’s actually restored. Then again, it must be hard to concentrate with all those court dates on the agenda.
How about the indigence motion of 6/14/05? Surely an astute, erudite businessman “who likes cigars, fun people, travel, the theatre and music, and lively discussions about politics and social issues with intelligent witty people” has enough in the bank to pay for court costs (when he decides to show up.) Or is all that money tied up in a vast network of theaters?
Perhaps we should call the Mayor of Havana? Alderman Levar fom Portage Park?
Where’s the donation money, Uncle Paul???
A plaque? Very nice. There’s one for the DuPage Theatre, too. There are dozens of plaques around the country for dead theatres. What a price tag! $8 million? You have got to be kidding?? Where are the good people of Wheaton? They will NOT pay for that, nor will the corporations Lou Margaglione envisions. He doesn’t even understand that it is not a tax write off. They are called, “Historic Tax Credits,” and they are sold NOT a tax write off. This is a worse con than anything I have ever been accused of! NOW after Waukegan, it is Wheaton that is being conned!!! Has anyone else asked for other bids or concepts? Call other architects who have worked with Ray Shepardson. Call other cities who have chased him out. Call the Mayor of Waukegan. Call other architects to get other bids…period! Who is really supervising these people running the Wheaton Grand? Charlie Long and a few other board memebrs are smart but even they should check out other concepts! Next play at the Wheaton Grand? That’s easy: “The Emperor’s New Clothes!”
Theater gets official stamp for historic status
Wheaton Grand has served as entertainment forum for 80 years
By Hank Beckman
SUN CORRESPONDENT
It’s official: the Wheaton Grand Theater is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
The decision made in August by the Department of the Interior was formalized by a dedication ceremony Sept. 17 and the unveiling of a plaque on the front wall of the building at 123 N. Hale St. in downtown Wheaton.
The building is owned by the Grand Theater Corporation, a nonprofit group dedicated to restoring the building.
Ron Richardson, chairman of group, unveiled the plaque, and Wheaton Councilwoman Liz Corry read from a statement from Mayor C. James Carr, who was unable to attend the event.
“For 80 years, the Wheaton Grand has served Wheaton as a forum in which many types of quality entertainment have been offered,” Corry said.
The statement went on to note the importance of the Wheaton Grand in revitalizing the Wheaton downtown business district.
Also present was Hema Pandya, the graduate student in historical preservation at the Art Institute of Chicago responsible for guiding the project through the process of being awarded national recognition.
“You have to fight for it and show why you think it deserves to be nominated,” Pandya said.
“When I saw the plaque, I just …,” Pandya’s voice trailed off, overcome by emotion.
Presiding over the unveiling was Charles Long, member of the Grand Theater Corporation Board of Directors.
“This is an important addition to the downtown fabric,” Long said.
Long also noted the importance of the theater to the Wheaton community.
“This theater played a historically significant role in this community’s cultural heritage — this is the fifth historic place in Wheaton."
The previous owners donated the building to the GTC under the conditions that it would remain a theater and ultimately be restored.
“We’ve been working to give this project the best possible opportunity to succeed,” said Louis Margaglione, a board member of GTC. “This is a significant first step.”
Margaglione also noted the financial significance of the distinction, saying that it would mean a $1.7 million tax write-off that GTC could sell to a corporate donor.
Overall costs of the project are estimated to be close to $8 million.
“This is just starting,” Margaglione said. “We are closing one chapter while opening what may be the most exciting phase, the capital campaign and the rehab of this national treasure.”
Also in the audience was former Illinois Supreme Court Justice S. Louis Rathje, whose family members were among the previous owners of the building.
“Charlie (Long) brought out good points about the heritage of the Wheaton Grand and how it was vital to the town,” Rathje said. “It’s a pleasure to be part of this, and I hope this organization can restore the building to its former glamour.”
Alberta Adamson of the Center for History praised GTC.
“It’s wonderful; it’s magnificent; and this is well-deserved recognition for the group. It takes a lot of money and effort and it’s important that people recognize the significance of this building.”
Ray Shepardson is a nationally known expert in theater restoration who was hired by GTC to oversee the restoration of the Wheaton Grand.
“Unlike the Dupage Theater, we’ve got the ball rolling instead of swinging,” Shepardson said, referring to Lombard’s recent decision to approve the demolition of the historic theater.
Long pleaded with the community for patience.
“Stay with us on this and stay engaged — so much more work needs to be done."
9/23/05
Congratulations to the Wheaton Grand for its historic registry listing and for the lovely dedication held on Saturday, September 10th. I was able to stop by and listen to the statement from the mayor, and others, about the project. It is good to know that the city is behind the restoration being planned. The photo and artifact display inside was beautifully done and really helped me get a sense of what could be done.
WGT, I will be watching this forum (as well as the Wheaton Grand Website) to see upcoming events and find out what I can do to help with this very exciting project. Congratulations again and keep up the good work.
Sounds like good work. I will offer it again: GTC, please sell our concessions and give proceeds to hurricane victims. Mr. Loster just send us a receipt after the event for our records. Sincerely, Mike and Paul.
One other thing Neighbor – We’re planning a Hurricane benefit on September 25th, a Sunday. We’ll be having a few jazz groups playing. If you can think of ways that you, or any of the other Wheaton business-people would like to contribute to the event, please stop by the theater and we can discuss it. Thanks.
Hi Neighbor,
I think you’ll be pleased with this week’s events! We have an 18 piece big band jazz concert tonight at 7:30. On Friday night we have an “Unplugged” concert with some local rock bands playing all-acoustic. On Saturday, a big day. We’re showing animated children’s movies continuously from 9am to 3pm, including one that was made by a Wheaton Warrenville South alumnus and was nominated for an Academy Award! All the proceeds from the animated films will be going to A.D.O.P.T, a pet adoption agency out of Naperville. Then at 3:30, there’s the historic register ceremony, and finally a rock concert Saturday evening. We’ll be asking a lot of hours from our volunteers this week, but it’ll be a lot of fun. We’ve been talking to a several people about both film festivals and theatrical productions. There’s a lot in the pipeline. Please join us for the ceremony on Saturday!
Mr. Warshauer:
Now I understand why all these lawsuits are aimed at you. Live by the sword, die by the sword. I hope you are now content at the arrangements you have made for yourself.
In the meantime, I would like the rest of us to focus on life after Mr. Warshauer. There seems to be quite a few people following his every footstep who will assure that he does not pillage another village. Let us those of us in Wheaton move forward out of the wreckage and make plans anew for the future of the Wheaton Grand.
Does anyone have any fundraising ideas? Ideas on use? I’m sure there must be someone other than rock bands we can have rent the theater for funds. There was a church group in there last week, there’s a movie showing this week. Any ideas? Many of us are involved in non-profits outside of the theater without even thinking; both they and for-profit entities might be interested in renting the theater for various reasons. Like the church group from last week.
I think it would be a blast if there were some sort of film fest in there…something fun that might draw a large crowd for nostalgia’s sake…or maybe even some sort of cult following, although probably not Rocky Horror! Just a couple ideas to get the discussion ball rolling.
The Neighbor
ALL of the Gomez money went to Community Bank???? Who else did you solicit, Paul?
Again with the lawsuits Paul, that seems to be your answer to everything. Once again you prove the point that everyone on this site is trying to make. You simply will not take responsibilty for anything, it is always someone elses fault.
I am grateful to “disgruntled” for coming forward to give the Wheaton Grand community further insight into the kind of business person you have been.
Again why is this on the Wheaton site? You must be Beverly! Your really are truly disgruntled and disfunctional employee! I never called any partner the names you claim! How dare you! Call us and we can discuss your alleged complaint of not being paid or is it a lie, you greedy… Remember that what you say can and will be used in a court of law.
The church didn’t come until you were ordered out and could not pay your bills—it was a last ditch effort to try and recoup some more money. As for your partners—you yourself called Ms. Deans a “bitch” after she walked away. Has Mr. Pales and his mother not sued you? Poor Mr. Miner couldn’t sleep at night after you fell apart. Yes, maybe the name on the cease and desist order was the Portage Theatre and not the Henslowe group—remember you weren’t even in the country when it actually happened—you were out of the country. Also you didn’t assume financial responsibility—many of us went unpaid for our wages and any supplies bought for you and your venture—don’t try and portray yourself as a good and respectful individual. You are a con! Nobody went after the other 3 partners because they were led astray like the rest of us. If not, where are they now? Please enough with trying to get the rest of us to feel sorry for you. Just move on—as far as I am concerned my purpose is to make sure you do not do to another community as you have done in the past. Try and get a legitimate job for once—not one that you are hoping to live off of others. When was the last time you earned a legitimate salary? That means not accepting money from business ventures and using that? Enough already.
No Paul, what you are is a con man plain and simple. Ther is no need to “hound” your other partners because they are not trying to take over the Wheaton Grand, you are.
The behavior I have read attributed to you in print,is nothing less than criminal. I was raised to believe that you should treat others as you would like to be treated. Following that rule you must not like to be treated fairly, with respect or even honestly. When someone has as many things against them as you do I find it hard to believe that everyone else is out to get you and that you are blameless.
Move on Paul, leave the Wheaton Grand to flourish and concentrate on the “misinformation” as you call it. Clearing all that up will surely keep you busy for quite a long time.