The place is far from an abortion, but certainly when you consider what has been done to it, facade irreversibly painted over, perfectly good irreplacable trimwork torn out… essentially an incomplete shell of a building that hasn’t seen added work in almost a year now, it really is depressing.
I think about the flack I used to give my grandfather, “Why don’t you replace this”, “why don’t you change that”– the problem was, LaGrange ALWAYS gave my family flack about repairing the building, so anything done to it was patchwork. If you wanted to tear a wall out and expand an area, they wanted you to replace irrelavent electric in the other side of the building. Absurd, and now that Hortons has proven incapable of forming a sound business plan for the organization, the village wants nothing to do with it, and having jumped the gun, Hortons is finding themselves “stuck” with a partially destroyed building. Stupidity.
It’s pathetic really, I have such passion for that building; I want so very much to see the building improved, restored, and preserved… $3M of work, and you’d have one HELL of a theatre! Yeah, in this economy, I’m sure banks will be lining up around the corner!
Have you ID'ed the BK doors and/or BK door handles that used to be part of the front doors of the theater lobby? I believe they, like so many other “artifacts”, were stowed in the basement. Big, 1" thick glass doors… and if they didn’t keep the glass, I KNOW they kept the handles. Look in the corridors of the basement… that room before the entrance to the catacombs under the theaterswhere the letters, well, WERE kept (not sure if they’re still there). Something else that would look great in a case, or maybe even a shadow box in the lobby!
Oh, and you’re right… it’s part of the Tivoli/Chicago heritage! Rapp & Rapp built the LaGrange, as well as so many others. The York, however, was originally designed by Elmer Behrns. Elmer Behrns is also known for St. Charles Illinois' Arcada Theater. The York is really quite similar to LaGrange in a lot of ways, having also been updated in the late 1930s by Roy Blass.
Interesting thing about Sam Katz… he not only founded BK, but he was the head of production for MGM; double-dipped the chip, you might say. Meanwhile, Barney Balaban was the chairman of Paramount Corp., however, he died in 1917, at which time his younger brother Abraham took the primary ‘B’ role.
Here’s a good book (click link below) worth reading… great illustrations!
Certainly the suspension cables for the drop ceiling have caused insane amounts of damage to the dome, heck, I even still have a large portion of the ceiling on a shelf in my office.
Ultimately, the whole reason is was covered up originally was because the plaster in the dome was detaching and falling three to four stories onto the floors. That, matched with the insane heating bills associated with the rise, was the motivation.
As far as organ lofts, the theater to the far South, #4, once had the piano loft where the screen now resides; I remember watching while the massive 6-ton I-beam was cut out of the wall. Interestingly enough, there was a large neon clock mounted in the loft as well, which STILL WORKED, and was moved to the 2nd floor projector room. Moving right along here… the front wall over the emergency exit in theater #1 is the other loft.
Undoubtedly, the lobby has been in dire need of work for 15+ years. The “awesome” tile, matched the the really “clean” carpeting that has been duct taped over and over again throughout the years to keep the tearing localized just looks more and more black every time I see it. Lord knows the candy counter, perversely hacked again and again, desperately need upheaval as well. I am TRULY anticipating witnessing the change, just as much as I am anticipating the change to the storefronts below the offices next to the theater. I recall at one point in the mid-90s there was a plan to convert the storefronts into part of the front lobby of the theater, but my family’s pleading for the theater’s sale brought an end to that project.
The theater industry was my grandfather’s passion… it was his life, and sadly this only became truly evident to me once he passed away. Had it not been for his age, and my family’s lack of motivation, I’m sure it would be in much better condition now. One way or the other, it’s ABOUT TIME someone be in charge of that place who genuinely CARES about its history and maintenance.
www.lagrangetheatre.com – They SHOULD have used projectors which they SHOULD be willing to sell. I know they have them still… it’s just a matter of whether or not they’re willing to part with them.
My grandfather passed away on January 4th, 2007 at the age of 82. He leaves behind a long legacy, having been a major pioneer in the in-house, as well as drive-in, motion-picture movie theater industry, having owned LaGrange, Milford, Des Plaines, and Berwyn Theatres 1983-2000, residing as general manager of Kohlberg Theatres 1963-1983, as well as managing and supervising Schoenstadt Theatres 1946-1962. I loved him greatly, and will miss him dearly.
My grandfather passed away on January 4th, 2007 at the age of 82. He leaves behind a long legacy, having been a major pioneer in the in-house, as well as drive-in, motion-picture movie theater industry, having owned LaGrange, Milford, Des Plaines, and Berwyn Theatres 1983-2000, residing as general manager of Kohlberg Theatres 1963-1983, as well as managing and supervising Schoenstadt Theatres 1946-1962. I loved him greatly, and will miss him dearly.
My grandfather passed away on January 4th, 2007 at the age of 82. He leaves behind a long legacy, having been a major pioneer in the in-house, as well as drive-in, motion-picture movie theater industry, having owned LaGrange, Milford, Des Plaines, and Berwyn Theatres 1983-2000, residing as general manager of Kohlberg Theatres 1963-1983, as well as managing and supervising Schoenstadt Theatres 1946-1962. I loved him greatly, and will miss him dearly.
An ad in the 3/21/62 edition of the Austin News gives the address as 39 S. LaGrange Road.
Yes, there were actually TWO single-screen LaGrange Theatre’s at one point, with one on each side of the Burlington tracks- LaGrange Theatre North, and LaGrange Theatre South. The old building once stood on the southeast corner of LaGrange Rd. & Ogden. According to an old neighbor of mine, a guy used to be able to see movies all day long at LaGrange Theatre North, then go to LaGrange Theatre South at night to see them again. Seems to me like this would have been in the 1940s.
In 1983, my grandfather, John Bischof, a Chicagoland motion-picture legend, and his partner Tracy Lamb, purchased the LaGrange Theatre and performed the original split of the original stage. I was rather young then, but I explicitly recall MANY of the initial renovations which brought about “#1” and “#2”.
In 1991, renovations were performed which in turn split theater #1 in two, which formed the yellow “#2” and the blue “#3”. I remember when the southwest wall was opened, and it was discovered that a 4-ton steel beam made up the corner wall. That beam was, in fact, the old piano loft. In that loft actually hung an original circa 1940s ~48" wall clock with a purple flourecent ring outside of it. That clock was refurbished, and runs to this day in one of my uncle’s homes.
Interestingly enough, the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE former seats (red steel frame, blue fabric) that resided in each theater prior to their recent, much needed, replacement in late 2006, were actually old seats removed from Chicago’s Bryn Mawr Theatre.
In ~1994, the south wall of theater #1 was moved in ~6' (which deleted the south aisle and south front entrance to #1) to accomodate a hallway which runs back to theater “#2”. Indeed, that theater is a poured slab right on top of the old stage.
I recall toward the end of my grandfather’s ownership, MANY aspects of the building were crumbling. Even at present, you could drop $1 million, and not easily determine where that money was spent. Having rercently been purchased by neighboring Horton’s in 2004, the building is now, however, finally getting the repair it so desperately needs, much of which is naked to the public’s eye. Such improvements include the roof, as well as the atiqued cloth-wrapped electrical system still in use today.
Some interesting facts about the building…
The original balcony is still accessible in theaters 1 and 4. They are not, however, zoned for public use due to their old age and assumed inability to support excess weight.
There is a third floor (painted all green, for some ungodly reason) above the balcony loft which houses all of the original film projectors. It is now obscured by the black drop-ceiling presently installed. Note, one of the old projectors is presently housed down in the lobby corridor in a display case.
Above that ugly black drop-ceiling, there is a GORGEOUS, ornate victorian-style plastered dome ceiling. It it absolutely magnificent, but is only visible today from the third floor projector (green) room.
The basement could NOT be any creepier. The original dressing rooms, now used to overstock concessions, still remain, as do their original doors still labelled accordingly. Lead paint is still present all over, however, it is now covered by MDF for the sake of safety. There are small block chevy engines, no longer in use, in the boiler rooms which were once used to circulate the old air conditioning system. The original coils for that a/c system are also still presentt, running nearly the entire width of the theater’s basement.
There are long tunnels running under the old theater floors. Imagine the concrete floor which makes up theaters 1, 3, & 4. Tunnels run under all three theaters, used for ventilation, as well as an access point through which the theater seating could be fastened. I recall being down there once during the big renovation in 1991 with my dad while seats were being welded in, and seeing a sewer rat the size of a small dog pulled out of one of the tunnels, taken out into LaGrange Rd., and bashed on the curb. Yes, LOL, I remember that quite vividly to this day.
My grandfather passed away on January 4th, 2007 at the age of 82. He leaves behind a long legacy, having been a major pioneer in the in-house, as well as drive-in, motion-picture movie theater industry, having owned LaGrange, Milford, Des Plaines, and Berwyn Theatres 1983-2000, residing as general manager of Kohlberg Theatres 1963-1983, as well as managing and supervising Schoenstadt Theatres 1946-1962. I loved him greatly, and will miss him dearly.
Funny, the ‘1983’ photo above features my aunt in the box office, and my grandfather in the suitcoat at the front door.
Of course, we could not have expected this to happen without a little corruption…
View link
Yeah, it’s pretty sad…
The place is far from an abortion, but certainly when you consider what has been done to it, facade irreversibly painted over, perfectly good irreplacable trimwork torn out… essentially an incomplete shell of a building that hasn’t seen added work in almost a year now, it really is depressing.
I think about the flack I used to give my grandfather, “Why don’t you replace this”, “why don’t you change that”– the problem was, LaGrange ALWAYS gave my family flack about repairing the building, so anything done to it was patchwork. If you wanted to tear a wall out and expand an area, they wanted you to replace irrelavent electric in the other side of the building. Absurd, and now that Hortons has proven incapable of forming a sound business plan for the organization, the village wants nothing to do with it, and having jumped the gun, Hortons is finding themselves “stuck” with a partially destroyed building. Stupidity.
It’s pathetic really, I have such passion for that building; I want so very much to see the building improved, restored, and preserved… $3M of work, and you’d have one HELL of a theatre! Yeah, in this economy, I’m sure banks will be lining up around the corner!
I may warrant noting that the statement regarding when ticket pries last went up is totally incorrect.
From 1983 to 1998, ticket prices were “As Always, Only $1.75”.
In Mid-1998, prices were increased to $2.
Tom is no more…
The photo of the facade is circa 1978, however the photo of the lobby is pre-1940s, before theaters had candy concessions.
Wow, the LaGrange JUST became yuppie? Cripe, it’s been yuppie since the late 80s…
Tom –
Have you ID'ed the BK doors and/or BK door handles that used to be part of the front doors of the theater lobby? I believe they, like so many other “artifacts”, were stowed in the basement. Big, 1" thick glass doors… and if they didn’t keep the glass, I KNOW they kept the handles. Look in the corridors of the basement… that room before the entrance to the catacombs under the theaterswhere the letters, well, WERE kept (not sure if they’re still there). Something else that would look great in a case, or maybe even a shadow box in the lobby!
Oh, and you’re right… it’s part of the Tivoli/Chicago heritage! Rapp & Rapp built the LaGrange, as well as so many others. The York, however, was originally designed by Elmer Behrns. Elmer Behrns is also known for St. Charles Illinois' Arcada Theater. The York is really quite similar to LaGrange in a lot of ways, having also been updated in the late 1930s by Roy Blass.
Interesting thing about Sam Katz… he not only founded BK, but he was the head of production for MGM; double-dipped the chip, you might say. Meanwhile, Barney Balaban was the chairman of Paramount Corp., however, he died in 1917, at which time his younger brother Abraham took the primary ‘B’ role.
Here’s a good book (click link below) worth reading… great illustrations!
http://www.tinyurl.com/3xs6cg
When are we going to see the theater listed here, Tom? –
View link
I would expect you’d receive more… although, my grandmother gets the bulk of it at their home still.
It was Roy Blass…
Certainly the suspension cables for the drop ceiling have caused insane amounts of damage to the dome, heck, I even still have a large portion of the ceiling on a shelf in my office.
Ultimately, the whole reason is was covered up originally was because the plaster in the dome was detaching and falling three to four stories onto the floors. That, matched with the insane heating bills associated with the rise, was the motivation.
As far as organ lofts, the theater to the far South, #4, once had the piano loft where the screen now resides; I remember watching while the massive 6-ton I-beam was cut out of the wall. Interestingly enough, there was a large neon clock mounted in the loft as well, which STILL WORKED, and was moved to the 2nd floor projector room. Moving right along here… the front wall over the emergency exit in theater #1 is the other loft.
Undoubtedly, the lobby has been in dire need of work for 15+ years. The “awesome” tile, matched the the really “clean” carpeting that has been duct taped over and over again throughout the years to keep the tearing localized just looks more and more black every time I see it. Lord knows the candy counter, perversely hacked again and again, desperately need upheaval as well. I am TRULY anticipating witnessing the change, just as much as I am anticipating the change to the storefronts below the offices next to the theater. I recall at one point in the mid-90s there was a plan to convert the storefronts into part of the front lobby of the theater, but my family’s pleading for the theater’s sale brought an end to that project.
The theater industry was my grandfather’s passion… it was his life, and sadly this only became truly evident to me once he passed away. Had it not been for his age, and my family’s lack of motivation, I’m sure it would be in much better condition now. One way or the other, it’s ABOUT TIME someone be in charge of that place who genuinely CARES about its history and maintenance.
Best of luck with the upgrades!
Matt Bischof
Hinsdale, IL
www.lagrangetheatre.com – They SHOULD have used projectors which they SHOULD be willing to sell. I know they have them still… it’s just a matter of whether or not they’re willing to part with them.
My grandfather passed away on January 4th, 2007 at the age of 82. He leaves behind a long legacy, having been a major pioneer in the in-house, as well as drive-in, motion-picture movie theater industry, having owned LaGrange, Milford, Des Plaines, and Berwyn Theatres 1983-2000, residing as general manager of Kohlberg Theatres 1963-1983, as well as managing and supervising Schoenstadt Theatres 1946-1962. I loved him greatly, and will miss him dearly.
View link
My grandfather passed away on January 4th, 2007 at the age of 82. He leaves behind a long legacy, having been a major pioneer in the in-house, as well as drive-in, motion-picture movie theater industry, having owned LaGrange, Milford, Des Plaines, and Berwyn Theatres 1983-2000, residing as general manager of Kohlberg Theatres 1963-1983, as well as managing and supervising Schoenstadt Theatres 1946-1962. I loved him greatly, and will miss him dearly.
View link
My grandfather passed away on January 4th, 2007 at the age of 82. He leaves behind a long legacy, having been a major pioneer in the in-house, as well as drive-in, motion-picture movie theater industry, having owned LaGrange, Milford, Des Plaines, and Berwyn Theatres 1983-2000, residing as general manager of Kohlberg Theatres 1963-1983, as well as managing and supervising Schoenstadt Theatres 1946-1962. I loved him greatly, and will miss him dearly.
View link
On Dec 1, 2006 at 7:39pm, ken mcon wrote:
An ad in the 3/21/62 edition of the Austin News gives the address as 39 S. LaGrange Road.
Yes, there were actually TWO single-screen LaGrange Theatre’s at one point, with one on each side of the Burlington tracks- LaGrange Theatre North, and LaGrange Theatre South. The old building once stood on the southeast corner of LaGrange Rd. & Ogden. According to an old neighbor of mine, a guy used to be able to see movies all day long at LaGrange Theatre North, then go to LaGrange Theatre South at night to see them again. Seems to me like this would have been in the 1940s.
View link
In 1983, my grandfather, John Bischof, a Chicagoland motion-picture legend, and his partner Tracy Lamb, purchased the LaGrange Theatre and performed the original split of the original stage. I was rather young then, but I explicitly recall MANY of the initial renovations which brought about “#1” and “#2”.
In 1991, renovations were performed which in turn split theater #1 in two, which formed the yellow “#2” and the blue “#3”. I remember when the southwest wall was opened, and it was discovered that a 4-ton steel beam made up the corner wall. That beam was, in fact, the old piano loft. In that loft actually hung an original circa 1940s ~48" wall clock with a purple flourecent ring outside of it. That clock was refurbished, and runs to this day in one of my uncle’s homes.
Interestingly enough, the MOST UNCOMFORTABLE former seats (red steel frame, blue fabric) that resided in each theater prior to their recent, much needed, replacement in late 2006, were actually old seats removed from Chicago’s Bryn Mawr Theatre.
In ~1994, the south wall of theater #1 was moved in ~6' (which deleted the south aisle and south front entrance to #1) to accomodate a hallway which runs back to theater “#2”. Indeed, that theater is a poured slab right on top of the old stage.
I recall toward the end of my grandfather’s ownership, MANY aspects of the building were crumbling. Even at present, you could drop $1 million, and not easily determine where that money was spent. Having rercently been purchased by neighboring Horton’s in 2004, the building is now, however, finally getting the repair it so desperately needs, much of which is naked to the public’s eye. Such improvements include the roof, as well as the atiqued cloth-wrapped electrical system still in use today.
Some interesting facts about the building…
The original balcony is still accessible in theaters 1 and 4. They are not, however, zoned for public use due to their old age and assumed inability to support excess weight.
There is a third floor (painted all green, for some ungodly reason) above the balcony loft which houses all of the original film projectors. It is now obscured by the black drop-ceiling presently installed. Note, one of the old projectors is presently housed down in the lobby corridor in a display case.
Above that ugly black drop-ceiling, there is a GORGEOUS, ornate victorian-style plastered dome ceiling. It it absolutely magnificent, but is only visible today from the third floor projector (green) room.
The basement could NOT be any creepier. The original dressing rooms, now used to overstock concessions, still remain, as do their original doors still labelled accordingly. Lead paint is still present all over, however, it is now covered by MDF for the sake of safety. There are small block chevy engines, no longer in use, in the boiler rooms which were once used to circulate the old air conditioning system. The original coils for that a/c system are also still presentt, running nearly the entire width of the theater’s basement.
There are long tunnels running under the old theater floors. Imagine the concrete floor which makes up theaters 1, 3, & 4. Tunnels run under all three theaters, used for ventilation, as well as an access point through which the theater seating could be fastened. I recall being down there once during the big renovation in 1991 with my dad while seats were being welded in, and seeing a sewer rat the size of a small dog pulled out of one of the tunnels, taken out into LaGrange Rd., and bashed on the curb. Yes, LOL, I remember that quite vividly to this day.
My grandfather passed away on January 4th, 2007 at the age of 82. He leaves behind a long legacy, having been a major pioneer in the in-house, as well as drive-in, motion-picture movie theater industry, having owned LaGrange, Milford, Des Plaines, and Berwyn Theatres 1983-2000, residing as general manager of Kohlberg Theatres 1963-1983, as well as managing and supervising Schoenstadt Theatres 1946-1962. I loved him greatly, and will miss him dearly.