A great theatre in its time. I used to see movies there when I came home from college at ISU, and then I managed it for a few months way back on 1990 (and a friend of mine continued to manage it for many years). It was a very tough place to make money, unless there was an artistic hit there, like “Stop Making Sense” or “The Cook, the Thief…Lover”. There are/were few venues like aud. #1 for size and faded grandeur—think of the Music Box on a grander scale. I’ll miss it.
The last movie I saw at the Des Plaines was “Slave Girls from Beyong Infinity” in the late eighties. I grew up going there, and am surprised that the Bollywood programming didn’t help to ensure its survival, since they had sort of cornered the market. Still, I bet with a renewed downtown, the Des Plaines could be remade into a success, providing the physical state isn’t too bad. I would be interested in finding out the cost of the building, etc.
A great theatre in its time. I used to see movies there when I came home from college at ISU, and then I managed it for a few months way back on 1990 (and a friend of mine continued to manage it for many years). It was a very tough place to make money, unless there was an artistic hit there, like “Stop Making Sense” or “The Cook, the Thief…Lover”. There are/were few venues like aud. #1 for size and faded grandeur—think of the Music Box on a grander scale. I’ll miss it.
Does anyone know how to contact the owner/lease-holder? There is no information anywhere else that I know about.
The last movie I saw at the Des Plaines was “Slave Girls from Beyong Infinity” in the late eighties. I grew up going there, and am surprised that the Bollywood programming didn’t help to ensure its survival, since they had sort of cornered the market. Still, I bet with a renewed downtown, the Des Plaines could be remade into a success, providing the physical state isn’t too bad. I would be interested in finding out the cost of the building, etc.