Comments from xtopher1974

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xtopher1974
xtopher1974 commented about Rockridge Showcase on Jan 23, 2005 at 2:36 am

In the parking lot up Broadway from Oakland Technical High School (where Clint Eastwood graduated and formerly the jewel of the Oakland school system) there is still a sign that reads something like, “Extra Parking for Rockridge Showcase” and an arrow. Not sure if the building (which houses offices) at the back of the parking lot was the old theater (it’s about the right size and height) but have always wondered about the sign. I have no idea where the shopping center was. There is a strip mall kitty corner from this location, but nothing resembling a shopping center.

xtopher1974
xtopher1974 commented about Jefferson Theater on Jan 23, 2005 at 1:47 am

In the 1990s the back of the theater (behind the screen) where there is a small stage was used to through raves. Sometimes movies where shown at the same time in the front so you could take a break from dancing.

Below the stage (or still is?) an apartment that had an outside entrance on Water street.

xtopher1974
xtopher1974 commented about Saint Charles Theaters on Jan 23, 2005 at 1:26 am

This was part of the St. Charles mall which was actually built on land that had been owned by the city of Geneva. Geneva, not wanting to sully its repuation with crass commercialism, sold it to St. Charles. St. Charles then allowed the mall to be built. As K-Mart had trouble and Joseph Spiess' backruptcy, the two major tenets, the mall closed and with it the theater.

I saw most of the major 80s movies here: Empire Stikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Can’t Buy Me Love, and all the Disney classics (before VCRs took away the rereleases of Disney movies).

The lobby (which was really just a hall way on the back side of the mall) featured a mural of theater goers waiting in line for the movies. This you studied as you waited in line for the theaters. As a kid it always seemed really cool, although it was behind plexiglass to protect from vandles and people used to slide pennies into the space between the wall and the plexiglass.

xtopher1974
xtopher1974 commented about Arcada Theatre on Jan 23, 2005 at 1:16 am

The Arcada theater even as recently as the 1980s still had an organist on Friday nights. Don’t know if they still do, but as a kid this was the coolest connection to theater past. I do remember seeing some first run movies there, perhaps even the movie version Annie.

xtopher1974
xtopher1974 commented about Geneva Theatre on Jan 23, 2005 at 1:08 am

I grew up in Geneva (1978-1992; age 4 until 18). And new that Road to Perdition was to be shot in town. The Geneva hotel where the gangster character stays when he gets out of Chicago is actually about a half a block down from the theater at the Corner of 3rd and State. The theater only appears in the corner during a car chase, but you can clearly see the “Geneva” theater sign in the background.

For some reason the database here is a little confused. The Fargo theater listing is one and the same as the Geneva Theater. If I recall when the theater was renovated in the late 1980s into a twin the tile was exposed in the entry that said “Fargo Theater.” Or I might be confused and it was covered up. The concrete flurish in the center of the building’s picture above still says “Fargo” and the block is known as the Fargo block.

There used to be a good pizza parlor next door and just down the street in the same building was Grumwald’s (?) antique store where Governor Thompson used to visit when antiquing in Geneva.

I remember seeing Footloose here in the 80s and riding my bike down town to see other shows as a kid. Friends from high school worked here, and we would get the extra popcorn after the last show.

xtopher1974
xtopher1974 commented about Gene Siskel Film Center on Jan 23, 2005 at 12:37 am

The building with the Film Center and the Borders is all part of a complex owned by the Art Institue — above the Borders in student dorms.

xtopher1974
xtopher1974 commented about Circle Theatre on Jan 23, 2005 at 12:24 am

Not sure why. But that neighborhood kept the circle name. After the University of Illinois moved out it’s Navy Pier campus. (When it was called U of I, Navy Pier) it moved to the west side and was called the University of Illinois, Circle campus well into the late 80s (sometimes called Chicago Circle). I’ve only noticed that in the last 10 years they call it just plain ol' Univeristy of Illinois, Chicago.