Luxe Theater
117 E. Washington Street,
East Peoria,
IL
61611
117 E. Washington Street,
East Peoria,
IL
61611
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Additional Info
Architects: Frederic J. Klein
Functions: Café, Religious Services
Previous Names: Blue Bird Theater
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Opened as the Blue Bird Theater in 1922. It was located on Washington Street between Main Street and Anna Streets. It suffered a fire January 18, 1940. It was rebuilt and reopened as the Luxe Theater in 1945, with seating for 440. It was closed in 1955.
It was last home to a pet store, but has since closed.
In 2009, it was operating as a coffee shop and a religious meeting room.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
The pet shop shut down, and me and my friend are close to leasing it as a concert venue. We found it was called the Bluebird Theater until a fire…then remnamed the Luxe. We looked inside today. You can see how it was kind of laid out. There is a projector room… with holes where the projector would have shown through. There were still parts of the original screen up. We want to name or venue something to do with the old theater…
Opened in 1922 as the Blue Bird Theatre, the fire occured on January 18th 1940. The theatre was re-built, and re-opened in 1945 as the Luxe Theatre, which closed in 1955.
I have no details of what use it became until 2000 when it is listed as the Bluebird Cafe. It later became a dog-grooming establishment called Lulu’s Place.
Boxoffice magazine reported in January 1940 that the fire previously mentioned started when a boiler exploded in the theater building. At the time the temperature outside was thirteen degrees below zero.
A recent internet search shows the Lulu business which Ken Roe mentioned as well as another pet business called Fins, Feathers & Paws. Both businesses are at 117 E. Washington.
I purchased the building in 2008. The lower level is The Bean Coffee Shop and the upstairs is being used for a college age ministry called The Garage. Scott Schilling
The upstairs is available for other venues if someone is interested. Scott 309-645-3838
As this house opened in 1922, this item from the “New Theatres” column of the December 3, 1921, issue of Exhibitors Trade Review is probably about the Blue Bird Theatre:
The correct spelling of the architect’s first name is Frederic.