Stadium Theatre
117 E. Pearl Street,
Jerseyville,
IL
62052
117 E. Pearl Street,
Jerseyville,
IL
62052
5 people
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The Stadium Theatre has been a 3 screen cinema since around 2016.
There will be a marquee lighting and ribbon cutting ceremony Saturday June 26th at 8pm. Article below.
https://www.advantagenews.com/re-lighting-the-sign-at-jerseyville-movie-theater/article_d712b4a0-d468-11eb-86f9-bb2e6d0c94e0.html?fbclid=IwAR0lr_gR3H3jXxgU0ghtg2m8WJjmmTReD57dV666xauL_thYN2jjTZHoogA
The Stadium Theatre is now operated by Dougherty Theatres, also operating the Westside Cinema in Litchfield. The company is planning to add a third screen to the Stadium.
My grandfather and great grandfather started The Stadium Theater so many years ago. My family is so glad to hear that the town rallied to bring it back to life. We’ve been following it closely. Its the last of the original Pirtle theaters to still be in operation today. So proud to hear that its hasnt been closed by some mega theater to roll in. Keep up the great work. I’ll try and swing by and see the updates here in a couple of weeks.
What is your name for your theatre circuit, Timbuis ?
New website: http://www.thestadiumtheatre.com/index.html
we have recently reopened this theatre after it was closed by amc.the town has rallied around this theatre and has new life again.the theatre has all new digital sound and picture with 3d capabiities.check us out on facebook at the stadium theatre.
Apparently AMC is giving the same stock answer its spokesmen keeps giving when they close a smaller/older theatre – that it “no longer effectively competes in the marketplace” – – I called it that the small town Kerastoes wouldn’t be around for a while (and I wonder if we will see a plague wipe out many smaller operations if studios stop releasing celluloid film prints). My guess is AMC is gearing up for a screen reduction and I’ve seen evidence they are pulling out of certain markets all together (and many sites in markets they see a future for are currently 100% digital, you can tell which theaters are questionable if they haven’t been converted yet). Still, this is not good for communities that may loose the options to see first run films, as we’ve been seeing the promise of digital and lower costs of distribution is there could be a move towards leveraging single screen locations to show more diverse programing – hell maybe even an indie movie on a Tuesday night. The big exhibitors are clueless about building an actual community in their building, so any theater with character is cast aside in favor of the hegemonic multiplex.
A remarkable facade. The masonry, in the pictures, appears nearly perfect without mortar separation or settling cracks. This is a very handsome Deco building. I like the two tone brickwork and the abundance of glass block—the backlighting is a nice feature to protect the bulbs or neon tubes from damage.
Research on the city reveals some growth from sprawl but the downtown is on the historic registry. It does not appear to have been the victim of white flight and ghetto-ization. The storm cloud on the horizon is a four lane by-pass.
Let us hope that an independent entrepreneur with the means to go digital will take up the operation of this small town theater. Where is that big lottery jackpot when I need it?
Is it bought by someone already, or can it be rented out? The kids in town an adults need something they can do. I would like to have an opportunity to speak with a person about this. May I ask whyyyy is it closing, is it structure damage, Jerseyville Needs A THEATRE, please contact me.
AMC website now calls operation the AMC Jerseyville 2.
Great night photos,Now that AMC had it lets see what happens,looks like a cool place.
Looks like a nice place to catch a movie.Night Pictures are great.
AMC took over operation from Kerasotes in June 2010.
To: AKK76
That was a nicely painted and decorated lobby. It had chairs for sitting and ash tray stands. The building was some type of auto store as I recall, although I remember it being to the left of the theater as you looked at it from the entrance.
Note: There are only 2 screens at the Jerseyville Stadium Theatre.
I grew up in Jerseyville and saw many movies at that theatre.
I have a couple of questions for you guys who know something about the history of the place:
1) If you enter the front doors and walk straight ahead you will come to steps that go down a few feet into a room that is now closed off but was a video rental area when I was a kid. My question is what was that area originally used for?
2) When you look at the outside of the building on the parking lot side it appears there used to be a small building attached to the theater, what was it?
Here is the entry for Pirtle Theaters in the 1963 motion picture almanac:
Pirtle Circuit
110 ½ S. State Street, Jerseyville, IL
Warren Pirtle, Forrest Pirtle, partners
Theaters (all in Illinois): Princess Theater and Star Light Drive-In in Beardstown, Rialto in Bushnell, Carlton in Carrollton, Stadium in Jerseyville and McLean in McLeansboro.
That is really great that your family worked with my grandfather. I’m sure my dad or grandma would know who your family is. I’ll let them know about your post.
My mother worked in the office of Pirtle Theatres until she married and started a family. My godmother continued to work for the Pirtle brothers her entire life. As a child, I remember going with her to check the candy supply, deliver films, etc. It was a magical place to me then, and it inspired a love for films that has stayed with me through the years. We went to the theatre almost every week. I am now 47, live about 1 ½ blocks from the Stadium, and attend with my husband and 12 year old son as often as possible. It is still a magical place.
Nursey
The Stadium is one of a kind. It is everything that is good about small town America. I remember going as a child, and I have some great memories of it. I have heard it has since been reconditioned but that it still has that 1930’s feel. I hope The Stadium is around for another 75 years! Go check it out for yourself!!
My grandfather built The Stadium, and my father and uncle later took it over, as they did the rest of the chain my grandfather founded (The Pirtle Circuit of Theaters). I remember my dad telling stories of when he and my uncle wrestled on the stage as entertainment for the patrons prior to the movie starting. I also remember when “Old Yeller” came to the theater. The line was so long it wound down Pearl Street, then down State Street for a block or so downtown. The crowd inside was so large I had to sit in the aisle. And there were the times, once a year, when my dad would allow all of the kids in Jerseyville to get in free while he played cartoons on the screen all day long.
Les Pirtle
O'Fallon, MO