Normal Theater

United States historic place

Normal Theater

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Location| 209 W North St., Normal, Illinois
Coordinates| 40°30′33.3″N 88°59′11.36″W﻿ / ﻿40.509250°N 88.9864889°W﻿ / 40.509250; -88.9864889
Built| 1937
Architect| Arthur F. Moratz
Architectural style| Moderne[1]
Restored| 1993
Restored by| Town of Normal, Illinois
Website| http://www.normaltheater.com
NRHP reference No.| 97000818[1]
Added to NRHP| July 25, 1997[1]

The Normal Theater, also known as the Normal Theatre, is a cinema located in the downtown area of Normal, Illinois of the United States of America, which is located in McLean County. The theater closed for a time in the early 1990s but reopened in 1993 after being purchased and renovated by the town of Normal. It has since been in continuous operation, showing a mix of first run and classic films. The building has been on the National Register of Historic Places since July 25, 1997.

## History

[edit]

### Development

[edit]

Local architect Arthur F. Moratz designed the Art Moderne style building.[2][3] The Streamline Moderne building was a state of the art cinema at the time which was built to "show sound movies in the best comfortable environment."[2] The theater was built by Sylvan and Ruth Kupfer and leased to Publix Great States Theatres.[2][3][4]

### Opening

[edit]

The Normal Theater opened for operation on November 19, 1937.[2] At the time of opening, the theater had 620 seats.[2] The grand opening featured the musical Double or Nothing starring Bing Crosby and Martha Raye, a Popeye cartoon, and newsreels.[2]

"The Normal was known for genre and “B” pictures, especially westerns and musicals, as well as second-run fare."[2]

### Decline

[edit]

In December 1974, the Springfield chain Kerasotes Brothers took over the theater.[2][4] On January 8, 1982, Kerasotes closed the Irvin Theater in Bloomington and turned the Normal Theater into a “dollar house”.[2]

In 1985, it was divided into a two screen theater, also known as twinning.[2][5] The original commercial operation of the Normal Theater ended on May 16, 1991.[2][3]

### Restoration

[edit]

The Town of Normal purchased the theater and reopened it in 1993 through a community restoration effort.[6] The grand reopening on October 7, 1994 screened Singin’ in the Rain.[2][4]

In June 1996, Normal received the “Preservation Project of the Year” award by the Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois.[2] On July 25, 1997, the Normal Theater was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

### Present Day

[edit]

Today theater goers enjoy a "throwback" theater going experience in the fully restored art deco theater. The inside restoration installed plush, coral colored seating, blue, maroon and salmon colored walls, high-modern style aisle lights and layered ceiling of multicolored neon lights.[2] Due to accessibility and building code changes, the Normal Theater now seats 385.[2]

## External links

[edit]

* Normal Theater website

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "History - Normal Theater, IL". Normal Theater. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
3. ^ a b c Kemp, Bill (November 8, 2020). "Once rundown, Normal Theater now uptown architectural gem". The Pantagraph. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
4. ^ a b c "Normal Theater". McLean County Museum of History. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
5. ^ Meadows, Jim (October 30, 2019). "Art Theater Closes—How Do Other Art Houses Survive?". Illinois Public Media. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
6. ^ Normal Theater History, Town of Normal.

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