Grand Theatre (Wheaton, Illinois)

Grand Theatre
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
File:GrandTheatreWheaton.JPG
Grand Theatre in 2011
Location	123 N. Hale St. Wheaton, DuPage County, Illinois, U.S.
Coordinates
Built	1925
Architect	Norman Brydges
Architectural style	Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals
NRHP Reference #	05000872
Added to NRHP	August 12, 2005

The Grand Theatre is a historic theater located in Wheaton, Illinois. It opened on May 25, 1925 with 1,000 seats, and hosted live drama, silent films, and vaudeville performances. The theater changed hands many times in the 20th century, and at various times was known as the Paramount Theatre and The Wheaton Theatre. In the late 1990s, the theater was used for second-run films, and more recently, as a small concert hall for rock and roll bands. The theater was donated to the non-profit Grand Theater Corporation in October 2001. In the fall of 2005, the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places. It was closed in 2006 for a full renovation of the property and the Grand Theater Corporation was anticipating to re-open it as a single screen theater in late 2011. However, Wheaton rejected a plan to allocate $19.3 million to finance the renovation and the theater's debts. Wheaton Park District is currently considering a $10 million plan that would reopen the theater with 860 seats. The theater will feature a donated Morton organ from the 1920s, originally from one of the Loew's Wonder Theatres.

References

• Grand Theatre: Timeline
• National Register of Historical Places: Grand Theatre
• [ Daily Herald: Rare 1920s Organ to Make Home in Wheaton Theater]
• [ Daily Herald: Wheaton Park Board's $19.3 Million Grand Theater Plan Gets the Hook]