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Virginia Theatre
Photo from the Bob McKinley collection
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Locust St
Chatsworth IL
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| Record #20411 |
Opened:
Closed: Yes (date unknown)
Demolished: Yes (date unknown)
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Capacity: 330 seats
Architect(s):
Architectural Style(s):
National Register:
Current Organ: none |
| Also Known As: |
Information for this tour was contributed by Rob Honegger and Bob McKinley. The Virginia Theatre on Locust St. contained 330 seats. It opened in the early 1930s and closed in the late 1970s.
After having been dark for about three years, Dave and Bob McKinley reopened it as a week-end operation in 1969. Both of them had been projectionists there while in high school and rented it on a lark to prove small towns would support their theaters. They opened with the ad slogan "Support your local theater by seeing James Garner staring in Support Your Local Sheriff". The brothers ran it for a year and a half and never lost a dime.
The last owners were the Durantes who moved from Chicago. They were the owners of the Biograph Theater (where Dillinger was shot) prior to moving to Chatsworth. They brought a lot of the memorabilia from the Biograph to Chatsworth and opened an antique shop across from the Virginia Theater where many of the towns people bought some great souvenirs.
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Last featured 1/4/2003. Last edited 10/28/2006.
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