Normal Theater | |
| Location | 209 North St., Normal, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°30′44″N 88°59′19″W / 40.51222°N 88.98861°W |
| Built | 1937 |
| Architectural style | Moderne[1] |
| NRHP reference No. | 97000818[1] |
| Added to NRHP | July 25, 1997[1] |
Normal Theater is an Art Moderne style movie house which opened for business on November 19th, 1937. It is located in downtown Normal, Illinois. Created originally to play moves of sound on par with that of other movie theaters of that time, it was the first standalone commercial movie theater in Normal. The theater continued operation until 1990 it closed for a short period of time, before opening again in 1993 after being purchase and renovated by the Town of Normal. Currently it is used as a theater showing classical, independent, and foreign films as well as a lecture hall.
History
editNormal Theater was built by Sylvan and Ruth Kupfer. Sylvan Kupfer, was a local attorney who graduated from Bloomington's Illinois Wesleyan University. Sylvan's father had opened another movie house in Bloomington in 1906. After Sylvan obtain $100,000 build the theater, he followed in is fathers footsteps. The architect, Arthur F. Moratz, had worked on several other projects in the central Illinois area. The Normal Theater was opened for operation on Friday, November 19th, 1937. The first movie to be shown was Double or Nothing, a musical that stared Bing Crosby and Martha Raye. The theater was leased to Publix Great States Theaters, which was a regional chain that ran two other popular Theaters in Bloomington. To avoid competition and offer a wider array of movies, Publix Great States used the Normal theater to show other varieties of films such as musicals and westerns, rather than large budgeted new releases. In 1997 the Normal Theater was added to the National Register of Historical Places. [2]