Wheaton Grand Theatre

This had been a huge Wheaton issue for years. Tax increase? No! TIF funds? No! It looks like Mr. James T. Atten purchased the property in 2012 and will look to restore in through the «Miracle on Hale Street» fundraiser (which is a raffle that started May11 2013 and runs through August 9^th). I’ve even updated the website for this historic property. Here is some brief information, according to their website:
«The historic Wheaton Grand Theatre opened in 1925 originally hosting live drama, silent films, and vaudeville performances and seating 1000 patrons. The venue was also known as the Paramount Theatre and The Wheaton Theatre at various times throughout its history. Beginning in the late 1990s, it was used for second-​run movies, and as a small concert hall for rock and roll bands.
The theater was donated to the not-​for-​profit Grand Theater Corporation in October of 2001. and in the fall of 2005, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 2006 the site was closed for a hoped-​for full renovation of the property, but unfortunately the project had many ups and downs.
In 2010 a production of the Jersey Boys raised some funds for the theater project. In spite of this success however, on July 10, 2010 the owners surrendered the property to its mortgage holder, Suburban Bank & Trust of Elmhurst. The building has since been vacant and fallen into disrepair (I CAN DEFINITELY TELL YOU THAT THE BUILDING HAS BEEN AN EYESORE FOR YEARS)
On November 30, 2012, local property owner and friend of the „Junto,“ Jim Atten, purchased the building. Since then Atten has been quite busy readying the property for the eventual theater build-​out by leading the effort to remove temporary structures within the theater and tackling trouble spots like the roof, the basement, and other remediation activities. He has also been working closely with an architect and the city staff as the effort progresses»
In my Unilocalanese (haha) I call it historic because the only time I was ever here was to see the movie «Babe» while I was in elementary school. Wow!
It looks like they’ve done a great job. This building was abandoned for ever, but finally someone purchased it and started renovating. As of 2013, it looks great. It is supposed to be a «performing arts and movie theater» which should be interesting. There will be live performances and concerts as well. July 2014 is the «Grand RE-​Opening». I might have to stop by…