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Normal Theater History
The Normal Theater is a fully restored Art Deco
movie theater in the heart of uptown Normal. Built in 1937, it was a state-of-the-art
cinema built to show sound movies in the best comfortable environment. It originally
opened on November 17, 1937 and has shown the best in film entertainment for more than
70 years.
The Normal Theater closed in May 1990 after being divided into a two-screen theater a few
years earlier. The Town of Normal purchased the theater with the idea of restoring it and
to save it from the fate of other small town theaters that were no longer profitable.
As a result of the community restoration effort, audiences can look with fond memories
upon -- or wonder anew at -- plush coral-colored seats; blue, maroon, salmon and
silver-colored walls; high-modern style aisle lights; and a ceiling of layered, indirect,
multi-colored neon. At the Normal Theater, movie-goers experience classic motion pictures
shown the way they were intended originally.
1937 Premier of "Double Or Nothing"
Old box office price list
In the projection booth
Classic carbon arc projector
Pre-restoration marquee
Lobby restoration in progress
Sell-out crowd for "My Fair Lady"
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The Normal Theater was transformed into a gingerbread delight at the 2009 Festival of Trees. Styled by Gingerbread Engineers, Cheryl Springwood, Kathie O’Gorman, and April Schultz.
Happy Holidays! |