The DuPage Theatre and DuPage Shoppes, nicknamed "The Duper", was an historic movie theater in Lombard,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

History

The 800 capacity theater was designed by R. G. Wolff, who formerly worked for

Rapp and Rapp C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in Chicago, the office designed over 400 theatres, inclu ...

. Wolff was a consultant for the

Chicago Theatre The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban a ...

and responsible for the design of several others (including the Patio Theater on the northwest side of Chicago). The theater was named after the county in an effort to bring out-of-town customers to the shows. Built in 1927, The DuPage was a Spanish Patio style theater (like the Uptown), that also incorporated commercial and residential aspects in its buildings. The theater was originally a single screen but in its last years divided up into 2 screens playing $1 movies. As a small town, the six shops incorporated into the theater comprised a large portion of the village's commerce at the time. The shops and theater also benefited from their proximity to the

Chicago and North Western Railway The Chicago and North Western was a Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of track in seven states befor ...

. The DuPage Theatre and DuPage Shoppes were added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1987. In 1990, Paul Anderson, and Fatal Beauty Studios (a local recording studio) attempted to open the theatre as a concert hall, but the Village Board turned them down. In the interim, the theatre lay vacant until 2000, when the property was purchased by Big Idea Productions, Inc., a producer of children's videos. The company planned to renovate the theater and use the other space for their corporate headquarters. They pulled out after determining that the site would not be large enough for their plans, and returned the theater to village ownership. Lombard appointed several committees to oversee the feasibility to rehabilitate the theater. Their efforts were ultimately fruitless, and in May 2007, the DuPage Theatre and DuPage Shoppes were demolished. They were removed from the National Register in 2020. The land where the building stood remained vacant until 2021, when ground was broken for new luxury apartments.

References

* {{cite web , url=http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/PDFs/200924.pdf , title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: DuPage Theatre and DuPage Shoppes , url-status=dead , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306013943/http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/PDFs/200924.pdf , archive-date=2016-03-06 Buildings and structures in Lombard, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in DuPage County, Illinois Theatres completed in 1928 Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois 1928 establishments in Illinois Former National Register of Historic Places in Illinois