The Apollo Theatre is an American theater in

Belvidere, Illinois Belvidere is a city in and the county seat of Boone County, Illinois, United States. It is settled on the Kishwaukee River in far northern Illinois. Known as the 'City of Murals', Belvidere is home to several public art installations througho ...

, built in 1921. The Apollo is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...

in downtown Belvidere's North State Street Historic District, on the north bank of the

Kishwaukee River The Kishwaukee River, locally known as simply The Kish, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed May 13, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Illinois.. United States Board on ...

. Includes maps, historic photos, and 15 photos from 2011-2012. Photo #15, taken on January 5, 2012, portrays the Apollo Theatre. On March 31, 2023, the Apollo's roof collapsed in the midst of a tornado outbreak, during a concert attended by 260 persons.

History

The Apollo was built and initially managed by the Rhinehart family of Belvidere. The theater was designed to host stage shows and films, featuring a

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

for live musical accompaniment. The Apollo's predecessor was the Derthick Opera House, located on the same site, which was destroyed by fire in 1917. The Apollo opened on January 11, 1922, seating 950. The theater was built in commercial style by local general contractor and stonemason Edward Byron Glass. The theater's decor includes simplistic stone and masonry designs on top of steel frames, with an overall focus on fireproofing. The theater was the subject, and filming location, of Don O. Newland's 1926 film ''Belvidere's Hero''. Air conditioning was added in 1931, and further renovations continued into 1940. A period of decline began in the 1950s. It became an x-rated movie theater in 1971 but became a regular theater three years later, culminating in a major fire in 1975. The building cycled through owners until a long-term closure beginning in the 1980s. The theater reopened as the Apollo Theatre AC

banquet hall A banquet hall, function hall, or reception hall, is a special purpose room, or a building, used for hosting large social and business events. Typically a banquet hall is capable of serving dozens to hundreds of people a meal in a timely fashion. P ...

in 2001, with Belvidere-based insurance agent Maria Martinez leading the effort to reopen the theater. The theater was listed as a

to the

Belvidere North State Street Historic District The Belvidere North State Street Historic District is a historic district on the north side of the Kishwaukee River in Belvidere, Illinois. It is primarily composed of commercial building representative of architectural trends from 1865 to 19 ...

in 2012.

Collapse

On March 31, 2023, the

Storm Prediction Center The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) is a US government agency that is part of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), operating under the control of the National Weather Service (NWS), which in turn is part of the National Oceani ...

issued a high risk for severe weather, including tornadoes and an official

Tornado Watch A tornado watch ( SAME code: TOA) is a statement issued by weather forecasting agencies to advise the public that atmospheric conditions in a given region may lead to the development of tornadoes within (or near) the region over a period of seve ...

was issued at 2:35pm. An official

tornado warning A tornado warning ( SAME code: TOR) is a public warning that is issued by weather forecasting agencies to an area in the direct path of a tornado, or a severe thunderstorm capable of producing one, and advises individuals in that area to take c ...

was subsequently issued at 7:24 p.m. CDT at which point Apollo Theater management halted the scheduled performance and had patrons remain inside the building to wait out the storm. The tornado reportedly struck at 7:44 p.m. CDT, causing the theater's roof and marquee to collapse. The

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

reported "possible tornado damage" to the theater, with winds in the area reaching . An official damage survey revealed that an EF1 tornado had hit the building. Four

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

bands were scheduled to play on the evening of the collapse:

Morbid Angel Morbid Angel is an American death metal band based in Tampa, Florida, formed in 1983 by guitarist, primary composer and sole remaining original member Trey Azagthoth, vocalist and bassist Dallas Ward, and drummer Mike Browning. Widely considere ...

Revocation Revocation is the act of wikt:recall, recall or annulment. It is the cancelling of an act, the recalling of a grant or privilege, or the making void (law), void of some deed previously existing. A temporary revocation of a grant or privilege is c ...

, Skeletal Remains and

Crypta Crypta is a Brazilian death metal band formed in São Paulo in 2019. The band consists of bassist-vocalist Fernanda Lira, drummer Luana Dametto (both former members of thrash metal band Nervosa (band), Nervosa), and guitarist Tainá Bergamaschi. ...

. Approximately 260 people were inside the venue at the time of the collapse, which killed one person and injured 48 others. The theater reopened on September 15, 2023, less than six months after the tornado. At a private event commemorating the structure's restoration, Martinez stated that funding for the project had been primarily from insurance and personal funds, with none coming from disaster relief funds at the state or national level. The theater's first public event following the collapse was a free concert coinciding with

Mexican Independence Day The Cry of Dolores () occurred in Dolores, Mexico, on 16 September 1810, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence. The Cry of Dolores is m ...

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://theapollotheatreac.com/ 1921 establishments in Illinois Theatres completed in 1921 Buildings and structures in Boone County, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Boone County, Illinois Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Belvidere, Illinois Historic district contributing properties in Illinois