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Des Plaines Theater May Get Second Chance
posted by
btkrefft
on
November 13, 2003 at 2:05 pm
DES PLAINES, IL — According to a story in today’s Daily Herald, the 77-year old Des Plaines Theater has been bought by a former manager of the theater. The theater’s previous owner, a local bank, had planned on razing most or all of the former vaudeville house.
Dhitu Bhagwakar managed the Des Plaines from 2000 until this past spring when it was closed. He intends to have movies playing there once again by the end of November. As before, Bhagwakar plans to screen a mix of Indian and commercial Hollywood movies. Des Plaines' mayor, Tony Arredia is skeptical of the Des Plaines' reopening. “Showing movies didn’t work before. I don’t know what’s going to make that work now.”
However, members of the Des Plaines Theater Preservation Society are thrilled with Bhagwakar’s purchase of the theater and still intend on holding fundraisers to realize their dream of turning the theater into a performing arts center and having it listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Said Society member Dan Dix, “We need to get the theater back—we have no entertainment venue in downtown Des Plaines”.
