Clintonia Theatre

cborgeson on November 5, 2012 at 10:49 am

I own an architect’s drawing of the facade of this theater. The initials in the corner are AJC. Thanks to all who have posted, especially the photo of the ladies in front of the facade, I think you can really see that it is the same theater as my drawing. I will try to upload a photo of my drawing (if I can figure out how).

kencmcintyre on January 18, 2007 at 3:52 pm

Demolition began in March 1990.

Twistr54 on October 22, 2006 at 1:58 pm

Taken from the book:
CLINTON 1835-1985
De Witt County Illinois

RENNICK’S OPERA HOUSE

Henry Rennick, for a number of years, had promised that someday he would surprise Clinton. On Sept. 6, 1894 he did just that with the opening of his Rennick’s Opera House on the town square. Henry was born at Farnascullogne, near Lisnaskea, County Farmanaugh, Northern Ireland on Nov.27, 1842, came to America at age 6 and fought in the Civil War when he was 20. In 1862 Henry came to Clinton as a partner of “ Sackett & Rennick” grocery store.
Sometime in the 1870’s Henry bought DeWitt Hall- the only place in Clinton suitable for public gatherings. His plan for an Opera House was to honor his wife who loved the theatre and opera.
In 1893 Henry removed the front of DeWitt Hall, added another floor and lengthened the entire structure to the rear street. Red sandstone was laid up to enhance the front facade with a stone at the top which reads “Renneck Opera House.”
A wide front entry stairway was installed to the second floor vestibule. The Opera House could be entered by either of two doors. The main floor sloped to the stage providing a good view for every seat, including those in the gallery. From the parquet floor to the ceiling it was thirty-five feet with a done for ventilation in the center which was fitted on the interior circle with incandescent lamps. Some two hundred electric lamps graced the interior of the house proper-quite a spectacular sight for Clinton in 1894. There were high windows on the exterior walls which could be opened from the top to allow for cool air.
The stage measured 42x24 feet with an 18x24 foot proscenium and was fitted with the latest in elegant scenery. Dressing rooms, with rear door exits, were located in back of the stage. The hall was acoustically treated.
The house would seat 700 people in comfortable opera chairs. They could relax in the splendor of its handsomely done interior as decorated by Mr. Lowery, a Farmer City boy who made his mark as an artistic decorator of public buildings and private homes in Chicago.
Carpentry work was done be Esban and Fred Edberton, plastering by Charles Sloat, painting be William Kohm and electrical work by Lute Davis. Fitting up the stage was under supervision of the Opera House manager, Mr. Arthurs.
Before it wa completed, the project was to cost Henry Rennick upwards of $14,000, a great sum of for that time.
The audience was on dress parade for the most fashionable night of the season. Ladies were without hats and in their finest gowns, men displayed broad expanses of white shirt bosoms and low cut vests. Diamonds sparkled on male shirt fronts and at the throats of the ladies. And so began the era of Rennick’s Opera House of Clinton, Illinois.
For years Clinton’s residents thrilled to the plays and programs that echoed on and on within the walls of Henry’s dream come true. Stories are still told of the once exciting plays, city programs, and school graduations held there.
Grand Opening night was celebrated by presentation of the fashionable comedy, “The Charity Ball” under the management of Bew York’s well known dramatic managers, the Frohman Company. There was not a large audience for the opening which was attributed to wet weather and the high $2.00 price of admission.
However the play was a success, of high literary merit and artistically represented-a tribute to the new opera house and Mr. Rennick and Manager Arthur.
In later years the vestibule was to be converted to office rooms. The opers house is now an empty shell-stripped of its beauty-to the bare walls. Henry Rennick’s great grandnephew, Charles Rennick, visited here in 19 to reminisce of the glamour and happiness created be Henry’s “surprise to Clinton.”

Submitted to the book by Charles L. Rennick, the Rennick Family Historian and Genealogist Bremerton, Washington and Palm desert, California.

Book published in 1985

• There is no mention of the Kaye Theatre in my book, but I do have a news paper from 1946 that has movie ads for both the Clintonia and Kaye Theatres, I will post here soon.

JimCalvin on October 20, 2006 at 5:24 pm

Great post, Twistr54. Thanks. Didn’t know Jense Nelson was the original manager for Mr McCullom. I did know he was the owner in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Does that book say anything about the Kaye Theater in Clinton? It was a much smaller movie house about a half block from the Clintonia. There was also an “opera house” in Clinton – the building is still in use in the business district.

Here is that picture from the Pantagraph Newspaper showing the Clintonia marquee just before it was demolished. This is a great shot because everyone who went to the Clintonia as a kid will remember these ladies. I especially remember the one who worked the snack bar. :P

The caption under the picture is:

Former employees of Clintonia Theater stand before marquee of soon to be demolished building. Left: Rose Houchin, cashier and office worker, right: Opel Skeens, snack bar worker. March 1989

• Photo by Steve Smedley, Bloomington Pantagraph

buraglio on July 25, 2006 at 5:30 pm

I would very much like a picture of the Clintonia. At the very least there should be one here. I can possibly dig one up at my parents house next time I come dorn to Clinton if you can’t find one.

JimCalvin on June 30, 2006 at 8:30 pm

Hi to Nick. I, too, grew up watching movies at the Clintonia. I have many memories there including live community theater shows and the Kiwanis Club’s weekly “Travelogue” series back in the 60’s. I even served as projectionist for one of those. Nick is correct that the Lorraine Theater in Hoopston, Il was a sister theater to the Clintonia. They were both built by A.B. McCollum. My mother and father grew up in Hoopston and knew the McCollum family. The McCulloms were family friends of my mother’s family. My grandfather’s Ford dealership was located next door to the Lorraine and Mr. McCullom bought his Lincolns from my grandfather. Incidentally, according to my mother, Betty Calvin, the Lorraine was named after the McCollums' daughter and she thinks the Clintonia, built after the Lorraine, was planned to be named after their second daughter originally. Nick is also right about the fate of the Clintonia. On March 29, 1989, according to the Clinton newspaper, the west side wall of the theater caved in just minutes before show time and, thankfully before any movie-goers had entered the auditorium. I spoke with one of the editors at the Clinton Daily Journal newspaper and he remembers the city gave the owner a few months to try to rebuild the side wall, but he was unable to. I saw the Clintonia a few days after it caved in and the whole west wall and roof from just in front of the balcony up to just in front of the stage and screen was laying on the auditorium floor. It was a sad sight.

I remember the decor being in the art deco/art modern style with curving staircases on either side of the lobby going to the second floor balcony lobby, which was larger than the main lobby. The balcony lobby had murals with scantily clad women and the access to the balcony was what I have heard called Grand Stand seating – you went through a hallway or tunnel to the base of the balcony. The main level of the auditorium was not like that. Looking at the Lorraine Theater interior photos on their website, there are definite similarities in design. The entry doors and box office to the Lorraine look nearly identical to the Clintonia’s. Also, there was an “outer” lobby or foyer that you passed through from the front doors to a second set of doors into the lobby. The interior photo of the Lorraine lobby looking outward on their website looks almost identical to the Clintonia. There are similarities to the auditorium decor to the Lorraine, also. When I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s the colors in the Clintonia were obviously faded or dirty looking – kind of grey. But it was definitely art deco/art modern. I remember the men’s restroom on the first level had the only black toilets and sinks I have ever seen – kind of creeped me out as a kid. Like the Lorraine it had a functional stage with a flyaway for multiple backdrops and the screen and huge RCA sectoral horn and bass horn speaker could be raised for live performances. I was involved in community theater there and we once used the pulley and counterweight for the speaker for a very large set of a ocean liner deck for “Anything Goes” to raise and lower it. During one performance the cable came off the pulley and I remember the director, a local Presbeterian pastor, and one of my high school friends climbing up on the catwalks to get it back on the pully. The dressing rooms were in the basement under the stage area. I still have a recording of one of my friends (David Moss, now an attorney in Clinton) singing “You are Sixteen Going on Seventeen” from our live production of “The Sound of Music” recorded in the Clintonia. I remember the acoustics of the auditorium were quite good â€" good for live performances.

The Lorraine and Clintonia had a loose connection even after the McCulloms sold them. The Clintonia was owned and operated by Jense Nelson and the Lorraine was owned and operated by his brother Art Nelson. After Jense Nelson, Merle Waggoner owned the Clintonia for about 20 years. I don’t know the name of the last owner.

I have a picture of the front of the Clintonia with a great shot of the marquee and two ladies who worked at the Clintonia for years in the box office and the concession stand. It is from the Bloomington Pantagraph newspaper and I will send it or post it somewhere. I am also working on getting other photos of the theater, if I can find them. The Clinton library had only the one from the Pantagraph. Also, there was at least one, possibly two, other movie theaters in Clinton. One was called the Kaye. I don’t remember it ever being open during my childhood, but my mother says she attended shows there in the early 50’s. It was half a block from the Clintonia but was much smaller. I remember when they tore it down for a carwash. The stage and most of the auditorium was demolished first and left in that state for quite a while before the lobby and balcony and projection booth were demolished. I think that was about 8th grade for me – 1967, and I remember wandering around in the rubble of the auditorium. I was fascinated with old theaters even back then.

buraglio on December 13, 2005 at 5:02 am

This theater, where I saw almost every film of my childhood, had a serious structural problem around 1989. If I recall correctly the west wall partially caved in and it was demolished shortly thereafter. It was a sad day when it came down.