Senate Theater

509 E. Monroe Street,
Springfield, IL 62701

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Kerasotes Theatres

Architects: Cletis R. Foley, Carl T. Meyer

Previous Names: Gaiety Theater

Nearby Theaters

SENATE Theatre; Springfield, Illinois, after 1940s remodeling.

Opened in 1909 as the Gaiety Theater. It was located on E. Monroe Street near S. 5th Street. It was renamed Senate Theater in 1929 and had 920 seats. It was remodeled in 1947 to the plans of architect Cletis R. Foley. It was twinned in 1978 and continued to operate until 1983 when it was closed and demolished.

Housing has been built on the site.

Contributed by Bryan Krefft

Recent comments (view all 15 comments)

rivest266
rivest266 on July 27, 2015 at 6:09 pm

May 11th, 1929 in photo section.

rivest266
rivest266 on July 28, 2015 at 5:32 pm

1939, 1966 and October 27th, 1978 (2 screens) ads also uploaded.

Scott
Scott on July 29, 2015 at 6:22 pm

I remember when this theatre burned down. But can’t recall for sure if it had already closed. Seems like it was still operating when it caught fire.

robboehm
robboehm on March 15, 2016 at 1:08 am

Uploaded a vintage exterior photo.

dallasmovietheaters
dallasmovietheaters on August 19, 2016 at 9:34 am

Architect Carl T. Meyer updated the Senate in 1939 for Kerasotes Circuit. Before and after shots in photos

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on August 25, 2017 at 5:25 pm

February 2017 article with a 1981 photo of the Senate.

http://illinoistimes.com/article-18328-dodge-bashing-downtown.html

Golffanatc
Golffanatc on September 5, 2019 at 7:24 pm

Another photo from the Sangamon Valley collection in 1948 featuring “The Babe Ruth Story” is available here:

https://lincpubl.ent.sirsi.net/client/en_US/public/index.assetbox.assetactionicon_0.view/1000213?rm=ARCHITECTURE+-1%7C%7C%7C1%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7Ctrue

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on September 5, 2019 at 11:45 pm

Golffanatc, your photo has been added crediting Sangamon Valley Archives.

Trolleyguy
Trolleyguy on August 3, 2022 at 3:39 pm

1968 exterior view uploaded to photos

Trolleyguy
Trolleyguy on October 16, 2022 at 4:58 pm

Uploaded demolition photo from 1983

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