Avon Theater

dallasmovietheaters on July 11, 2026 at 7:40 am

The Szold Family created the Southside business district of Peoria, Illinois in 1880 from corn fields to Szold’s & Son first retail store operated first by Joseph and son, Jacob followed by Jacob and son, Adolph - a commercial legacy of over 100 years. But Adolph liked movie theaters co-creating the Garden Theatre under the Apex Theatre Co. nameplate in 1913. The competing Imperial Theatre here was its contemporary and the Gem about a mile south were the silent Southside movie houses of Peoria.

In 1927, Szold purchased the Imperial and the Gem to rid the area of competition. And it was the Garden that transitioned to sound. Both the Imperial and the Gem scuffled during the Depression. But conditions improved in the latter part of the decade an Szold concentrated on updating the Imperial building with a major upgrade in 1937 to the plans of architects Lankton & Ziegele. It included a colorful foyer and unconventional lobby, Simplex projectors with Peerless lamps, and a name change to the Avon Theatre on May 6, 1937 with Clark Gable in “Call of the Wild.” Despite having a concession stand, some preferred Eto Monterastelli’s Roxy’s Sweet Shop or the Szold’s Department Store for the sneak-in snack variety.

Adolph W. Szold then became Peoria’s drive-in theatre champ creating both the Peoria Drive-In and the Bellevue Drive-In, the latter of which was so successful that it was expanded in size. But television was not the South Side’s movie friend. The Szold’s retail store across the street continued but he closed the Avon Theatre on April 15, 1956 with “Secret Venture” and “Sabuka.” The venue was turned into a house of worship in the 1960s as the Peoria Revival Center.

It then became The Circus in the 1970s, a nightclub that did have a few animated film matinees indicating that the projection capability was still there. As was its near foray into porno chic when the lightning rod of adult film exhibition, the Del-Van got approval to move to the location in 1986 only to be denied a permit to operate months later in a case decided by the Illinois Supreme Court.

The Avon became a short-lived, independent home video store, Avon Unlimited Video - a nod to its theatrical past. When Avon Unlimited closed, the building was offered at a “give away price" in 1985. The Szold’s store closed in 1987 after more than 106 years leaving the Jefferson/Adams/Western/Garden Southside commercial district as a greyfield area. The Avon Theatre building was demolished clearly to remove it from the tax rosters with the lot’s taxing valuation basis dropping significantly and - now - valued at just over $3,000 as a vacant lot in the 2020s.

DavidZornig on July 13, 2016 at 8:14 pm

Circa 1935 photo added, photo credit Peoria Public Library.

Silicon Sam on September 22, 2010 at 8:54 am

Address and ZIP need to be changed to:

2204 SW. Adams Street, Peoria, IL 61602 United States

TLSLOEWS on February 17, 2010 at 4:28 pm

But will it play in Peoria?

Patsy on February 15, 2010 at 10:48 pm

Such a shame to see this theatre in such a state of neglect now!

JeffCarlson on January 21, 2010 at 8:18 pm

Here’s a vintage shot of the Avon:

View link

I recently took a photo of the building in it’s current state and will be posting it here soon.

Ken Roe on December 29, 2006 at 4:53 am

The Imperial Theater opened in 1914 and closed in the early 1930’s. It had a stage house to accomodate vaudeville acts in the early days.

It was re-modeled and re-opened in 1937 as the Avon Theater which closed on April 18 1956. The seating capacity given in 1950 edition of Film Daily Yearbook is 850.