 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Founded |
|
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 16 theaters with 141 screens |
| Parent | Tivoli Enterprises |
| Website | www |
Classic Cinemas is the largest Illinois based movie theatre chain. Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, it operates 16 locations with 141 screens in Illinois and Wisconsin under Tivoli Enterprises ownership. [1] Its first theatre and company namesake is the restored Tivoli Theatre, in Downers Grove, Illinois.
Classic Cinemas was founded in 1978 by Willis and Shirley Johnson, when after the previous operators of the Tivoli Theater, located in the Tivoli building owned by the Johnsons abandoned the theater, they decided to step in and run the theater themselves after they were unable to find another operator. [2] Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the company continued to grow by purchasing historical single screen downtown theaters, restoring and adding additional screens to the complexes. [3] Classic Cinemas was awarded the Landmarks Illinois Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Preservation Award for “Stewardship” in 2011. [4]
During a period in the 1980s when some major films were released with 70mm prints for select theatres, Classic Cinemas (then under the Tivoli Enterprises name) featured these wide-gauge prints at their flagship Tivoli Theatre for bargain prices once they had ended their first-run engagements. This might be the only example of a "sub run" theatre showing films in that format.
Classic Cinemas finished its technology overhaul in 2012 installing Christie CP4230 projectors, GDC SX2000AR servers, and Datasat AP-20 audio processors. Now all screens have 4K, High Frame Rate (HFR), personal captioning devices, descriptive narration, and hearing impaired systems. They are also installing micro-perforated screens for the ultimate picture quality. All theatres and auditoriums are equipped 7.1 sound. The chain has also introduced XQ, a Premium large format along with installing power recliners at every location.
DuPage County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat is Wheaton.
Elgin is a city in Cook and Kane counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located 35 mi (56 km) northwest of Chicago along the Fox River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 114,797, making it the sixth-most populous city in the state.
Downers Grove is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1832 by Pierce Downer, whose surname serves as the eponym for the village. Per the 2020 census, the population of the village was 50,247. It is a south-western suburb of Chicago located between I-88 and I-55.
Carpentersville is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 37,983 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
Area codes 630 and 331 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for portions of Chicago's near and far western suburbs, including the majority of DuPage County, Illinois. To the northwest, the numbering plan area (NPA) also includes a small portion of Cook County, including parts of Schaumburg, Streamwood and Hanover Park. To the west, Kane County is divided between area codes 847 and 224 in the north, including Elgin, and area codes 630 and 331 in the south, including Aurora. To the south, the northern part of Will County and a small part of southern Cook County, including the village of Burr Ridge and parts of the village of Lemont, are also included in the 630 and 331 area codes. To the southwest, the city of Yorkville, in exurban Kendall County, is included, as well.
Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain founded in 1974 in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent and foreign films. Landmark consists of 34 theatres with 176 screens in 24 markets. It is known for both its historic and newer, more modern theatres. Helmed by its President, Kevin Holloway, Landmark Theatres is part of Cohen Media Group.
The Illinois Technology and Research Corridor is a region of commerce and industry located along Interstate 88 in the Chicago metropolitan area, primarily in Cook, DuPage, Kane, and DeKalb Counties. The corridor is home to the headquarters or regional centers for many Fortune 1000 companies, several office and industrial parks, colleges and universities, research and scientific institutions, medical centers, government centers, and abundant shopping, dining, lodging, and entertainment amenities. In addition to the I-90 Golden Corridor, the I-94 Lakeshore Corridor, and the I-55 Industrial Corridor, the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor is one of the principal economic centers in suburban Chicago.
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Area codes 815 and 779 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for most of northern Illinois outside the Quad Cities areas. It also serves the Joliet area and some of Chicago’s western and northwestern suburbs. 815 was one of the four original Illinois area codes set up in 1947. Area code 779 was assigned to the same numbering plan area in 2009 to form an overlay.
The Tivoli Theatre is a movie theater built in 1928 and is located at 5021 Highland Ave, Downers Grove, Illinois. The theatre was designed by Van Gurten and Van Gurten architects, and has 1,012 seats. First opened on Christmas Day, 1928, this theatre was the second in the US to open with sound movies. Since its opening the theatre has been meticulously remodeled to resemble a "French Renaissance-style" theatre. The Tivoli is a rare large one-screen theatre. Most of these older theatres have been "cut up" in order to offer more screens, but the Tivoli is still intact. The building also includes a residential hotel, a bowling alley, and some other store fronts. Owned by Classic Cinemas since 1976, the theatre has an old look but new equipment.
The Five Points Theatre, formerly known as Sun-Ray Cinema, Riverside Theater and 5 Points Theatre, is a historic two-screen movie theater in Jacksonville, Florida. The first theater in Florida equipped to show talking pictures, it opened in March 1927 in the Five Points district of the Riverside and Avondale neighborhood. In January 2025 the theatre will be reopened as a music venue called FIVE.
The Downers Grove train wreck happened on April 3, 1947, at the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad station in Downers Grove, Illinois. The Twin Cities Zephyr, a high-speed inter-city passenger train, struck a tractor that had fallen from a freight train only seconds before. Three died and over thirty were injured in the wreck.
Suburban Life Media is a Downers Grove, Illinois-based publisher of 20 weekly newspapers in Chicago's western and northern suburbs. Formerly known as Suburban Life Publications, it was purchased from GateHouse Media and renamed by current owner Shaw Media in October 2012.
Wintrust is a financial holding company in the United States that operates 15 chartered community banks in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Wintrust is a relatively medium-sized banking institution in the United States and it trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market with stock symbol WTFC. Wintrust is the second largest banking company in Chicago.
