The Arcada Theatre in St. Charles, the Des Plaines Theater in Des Plaines and the Catlow Theater in Barrington — three stately, downtown theater buildings that have been the focus of recent community efforts aiming to give them new leases on life.
All three date to the mid-1920s and each is at a different stage in its operation and development, but they share the common bond that people cared enough about their futures to commit the time, energy and dollars to help ensure they will be viable.
Those efforts and others elsewhere are important, because such buildings and their venues are treasures that are part of the very fabric and character that’s critical to making suburban downtowns vibrant places to visit for entertainment and commerce.
They are attractions that create foot traffic and keep money flowing to restaurants and other businesses.
The Catlow bills itself as the “heart of Barrington” and fans raised more than $100,000 in 2012 to fund a needed digital projector. This spring, in response to another cry for help from the theater’s owner, Barrington Cultural Commission members are suggesting events and looking for other ways to improve business at the old single-screen movie house. Among the ideas being floated is a “Sound of Music” singalong over Thanksgiving weekend.
Read the full Daily Herald editorial here.
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