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a Brief History of the lincoln square theatre
Clarence Wait built the Lincoln Square Theatre in 1916.
The architectural firm in charge of the project was Aschauer
and Waggoner of Decatur. When built, the building was
considered one of the finest facilities of its kind. Seating
over 1300, the Lincoln Square Theatre, the “fire-proof”
theatre, hosted plays, musicals, opera, silent film, vaudeville,
early “talkies”, feature films and concerts.
Architects and engineers
have studied the Lincoln and state the spatial relationship
between the auditorium and the stage is excellent. The
acoustics of the building are very favorable for the spoken
word and music. The Lincoln has an intimate feel and is
designed to bring the audience close to the action on
stage. It has been noted by world-renowned experts in
the field of historic theaters that the Lincoln is structurally
sound, is an excellent space for performance and presentation
and is wholly worthy of restoration.
In 1989 a Decatur Leadership
team took on the task of determining the viability of
restoring the Lincoln Square Theatre. It was found that,
while in ill repair, the basic structure of the theater
was sound and very much worth saving. Several studies
were done over the next several years to determine the
economic and social value of restoring the Lincoln.
In 1990 Lincoln Square
Theatre, Inc. was established and the newly formed Board
of Directors went about the task of cleaning up the theater
and raising awareness in the community of the usefulness
and need for keeping this wonderful piece of Decatur’s
history alive and well.
In December of 1995, Edward
Wedelstedt deeded the adjacent property located at 145
N. Main St. which allowed for the future expansion of
the Lincoln Square Theatre.
Since 1995 the Lincoln
Square Theatre has been the recipient of a $75,000 State
of Illinois Grant to replace roofs, a $50,000 grant from
National City Bank to tuck-point the building as well
as several other generous donations from members of the
community.
In August of 2001 the
call came from Julie Curry informing that through the
efforts of Speaker Michael Madigan, the State of Illinois
was providing the Lincoln Square Theatre with a $3.5 million
grant for restoration purposes. Then the horrific events
of September 11th occurred and all grants were put on
hold. Three years later, in August of 2004, the first
check for $1,750,000 arrived from the State of Illinois.
Months were spent meeting with architects and contractors
to determine the best way to use the grant. Finally, in
September of 2005 Phase 1 restoration
began.
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