Chatterton Opera House
Date: 1910
Address: 106-114 E. Market Street
Architect: George Miller
Architectural Description:
Brief History:
Address: 106-114 E. Market Street
Architect: George Miller
Architectural Description:
- Three story brick, Neo-Classic style building, ornamented in limestone slabs and rusticated brick molding
- 4 pilasters in the Ionic order span the second and third stories, framed by two other pilasters with simplistic capitals of stacked brick
- Windows of second and third floor are ornamented by limestone sills
- The original cornice of the Chatterton featured stone lions gripping chains in their mouths to support and awning; a symbol that defined the structure, and was supported by a projected shelf and corbelling
- First floor design for State Farm occupancy in the early 1950s
Brief History:
- 1910 - Replaced the Grand Opera House, that had burned the year before, under the ownership of George W. Chatterton, a Central Illinois theater developer
- Stars such as Ed Wynn, Ethel Barrymore, Mae West and Lillian Russell preformed at the opera house
- 1924 - Name changed to the Illini Theatre
- 1933 - Theater was closed due to the growing popularity of motion pictures
- 1946 - Theater was briefly reopened for the Community Players, a local, volunteer theater company, to use as a rehearsal space
- 1953-1958 - Served as the home for State Farm Fire and Casualty
- 1959-1974 - Home to Biddle Advertising
- 1982 - Became the MARC Center
- Present - LAUGH Comedy Club owned by Bau Tcheng
