Chatterton Opera House

Date: 1910

Address: 106-114 E. Market Street

Architect: George Miller

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

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

Interesting Fact:
The Chatterton Opera House opened in 1910, with a VIP performance of the traveling musical "Madame Sherry," a retelling of the Merry Widow story.