“The doyenne of Oak Park has gotten a facelift,” a recent media release proclaimed. Clearly, we’re not talking about a reality-show makeover here, nor the Botox boost of an aging movie star. This being our Construction & Design edition, Film Journal International is instead reporting about the latest and most beautiful refurbishment of an Art Deco cinema delight. “She was getting a little tired,” Willis Johnson, founder and president of Classic Cinemas, said about the 1936 Lake Theatre in Illinois. “We decided it was time she was refreshed, with the comfort of our patrons at top of mind.”

Founded in 1978, the Downers Grove, Illinois-based family-owned circuit incorporated as Tivoli Enterprises and, today, still operates out of the 1928 Tivoli Theatre there. In June 1978, “our cinema tenant put ‘Closed for Remodeling’ on the marquee,” Johnson recounts, “but we knew he was gone.” As interest was scarce and consisted of “someone we did not want to lease to,” things forever changed when the Tivoli’s manager under the previous operator walked in. “He offered to run the theatre but did not want to do the business side of it. My wife Shirley and I found that would work, as we really didn’t know anything about the theatre side but were well-versed in general business aspects.”

After some initial “adjustments requested by the village,” the Johnsons reopened the theatre in August 1978, operating as a dollar house. Nowadays, the 1,012-seat Tivoli, with its five sets of double doors leading to one French Renaissance-style auditorium (“That always amazes people used to multiplexes…”), stage and pipe organ is an intermediate-run house. “It was very satisfying, as we both loved the movies,” Willis notes, explaining why they stayed with the exhibition business. “We learned something new and were part of show business. We were having fun.” More important, perhaps, “after about eight months, we were in the black… The rest, as they say, is history,” he enthuses.
With lots of history and equally historic theatres along the way, Willis and Shirley with their younger son Chris now head up 13 theatres with 97 screens—17 of which are digital 3D—throughout suburban Chicago and northern Illinois. The Johnsons are also dedicated members of the Theatre Historical Society of America, which is housed on the second floor of their 1924-single to 2006-nine-screen York Theatre in Elmhurst. Of their many exciting projects, honorable preservation deeds and memorable makeovers, FJI selected the Lake Theatre as exemplary of the Classic Cinemas touch.

After all, the Lake is not only located in the Chicago suburb where Frank Lloyd Wright had his home and studio, but was also designed by master theatre builder Thomas Lamb as “one of the very few he did in the Chicago area,” Johnson attests. “And he built even fewer in the Art Deco style. So there’s significant history.”

When the theatre was leased as the third in the Johnsons’ growing chain in 1981, it had one large auditorium that seated 1,420 on one sloped floor, without a balcony. “The Lake appealed to us,” Johnson reminisces about striking a deal with Bob Taylor, who had several area theatre leases for sale. Three years later, when Classic Cinemas purchased the movie house from the Silverman family in Chicago (Essaness Theatres), Willis and Shirley divided the main attraction into three auditoria. “It gave us a lot more flexibility,” Johnson says. Following up with major replacements and upgrades to the infrastructure—from air conditioning, which was “supposedly coming out of the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair,” and boiler to the roof—Johnson recalls, “When we started to improve things, people took note.”

“As opportunities presented themselves and we became more successful at the Lake,” the Johnsons converted two retail shops into a fourth screen. “We were still running a bargain policy in the first three, with the new one taking on an art-house format at a different price structure.” Ultimately taking over an adjoining building, the Lake added three more screens throughout the 1990s. “Because we are downtown and didn’t want a blank space facing the street, we also added a retail front, which turned out to become a restaurant. By that time, with the way clearances had gone, we were all first-run.” And first-class, one might add.

Throughout the entire Lake Theatre expansion, the Johnsons have remained true to the architectural roots of the movie house. “While a lot had been painted over and some other things had taken place, it was amazing how much of the original theatre was still there. Because of our relationship with the Theatre Historical Society, we had original pictures…and working with a great designer for 24 years, the late Joe DuciBella, we were able to put the theatre back to a large part the way it had been,” Johnson proudly attests. “And we’ve just constantly improved it from there, all the while staying with the Art Deco theme, even in the new auditoria. We also used the Lake to preserve some artifacts from other theatres that were appropriate for the theatre.”

“Working with Classic Cinemas is a pleasure,” observes Joe Greco of Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Paradigm Design architects and civil engineers. “Willis and Shirley both have a great sense of history and a love of architecture that rivals that of any architect I know. It was clear from our first meeting that this was going to be a rare opportunity and a wonderful collaboration.”

About the Lake Theatre project, Greco says, “Much of the original plasterwork, floor tile, light fixtures and leather wall coverings have all been preserved. Our challenge was to create a design that would replace many of the worn-out finishes while preserving the Art Deco flavor.” Luckily, the Johnsons “had managed to save remnants of the original carpet and wall coverings, as well as photos and drawings from 1936. With these resources, we were able to blend modern finishes into a vintage design that allows patrons to experience the beautiful Lake Theatre as it was meant to be.”



The original plaster work in the main lobby received a subtle yet fresh change of color, as the previously blue walls now fully harmonize with the striking new carpeting design of blue, orange and red. The vinyl wall coverings are in color and pattern similar to those in the vintage black-and-white photos mentioned by Greco. The entire look and feel of the lobby are carried throughout the theatre additions as well.

Some of that olden charm, however, gave way elsewhere to “a restroom environment that’s light, bright and clean,” and that, Johnson feels, “especially the ladies” appreciate. Pedestal sinks and china fixtures were replaced throughout by solid surface cast vanities with integrated basins and automatic faucets. Without sacrificing the arty decorative look, new mirrors and light sconces were added alongside a silver “sizzle strip” that accentuates the “stunning” pattern of the wall coverings.

Inside the auditoria as well, wall treatments are now refreshed, “with new fabric draping and ribbed carpeting applied to the walls to enhance both wear and sound quality.” Although the most recent refurbishment in 1996 had included “the Cadillac of seats at the time,” the Marquee from Irwin Seating, all 1,700 chairs—in auditoria capacities ranging from 140 to 600—were now replaced with brown faux-leather Greystone high-backs and retractable cupholder arm rests. “We sacrificed some capacity for comfort,” Johnson says of the extra legroom. “They are so comfortable you could sit for a whole day in them and not fidget or have a sore back.” In their Lindo, York and Elk Grove theatres, patrons “have been raving” about the Greystone seats for several years, he notes.

During the same time frame, if not longer, Willis Johnson has been eyeing the lower lounge of the Lake. “From a personal standpoint,” bringing the dramatic Deco carpet back was his favorite accomplishment. “That circular room featured a single pattern of 22 feet in diameter. When we first came, there was linoleum on that floor. But we had a picture and one of our goals was to someday put that carpet back. Candidly, I don’t think in the early years we ever figured we’d make it. It just seemed so complicated to make such a large round rug.” During this last renovation, however, “our rep from Milliken Carpets said, ‘You know what, we can do that.’ And they did. We couldn’t be more pleased with how it came out.” The end result is concentric circles in the same three-color palette found throughout the rest of the building. “That was a really big deal for us, the pièce de résistance, if you will. Something that we never expected, but it is back!”

Although the Lake Theatre was never truly gone, our readers will surely agree with Willis Johnson that it is here to stay. “There’s always the talk that the movie business is going away—and, of course, we’ve gone through that several times—but people still like to get out. They still like the group experience, the big screen, and the involvement with other people that they do not know. I feel good about our industry.”

The author thanks Cassie Ferris, Mark Mazrimas and the team at Falk PR.

“Restoring a historic theatre is a delicate blend of understanding the past and merging it with modern materials and systems.”
—Joe Greco, Principal, Paradigm Design

“With every expansion that the Johnsons have done with their theatres, they do a great job of keeping the ambiance of the original theatre. If I took you on a tour, you would have a difficult time maybe knowing at which point did a wall get knocked out. The way they do it is that it still looks part of the theatre… Our guests end up loving what is done and it ends up a win-win situation.”
—Mark Mazrimas, Marketing Manager, Classic Cinemas