Every week we publish a historic photo highlighting a story from Naperville’s past from the history archives of Naper Settlement.
These days, going to a movie — or going to the show, as some of us still say — is quite different from days gone by.
Decades ago, there were no sprawling movie theater complexes with a dozen screens. No half-gallon sizes of Coke or popcorn tubs large enough to give an elephant a full belly. No rumbling sound coming from multiple speakers or ads selling you everything from new cars to why you should see a movie in a theater rather than at home.
It was one screen in one building and, in its heyday, you could see a double-feature — two movies for the price of one — in addition to a newsreel, a cartoon and maybe a Three Stooges short.
Like every little town in America, Naperville once had its own movie theater in the heart of downtown. The Naper was located at 34 W. Jefferson Ave., which is now occupied by the Naperville Running Company.
It was originally built in 1916 as part of a temple for the Masons, who used the second floor for their meetings and rented out the first floor for what was then known as the Grand Theatre. You can still Masonic symbols carved in the masonry facing Jefferson Avenue.
In those days, movies were silent and a piano or organ would accompany whatever was on the screen, from westerns and romances to comedies and historical dramas.
Like every other theater in the country, the Great Depression coupled with “blue laws” that banned stores and theaters from being open on Sunday took a toll on ticket sales. The Grand Theatre closed in 1931.
The Masons decided to level the theater’s pitched floor to make the space more palatable for other tenants. A furniture store took occupancy for a while, followed by a department store.
By 1935, as the nation began to pull itself out of the economic collapse, plans were made to reopen the space for a new movie house. The Naper opened for business on Aug. 14, 1935, as part of the Anderson Theatre Circuit, with theaters in Morris, DeKalb, Sandwich, Woodstock, Coal City and Plano.
The company invested $10,000 to remodel the building and install new equipment, the equivalent of $229,000 today, according to www.inflationcalculator.com.
An early brochure touted the 450-seat theater for being the first in the area to be constructed expressly for sound pictures with its Wide Range Western Electric Sound System.
It also advertised itself as being a place to relax thanks to its comfy seats and state-of-the-art air conditoning and ventilation systems.
Additional improvements were made in 1950 when a new entry was built, new sound system installed and another 153 seats added.
The theater thrived for nearly 30 more years but as movie-going expectations changed, patrons began to prefer multiscreen complexes like the Ogden 6 and the Fox Valley Mall cinema to single-screen houses.
The Naper ran its last reel in 1977.
An appliance store would move into the building, followed by other retailers. Since 2010, it’s been home to the Naperville Running Company.
Andrea Field is the curator of history at Naper Settlement. For more information, go to www.NaperSettlement.org. Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
