Watseka, Illinois, sits as the county seat of Iroquois County on the Indiana border. The town claims to be a "progressive rural community that places strong emphasis on preserving family values" and claims to foster community pride. The city also claims a high priority for "community development and revitalization of downtown and other retail areas". (City of Watseka homepage)

The Watseka Theatre was built in 1931, a product of the Art Deco movement in cinema design.

By the mid-1990s, the state of affairs at the Watseka was a sorry one indeed. As reported by Cinematour researcher Bob Meza, "It is horrible that the once beautiful Watseka is sitting there rotting away. Last time I was in there was when Twister was showing. At that time, you could only sit in the center section because plaster was falling from the ceiling on the sides, so the sides were roped off. The heater in the building was a steam boiler that had broke, so they just punched a hole in the wall and hung one of those big gas heaters you find in high school gyms. What a shame." The Watseka finally closed in 1999. The last movie to play was The Mask of Zorro.

Competition for the Watseka came from the Princess Theatre, just three blocks away, which remains in operation today.

The Princess has been successful enough for the owner to add another screen. Another screen, not by chopping up the Princess or adding on to the building, but by converting an industrial building a number of blocks away. So what's wrong with that, you ask?

Again, from Mr. Meza: "This is no joke. The owner of the Princess Theatre ... built a second screen out of an industrial building. The screen is the wall of the theatre, and a speaker sits on the floor in front of the screen. The room is air conditioned by a household window air conditioner."

In a day and age of restoring historic buildings with funds raised from grants and public and private donations, I am appalled that the owner of the Princess has taken the cheap way out. One would think that the responsible thing for a successful business owner to do would be to put something back into the community which gives him that success, to assist and work closely with the local administration whose public mission statement clearly indicates a desire to rebuild and rejuvenate its downtown.

But that's not what really bothers this writer. What bothers me is that this, um, "new place to see a movie" is patronized by the very same community that this owner has shunned. They continue to put up with the disrespect and the concept that all it takes is an image on a wall and some vague resemblance of a soundtrack. The owner seems to be programming family fare at this new location with the notion that the clientele either won't notice the environment or won't care.

Come on, people! Show yourselves some respect! Take pride in yourselves! Stand up and revolt! Sure, catch a show at the Princess, but abhor the bastard child Princess II. Do not flock to what is even less than mediocrity like junkies to a crackhouse. Dare I even say ... wait and watch it on video!

 

You know, I think I would actually be afraid of seeing their booth. Whatever they have has got to be the worst crap ever made. I'll bet if they are running on a platter they don't even use threading leaders. They probably just thread up on the first reel of the movie. Masking tape splices perhaps? Oh what I am even thinking about, no way a quality theater like that would spring for a platter and no possible way they would have two projectors. They probably run reels with lots of intermissions. Of course they do have cupholder armrests, so clearly that is what is bringing in the masses pictured above.

Someone daring get us some more pictures of this place!

That is by far the most poor excuse for a theater I have ever seen. Do they allow this person to have first-run product at this place?? Should someone alert the movie studios to take a tour of this place before they allow their next-big-hit to play there? My God!! The owner should nix those shiny poster cases and just staple several of the same one-sheet in a row on the plywood.... for "atmosphere"!

If the outdoor and indoor pictures were taken at the same time, that sure is a large crowd for "Powerpuff Girls!" The picture of the original "Princess Theatre" isn't too impressive either. Is that supposed to be a marquee??

It is indeed a shame that our movie palaces, or places like the Northpark who actually CARE about presentation and their customers are being bulldozed while crap like this is allowed to remain operational and take (yes, TAKE) money from people. I would watch a letterboxed scope movie on a 13" mono TV before I went to see a movie there, cupholders or not.

"Princess" my ass! (unless you're talking about the Princess in Shrek... )

=TMP=
 

-Aaron

 

Steve

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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
 

I've seen crappy theaters, but this Princess II takes the cake. Does it even have restrooms? Or do you just shit on the floor anywhere?
 

I just LOVE the sign.
I mean, I really, really LERV it.
No, no... I LUFF it.

Stay away from sequels.
 

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Find me online
AOL: Dexter Caldwell
yahoo!: dexter_caldwell

"It is the opinion of the entire staff the Dexter is criminally insane."
 

As David Stambaugh would say, right speaker present, center, left, uh everything else, missing-in-action.

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I want to see a movie there.
Just once.

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I can just picture some kid peddeling an exercise bike with a belt going from the wheel of the bike to the fly wheel on the soundhead with another belt going to the platters and some Flintstones like device stuck in the lamphouse for a light source to save electricity.

"Masking tape splices perhaps?" Probably duct tape.

Watseka Theatre: (From Bob Meza again) "... When I was there for Twister, there were kids that were sitting in the doorway entrance smoking cigarettes. You had to step into them to get in the door. The teenage employees were in T shirts and blue jeans. ... The Pepsi was served out of 1 liter bottles into cups. ... This theatre building housed a few business slots in the front. I hear the boiler that heated the building broke, and the owner would not fix it, so the people moved their business elsewhere. ... The balcony was closed. I went up into the booth. I just walked up there as there was no locked door. Sound came from a Radio Shack amp."

Princess II: Bob sent me a link to what I guess we could call a "non-fan" page for this, uh, place to see movies. click here for Geocities webpage

The owner of the Princess/Princess II also owned the Kent Theatre in Kentland, Indiana, which was demolished last year.

He also owned the Fowler Theatre in Fowler, Indiana, which he had closed until the Prairie Preservation Guild bought it in 2001 with funding assistance from the Historic Landmarks Foundation of Indiana. The Guild successfully reopened the Fowler and is working to restore the theatre to its original art deco glory, but this guy apparently still books their films for them.

James, I'll go with you to visit this dump. Should be hilarious.

He is running a Radio Shack amp. Heck, I'm running a Dynaco ST-70 bridged for MONO with my Holmes 8's and their home-made solar cell systems. I know, I'm not running features for the public consumption.

I don't think he is either.

Bruce
 

Some highlights:
According to the 2000 census, Watseka has a population of 5,670; 2,463 households; and covers 2.62 square miles. Iroquois county has a population of 31,334; 13,362 households; and covers 1,118 square miles. Iroquois county is 96% white and 51% are between ages 21-62. For Watseka, 13% of the families and 16% of individuals live at or below the poverty level. Median household income is $30,440. 27% work in "Production, transportation, and material moving occupations".

Bob hit the nail on the head: "if the public cared they wouldn't be open".

You see, obviously they don't care that they spent $3 each to sit in this hellhole and watch a movie. I just can't figure out why. I mean, they have a video store (Familifun Video at 1160 East Walnut Street).

It's been going on for years, apparently, as Bob's 1995 visit to the Watseka Theatre shows. The population got used to it and it became the status quo. Why should this guy try to do it right when he can get by with what's been going on for years?

And just who is our new favorite exhibitor? SMITH THEATRES

Anybody have an Encyclopedia of Exhibition handy?

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3% Body Fat. 1% Brain Activity.
 

Back to the Geocities site for another visit

My friend Bob thinks he's afraid we'll all actually show up and start preaching "Film Done Right" on the street corners!

 

One graphical route tracing utility is NeoTrace. It's a cool little app that shows (approximately) the location of each router on a map of the world. There is a pretty functional free version you can download, NeoTrace Express.

Anyway, my original point being, ping or tracert www.geocities.com and see if it resolves to 66.218.77.70 (or possibly another address for their international servers). If it doesn't it's probably an issue with your ISP's (or your ISP's ISP) DNS server, in which case I would try using the DNS server of another provider (university DNS servers are usually good to use).

Out of curiosity, can you reach any other Yahoo domains/sites? Geocities is owned by Yahoo and is on their network in Sunnyvale, California.

edit: Looks like McAfee bought out NeoWorx, renamed NeoTrace and nolonger have a free version.

Just above line 1, it said something like "tracing route to server www.geocities.com 216.65.115.193 via no more than 30 stations". In Line 17 it says: after the IP address in square bracket "responds: target host not available. Tracing terminated". It`s like this every time even with different dial-up connections. Maybe geocities.com is banned in Germany...
I will download that tool. Is there any logic to the IP addresses? Do you know hao they are allocated. It has to include a hint at the physical location if that is displayed in the tool.
Michael
 

Traceroutes to www.geocities.com will fail before they reach the endpoint anyway, since some router along the way isn't responding to some types of ICMP requests. www.geocities.com (which resolves to two different IP addresses) does respond to pings, however.
 

Seriously, I've used my Holmes in a setting similar to the one shown on the website. Painted wall and everything! No wall between the projector and the audience!
After the film, and after I had loaded everything in my truck, the owner of the location told me he was impressed that the film had gone off as well as it did.

I do my changeovers properly. :O

Most of the viewers of the film had seen it on TV in the past. They were pointing and whispering among themselves all through the picture.
Having a selection of lenses helps things. I was able to fill the alloted area without the projectors being out in the audience, for once.

In Bruce's situation, it was a setup location for one show only. Afterward, he packed up his truck and went home. I'm all for the fun in guerrilla exhibition on a temporary basis, but this guy has a permanent setup here. (No offense, Bruce. )

Any idea, yet, what projector is actually running the print?
 

I'll sweeten Brad's deal with a copy of the entire public Cinematour.com website on CD-ROM (you know, so you don't have to wait for all of the pictures to download) if you copy the pictures to me for use on Cinematour. And no, this disc is not available to the general public, so don't bombard me with requests, please.

 

Ok, I'll sweeten the deal even further. Not only will the person who sends in the picture set receive a Film-Tech T shirt, but I will also send that person a real brand new roll of splicing tape so they can give it to the Princess II theater. It will be a great addition for them, but whoever gives it to them will probably have to explain what it is.
 

quote:

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Someone wanna suggest a premise to tell them for why I want to take pictures, especially of the booth?

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Tell them you are from some magazine (make up a name) and you would like to do a feature article & photo spread.
 

First, let me give you a little background on the HOT entertainment scene in Watseka. For many years two single screen hardtops competed with each other: the Watseka and the Little Theater/Bon-Air/Princess. The theater now known as the Princess actually dates back to the 1930s. The original marquee was destroyed in a fire. Enter the lobby and the art-deco movement is apparent. Inside the auditorium, a clean and decent 60-seat single screen with top-notch presentation awaits. A little run-down but what did the current owner start with? I know he is not a millionaire nor a theatre chain/conglomerate (heck, they abandoned single screeners and small towns years ago!). It is apparent that an honest effort is being made here to maintain this theater in a town whose population size barely justifies the need for ONE screen. (Incidentally, on the nite of my visit-11/2/02-his evening show was sold out)

[The Watseka's owner allegedly allowed his theater to run into the ground, not repairing roof problems so that during rain storms water ran down the stairs from the balcony to the main floor, plaster fell, etc. Eventually, financial matters forced him to close. Reportedly, the owner's son is attempting to refurbish the building...plans not public at this time.]

In his zeal to provide first-run product to this small town, the Princess' owner is trying to meet the terms of the distributors, who require multiple week showings (how many small-town 60-seat theaters get films on the break or anywhere close to it?). The owner of the Princess needed a way to accomodate the demands of his customers with the demands of the distributors. There is no balcony at the Princess and there was no room to expand at the current location, and it would make no sense to split it into two 30-seat theaters (Ha!) so he found a location where the owner was willing to lease him the back warehouse space of a retail store. Unfortunately, things have conspired to slow remodeling/development of the new location, whether it is tight funds, problems with carpenters, the theater owner's day job or his summer job working for a friend at his friend's drive-in theatre...maybe he bit off more than he could chew at once but he is trying to provide a good product and a service to his community.

The building owner is going to replace the AC unit this spring. A marquee and exterior stucco remodeling will also be performed then. Take a look at some of these pix, it really is not as bad as what has been painted on this topic.

1) See the lobby with the concession counter

2) Two views of the 47-seat auditorium. Note that the screen is fabric (not "painted") and there are three speakers up front. Sound panels or curtains are going to be added to the walls. The drive-in season is over so the ladder is there because the owner is working on the place.

3) The projection setup (Simplex heads with Strong Super Lumex lamphouse).

There are two large restrooms (one for men, one for women, each handicapped accessible). $3 for a matinee is not obscene: the residents of Watseka and nearby farms are not demanding stadium seating nor can that market size afford it. If this guy did not give a d@mn, I'd tell you to roast away but sometimes we've got to back up and look at the bigger picture and cheer on the little guy for trying. I believe that is what we've got here, folks.

Also the right and left speakers are sitting really low on the floor. Possibly sub-woofers?

I see a popcorn popper in the snackbar along with a possible fountain head on the right. Hopefully the jugs are sitting on the counter as temporary storage.

Every theater would like to have first run movies but are the economics there for an area that size?

It does look like he bit off more than he could chew but I'll give the owner a thumbs up for trying. I'll take back everything I said here in this thread and wish him luck.

Send me your address if you want the plaque.

 

OSHA will nab him on the lack of railing up to and around the projector platform.

As to sound absorbancy...that room is SMALL...the pictures show that on the left side there are only about 6 rows.

It is what it is...in my opinion it was "built" too cheap as a general statement though some items are certainly more adequate than others.

Steve

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"Old projectionists never die, they just changeover!"
 

quote:

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That platform does look like an accident waiting to happen

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The verticle posts on the mut don't look like the most pleasant thing to land on if you fall.

WISHA, Washington State's version of OSHA would have a hay day with that booth if it was located here.

1)It looks like the projector port is off-center from the screen and I hope the projector platform is wider than it looks in the pictures.
Also the right and left speakers are sitting really low on the floor. Possibly sub-woofers?

~The port IS off center but that is the best he could do with the building he has, I took the pic of the booth while standing on steps to the basement. It's tight and if the booth were moved over to center any further, there would be no access from the lobby or no concession counter. As for the speakers, yes they are ow and on the floor, tho the right and left sides are not subs. Hopefully he will work on them too.

2) I see a popcorn popper in the snackbar along with a possible fountain head on the right. Hopefully the jugs are sitting on the counter as temporary storage.

~Yes, temporary as he is working on the place and not running shows there...but he hopes to get it done someime this month.

3) Looks like they could use some sound absorbant but maybe in such a small room the long echo times are impossible.

~Yes, that is what I was meaning about sound curtains or panels he ill be installing this month. It IS a small throw so he had to also find a lens that could handle it.

4) Well, it certainly does look like the guy is trying, and the place isn't nearly as bad as we all thought.Send me your address if you want the plaque.

~That's OK, thanks...I can understand how the image was not pretty. I went there to see for myself (and for Film-Techers) what was up. After I saw and had a good talk with the owner, I had to fill you in on the reel deal!

5) But where is the picture of the sound system (processor and amp(s))? OSHA will nab him on the lack of railing up to and around the projector platform.

~I believe the amp(s) and processor were behind the platter. I won't disagree on the platform railing.

Thanks for everyone's participation...this has been an interesting thread. I prefer drive-ins but all this talk compelled me to check it out! Now I must prepare for the wrath of

quote:

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[The Watseka's owner allegedly allowed his theater to run into the ground, not repairing roof problems so that during rain storms water ran down the stairs from the balcony to the main floor, plaster fell, etc. Eventually, financial matters forced him to close. Reportedly, the owner's son is attempting to refurbish the building...plans not public at this time.]

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I sure hope he can follow thru on the renovations. That theater is to beautiful to just sit there and go to hell.
 

Back in July 2002, Sheryl Bracken visited the Princess II and took a few photos of the deplorable conditions in which customers were expected to watch first-run movies. A "screen" painted on the front wall and speakers sitting on the floor in the front of the viewing room were probably the two items that took the cake. The jury-rigged exterior and hand-painted sign were just the icing to top it off.

Four months later, the building is still quite rough around the edges, but progress appears to have been made in leaps and bounds. It appears that a proper screen is now what movies are projected onto. However, the speakers are still sitting on the floor. One certainly hopes that these will soon be placed in their proper location behind the screen and that (after the addition of the promised acoustical treatments) the audio system will be properly aligned and equalized.

Digital sound, stadium seating and gilded fixtures do not a movie palace make. A quality presentation in a comfortable setting allow the imagination to build the palace around the body and set free the soul of the experience that is cinema.

Right there, that is what it's all about.

I am still critical of the conditions in which early customers of this cinema were thrust into. Yes, the makings of a cinema were there, but the environment was not conducive to the cinema experience. I am glad to see, though, that the operator is not satisfied only with money coming in the front door. I am glad to see that he is taking steps to make it right.

Now if we could only get him to work with the owner of the Watseka building to make that theater a reality again ...

Thank you, Justin, for the photos and update. Hopefully we can meet up next summer when I travel to Chicago for photos and research. Drop me an email with your mailing address and I'll get a CD out to you after this week's site update. I don't suppose you took any photos of the other theaters while you were there, did you?

I would gladly play more films on the break here, if not for those 4 week requirements (or if we had another screen to dump the movie into for the last couple of weeks).

It has been 1331 days since the last post.

It has been 932 days since the last post.