A piece of Dixon history: The rise of the Dixon Theater

Editor’s note: With the March 2 grand opening of the newly renovated Dixon Historic Theatre, our historian turns his attention to the rich history of this 100-year-old Dixon institution. Get tickets to Sunday’s event at www.dixontheatre.com.

DIXON — From 1876 until 1920, Dixon’s famous Opera House prominently stood on Galena Avenue, serving as “the cultural and entertainment center of the city.” But on Feb. 17, 1920, a tragic fire destroyed the Opera House, leaving a charred pile of rubble. The ugly ruins remained a major downtown eyesore for the next two years.

The man who stepped forward to resurrect the treasured institution was Leonard G. Rorer, who had been operating the Family Theater in Dixon since 1915.

The Family Theater

The Family Theater was a 75-by-75-foot theater building on Peoria Avenue, built in 1909-10. The building still stands today, occupied by Lena’s Social Club, formerly Mama Cimino’s. That 1910 theater featured “no stairs to climb,” seating for 600 and was “one of the prettiest little vaudeville houses west of Chicago.”

Its shows included silent films, live entertainment, speeches from orators and politicians, as well as local events. In 1915, the Family Theater even served as the site for the 50th annual graduation ceremony of the 30 graduates of Dixon High School.

Although Rorer loved his Family Theater, he saw great potential for the old Opera House site on Galena. So, in late 1920 he purchased the site. In early 1921, he formed a corporation, the Dixon Theater Company, to be owned by stockholders who were citizens of Dixon.

The company eventually sold $200,000 worth of stock. Rorer personally subscribed $40,000 for the venture, as 300 local stockholders joined this investment in the very heart of the city.

Aligning the stars

Throughout 1921, the community eagerly watched as the glorious new theater slowly rose from the ashes. As completion neared in early 1922, optimism reigned as several stars aligned to ensure the new theater’s success.

Since the Great War had ended in late 1918, the local labor pool was plentiful, and the economy was booming. Prohibition began in 1920, and people hungered for entertainment. Women earned the right to vote in 1920, and the Roaring Twenties were now spawning widespread fascination with music and fashion.

New technology had emerged, bringing telephones, films, radio, automobiles, and electrical appliances to the masses. The explosion of communication media created a celebrity culture that attracted millions to theaters springing up everywhere.

Locally, the new nationwide Lincoln Highway came right through Dixon, bringing a large number of daily travelers right by the construction site of the new theater on Galena Avenue. The new highway made it easy for thousands of northern Illinoisians to drive their first automobile to Dixon to experience this majestic new landmark.

1922: The grand opening

When the Dixon Theater finally opened on March 15, 1922, the Telegraph published a detailed review of dozens of details of the theater’s appealing design. The report cited its “rich colors, beautiful blends of tapestries and walls, a magnificent organ, and perfect taste,” creating “one of the most pretentious and elaborate theaters in this section of the state.”

“Quality throughout” had been management’s slogan in the theater’s design and construction. The Telegraph was impressed by its “uniformity of design … in the architectural treatment and the decorative scheme, even down to the minutest details of the lighting fixtures.”

Distinctive features

Knowing that citizens were conscious of the fire hazard that destroyed the Opera House, the new building was “entirely constructed of fireproof materials, brick, terra cotta, concrete and steel.” Its Galena Avenue entrance was covered by a large ornamental marquee over the sidewalk, protecting those standing in line from inclement weather.

The huge stage, measuring 80 feet wide, 25 feet deep and 50 feet high, was framed by a curtain of silk velour in blue and old gold. All of the exits and openings to the theater also were draped with silk velour. But its “crowning feature” was the large dome in the center of the ceiling, depicting the effect of a sky.

“About twelve hundred seats” were installed in the theater. The balcony, which included lush box seats, “was furnished as elaborately and tastefully as the main floor.” Every balcony seat offered “a perfect view” of the large screen and stage.

Splendid asset to the city

Renowned local contractor William J. McAlpine built the theater. He had established his reputation for workmanship in building the Lee County Courthouse, the Post House, and the Dixon National Bank and City National Bank at the opposite corners of First and Galena.

Later in 1922, the newspaper praised Rorer and the stockholders “for transforming the unsightly ruins of the former Dixon Opera House into the magnificent structure which has become renowned throughout northern Illinois.”

After all the finishing touches were completed, the new theater cost $235,000 – $3.9 million in 2025. The city’s new architectural centerpiece had created “a profitable investment for stockholders, and a splendid asset to the city, not only from a business, but from a social standpoint.”

The new theater company soon acquired the Family Theater on Peoria Avenue, as the two were operated in conjunction with each other. But the Family Theater was sold in 1928 and converted into an automotive service garage, which it remained until the 1960s.

Significant upgrades

Like the Family Theater, the Dixon Theater’s shows featured local, regional and national entertainers, orators and politicians, movies, fashion shows and vaudeville acts. But with the Dixon Theater’s massive stage, a large array of backdrops, professional lighting and twice the seating, the new venue hosted large theatrical productions, including opera.

Another significant upgrade was the Dixon Theater’s nine-piece orchestra and its grand $15,000 organ, a significant improvement from the Family Theater’s lone piano. Throughout the 1920s, the theater’s advertising slogan was “The Theater Beautiful.”

In 1923, the Telegraph declared, “There is no improvement in recent years in Dixon that has been of as much value to this city as the Dixon Theater, built by Dixon money and operated by Dixon people.”

In the later 1920s, one young Dixonite often brought his date to see the new “talkies” at the theater. He would become quite famous in the film industry, as he maintained several historic connections with Dixon, the Rorers and the theater. We’ll cover that story in part 2 on March 14.

• Dixon native Tom Wadsworth is a writer, speaker and occasional historian. He holds a Ph.D. in New Testament.