PEORIA MAGAZINE October 2022

S P O T L I G H T

FOR MADISON THEATRE RESURRECTION, THE ‘TIME HAS COME’ Local group trying to raise $35 million to restore old movie palace to original grandeur

BY LISA COON PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON, MIKE BAILEY

Y ou gotta have a dream. If you don’t have a dream, how you gonna have a dream come true? ” – Oscar Hammerstein II There have beenmany dreams, hopes and plans for the historic Madison Theatre in Downtown Peoria. In the nearly 20 years since it was shuttered, aspirations for reviving the last-standing jewel of Peoria’s classic movie houses waned. Dreams, however, don’t die easily. “It’s ground zero for what we see this area becoming – a thriving, walkable theater and entertainment district,” said Mark Misselhorn, an at large board member of The Madison Preservation Association, a not-for profit organization formed for the sole purpose of renovating, redeveloping and operating the theater. Misselhorn, who chairs the asso ciation’s facilities committee, said the development group has a viable, $35 million renovation plan. Call it an encore of sorts for the 102-year-old theater that will offer a full range of performing arts – concerts, ballet, theater, orchestra, film and more.

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original location with patrons entering fromMain Street, reopening the Two25 restaurant at the location, creating a second-story 600-person event center, creating a bar and lobby area inside the theater space, and bringing a corner bodega to the main floor along the Madison Street side. Once it reopens – currently estimated to be in late 2024 – the group projects it will bring 100,000 people to Down towneachyear for events, shows,movies, dining and more. It is hoped that the theater will become an integral part of a burgeoning entertainment district along with the Civic Center, Scottish Rite The atre, Peoria Women’s Club, The Apollo, the Peoria RiverfrontMuseum, the city’s two largest hotels and other venues. “This project is bigger than just a theater,” Misselhorn said. “It’s about revitalizing Downtown.” THE HISTORY The Madison was designed in the ornate Italian Renaissance style by Peoria architect Frederic Klein, who also designed Peoria High School, Packard Plaza and the GrandviewDrive

Cody Giebelhausen (left), and Mark Misselhorn

Renovation plans include restoring the theater, as well as approximately 160 feet of two-story Main Street frontage. The block begins at Madison Street and continues northwest up to and including the Neon Bison, formerly the Judge’s Chamber. In addition to the 1,600-seat theater, plans call for returning the main entrance to its

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