Coronado Theatre, Rockford, IL, Bezoekersgids & wat te doen in de buurt

The Coronado Theatre is a historic movie palace and performing arts venue at 316 N Main St in downtown Rockford, Illinois. Opened in 1927, it was built to bring film, vaudeville and live shows to the city in lavish style, and it still hosts concerts and touring productions today.

The story behind it

The Coronado was designed by Rapp and Rapp, the Chicago architects behind many of the grand picture palaces of the 1920s. It opened in 1927 as a place where an ordinary night out could feel like a visit to a royal court, with ornate plasterwork, rich decoration and a grand auditorium.

Like many large theatres of its era, it faced hard times as audiences and habits changed. Instead of being lost, it was preserved and reopened as a performing arts centre, and it is now one of the best-known landmarks on Rockford's Main Street.

What to look for

• Look up at the vertical sign and marquee on Main Street, which announce the theatre as a place of occasion before you reach the door.
• Notice the Spanish-flavoured decoration on the exterior, where the architects set out to impress passers-by as much as ticket holders.
• If you can get inside for an event, take in the lobby and the auditorium ceiling, where the ornate plasterwork and decorative detail are the real show before the curtain rises.
• Step back across the street and look at the whole building in its downtown setting, among the other commercial buildings of the same era.

Tips for your visit

• From the street, ten to fifteen minutes is enough for the exterior and a few photos. Plan an evening if you want to see a show.
• Inside access depends on performances and any organised tours, so check current opening hours and the event calendar before you go.
• Late afternoon and evening are good times to come, when the marquee and sign are lit and downtown feels livelier.
• The theatre is on Main Street in the middle of downtown, so it combines easily with a longer walk past the neighbouring streets, cafes and riverfront.

See it on a quest

The Coronado Theatre is one stop on The Oz Escape in Rockford, a Wizard of Oz themed walk. You reach it on foot as part of a longer route through downtown, the app tells you about the place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle using what is in front of you. One ticket covers the whole group.

You can also pass it on Rockford Detective Mystery: Infiltrate a Secret Society., a mystery-themed route through the same part of the city. Again, you walk between places at your own pace, hear about each one on arrival and solve a puzzle on the spot. One ticket covers the whole group, and you can start whenever suits you, with no guide and no group to join.