Cascade - To Stay Closed or Not?
You may recall that in March we had story about the closing of the Cascade Drive-In on North Ave at Prince Crossing Road in rural West Chicago. While the 2020 season had not yet started, most of the projection, concession and other equipment was sold due to the pending sale of the property. The sale was completed a short time later...
... but wait, an article in the Daily Herald on April 30, 2020, talks about how the owners of the theater are working with the new property owners to reopen the drive-in! And another article in the same paper on October 5, 2020.
Of course the theater people will have much work to do if an agreement is eventually reached. Their equipment will need to be replaced and they are thinking about updating the facilities as well as planning for CDC recommended social distancing guidelines, etc. We'll have to wait and see how this story develops.
It's interesting to note that a drive-in theater opened in Huntley, Illinois, the 2nd weekend in May! In this case, even the cars had to social distance themselves by using alternate parking spaces.
Note - This link, Cascade Drive-In , will take you to the theater's website so you can get the latest information direct from the horse's mouth, so to speak. If this link fails to open, perhaps the negotiations also failed.
... but wait, an article in the Daily Herald on April 30, 2020, talks about how the owners of the theater are working with the new property owners to reopen the drive-in! And another article in the same paper on October 5, 2020.
Of course the theater people will have much work to do if an agreement is eventually reached. Their equipment will need to be replaced and they are thinking about updating the facilities as well as planning for CDC recommended social distancing guidelines, etc. We'll have to wait and see how this story develops.
It's interesting to note that a drive-in theater opened in Huntley, Illinois, the 2nd weekend in May! In this case, even the cars had to social distance themselves by using alternate parking spaces.
Note - This link, Cascade Drive-In , will take you to the theater's website so you can get the latest information direct from the horse's mouth, so to speak. If this link fails to open, perhaps the negotiations also failed.
Cascade Drive-In Theater
St. Charles Chronicle June 12,1963 from the Kay Nolan collection.
|
The Iconic Cascade Drive-In To Close....
The following article was seen in the Wheaton Patch on Friday, March 15, 2019. Many of us will have fond memories of this place from our youth, especially our high school years after we got our drivers licenses:
WEST CHICAGO, IL -- For the past 58 years, you'd know it was the start of summer in the western suburbs by the blinking of fireflies, the chirping birds, and the smell of popcorn and the flickering of the
|
big-screen movies at the Cascade Drive-In theater. Just as the iconic drive-in was prepping to open for its 2019 season, the screens will stay dark. The owners announced Friday that the theater, one of the last of its kind in Chicagoland, has closed indefinitely.
The theater's owners said on Facebook Friday that the property owner has decided not to permit the theater to open. The parcel of land is up for sale, but Cascade Drive-In owners say it has not yet been sold and that no development plans have been made.
Cascade Drive-In owners say they can "only surmise that the landowner believes he has a better chance to get any future development approval from the city of West Chicago and surrounding community if the business is closed."
The current owners have operated the drive-in for the past three decades and have paid $6 million in rent, the Facebook post said. They added "A conversation and a decent transition would have been the least we could expect from the landowner."
Cascade owners said, "It's devastating to us but we always knew the sale would be imminent one day but this scenario of closing with no other use for the property was totally unexpected."
On March 23, Cascade will host a sale of hoodies, popcorn machines, grills, a golf cart and more to give customers a chance to get their hands on a "piece of nostalgia."
The owners of Cascade closed their post by expressing a sentiment that will likely be shared throughout the surrounding community in the wake of news of the drive-in's closure.
They said, "Our hearts are broken."
The theater's owners said on Facebook Friday that the property owner has decided not to permit the theater to open. The parcel of land is up for sale, but Cascade Drive-In owners say it has not yet been sold and that no development plans have been made.
Cascade Drive-In owners say they can "only surmise that the landowner believes he has a better chance to get any future development approval from the city of West Chicago and surrounding community if the business is closed."
The current owners have operated the drive-in for the past three decades and have paid $6 million in rent, the Facebook post said. They added "A conversation and a decent transition would have been the least we could expect from the landowner."
Cascade owners said, "It's devastating to us but we always knew the sale would be imminent one day but this scenario of closing with no other use for the property was totally unexpected."
On March 23, Cascade will host a sale of hoodies, popcorn machines, grills, a golf cart and more to give customers a chance to get their hands on a "piece of nostalgia."
The owners of Cascade closed their post by expressing a sentiment that will likely be shared throughout the surrounding community in the wake of news of the drive-in's closure.
They said, "Our hearts are broken."
