When the Deerpath Theatre Upstaged Lake Forest’s First Motion Picture House

By Laurie Stein

Historians estimate that, by the end of the 1920s, three-quarters of the American population visited a movie theater every week. Locally, at the beginning of the decade, movies were shown at the DeLuxe Theatre at Westminster and Bank Lane. 

Joseph O'Neill opened Lake Forest’s first motion picture house on Westminster in 1912, next to the new location of his hardware store. The Lake Forest City Council spent the next six years regulating this new-fangled operation, largely focusing on whether to allow the theater to show movies on Sundays. By 1917, O’Neill had turned operation of the movie house over to Vincent Quarta, who named it the DeLuxe Theatre and put in a new $5,000 pipe organ, necessary to accompany the silent movies. New films screened daily, paired with shorter comedies or serials.

 The Deerpath Theater featured an ornate interior.

The DeLuxe Theatre operated through 1929, when competition from the new, larger, more modern Deerpath Theatre forced it to close.

The $300,000 Deerpath Theatre opened in 1928. It was located at 272 E. Deerpath in what is now the Lake Forest Arcade, just a few storefronts east of Bank Lane. When plans were first announced for the state-of-the-art theatre to open in 1928, it commanded a banner headline in the Chicago Tribune that said: “Lake Forest to Have $300,000 Old English Village Cinema.”

Designed by architect Stanley Anderson, the Deerpath originally was part of a three-story complex that included four other shops as well as four studio apartments on the third floor. The interior was oak-paneled and featured organ pipes at the sides of the proscenium. Though primarily a cinema theatre, the Deerpath also was equipped for stage productions and featured balcony seating. The theatre auditorium originally accommodated 950 persons, with a mezzanine also providing space for private parties.

The first showing was “Glorious Betsy,” a silent film with experimental sound sequences. At the time, the movie business was transitioning from silent films to “talkies” that included actors' dialogue and other sound effects.

The Deerpath was managed for years by Joseph and Amelia Emma, whose daughter Rose Marie worked and watched movies in the theater before going on to Hollywood stardom as Joan Taylor. She was on hand for a special premiere in 1949 of her first major role in “Fighting Man of The Plains.” The marquee read: “Home Town Girl Makes Good!”

 Live events, including fashion shows and War Bond rallies, took place at the theater.

The theater became an integral part of the community, also hosting benefit showings, speakers, and special events. In the early years, the Deerpath’s stage and seating also played host to numerous live events. Renowned opera star Marion Claire, who lived in Lake Bluff, sang on its stage. Famed harmonica player Larry Adler played there as well. Lake Forest Academy used the facility for a stage production. During World War II, the Deerpath hosted War Bond rallies.

Charitable causes such as the Infant Welfare League and Orphans of The Storm animal shelter benefited from fundraisers held in the building. The Church of the Holy Spirit held fashion shows and, on one memorable night, livestock was herded across the stage and sold with the proceeds benefiting a youth summer camp.

In the 1970s, there were special showings of classic silent films as well as sing-along musicals in which the audience became participants.

The facility showed first-run films for decades; then, due to sleeker, more corporate distribution methods, became the place to go to see movies that already had made the rounds at a cheaper price. It underwent extensive renovations under new ownership in the early 1980s, reopening with a splash as “Deerpath 2.” The first film after the relaunch was “Pennies From Heaven” with Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters. It was followed with movies such as “Superman III,” “Four Friends,” and the original “La Cage Aux Folles.”

The Deerpath’s new look had seating for 800. It included a satellite dish and private screening rooms with 21-inch color TV sets to appeal to modern audiences, but by the mid-1980s the theater was closed for good.

As Artifact of the Month through early October, The History Center iof lake Forest-Lake Bluff s featuring a brass sculpture of the Deerpath Theatre designed in 1993 by studio artist Bill Rutherford – stop by to check it out!