The area near the crossing of County Road 15 over the Illinois River in Marseilles has a long and interesting history.

     In 1865, a group of early settlers  Roderick Clark, O.W. Young, and Isaac Underhill constructed a bridge over the Illinois River in an area that was known as Marseilles.  Construction costs were $40,000.  The bridge suffered severe ice damage in 1866.  Undeterred, this group rebuilt a more substantial bridge.

     In 1885, a new iron bridge was built at the site.  There were stone abutments.  The contractor was a man named Barber.  The bridge stood until 1933.

     In 1933, a new bridge on County Road 15 was built.  This bridge was also known as the Clark Adam Bridge. It was a lost type bridge over both the Illinois River and and the Illinois Waterway Lock Canal.  There were 4 truss spans and 9 approach spans. Total length was 1,369.5 feet.  Width of the bridge was 17.8 feet.    This bridge was torn down in the period between 1997–1998.

     The current bridge was built around 1997–1998.  Like its predecessor, it crosses the river and the waterway lock canal.  The bridge type is steel plate girder, concrete deck.    An unusual feature is that the bridge has only one lane in each direction.  This unusual for a rural area in which large farm equipment has to be moved.  Its length is 1,661 feet.  Width is 30 feet.  There are sidewalks and guard rails.

     Adjacent to the bridge are the Marseilles dam and lock–part of the Illinois Waterway.  The old Nabisco box plant still stands in the area.  It was powered by hydroelectric.  The Marseilles Hydroelectric Plant still stands.  It was originally constructed to provide power for the Illinois Valley electric trains.  It now stands unused.
Please note unless otherwise noted all photos and text is copywrighted.

Posted 6/24/2018

     

     There have been 4 traffic bridges over the Illinois River in Seneca, Illinois since the town’s incorporation in 1865.

     The first bridge was built in 1866.    Unfortunately, this collapsed and had to be replaced.  The replacement (2nd bridge ) was an iron one.  It was built in 1877 and stood in place until 1932.

     The third bridge was a 14 panel rivet–connected Pennsylvania through truss, fixed type.  Its length was 1,510 feet.  The longest span is 364 feet.  There were two lanes.  The bridge width was 23 feet.  Its height above water was 48 feet.  The builder/contractor was Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  It was rehabbed in 1986.  It was demolished in 2010.

     The current bridge is a two lane one.  It is a steel girder type with concrete decks. The width is 40 feet.  Each lane is 12 feet.  There are two shoulders and a single walkway.  Main span is 350 to 375 feet.

Unless otherwise specified all photos and text is copywrighted.

     This theater was located at the north end of Main Street in Marseilles. Its address was 502 Main Street.   It was constructed in 1936.  It opened in 1937.   For years, it was operated by the Alliance Theater Corporation.  Theater style was art deco. There was one screen and 500 seats.

     Alliance operated the theater until at least 1950.

The Mars closed sometime between 1980 and 1990.

      This theater is located at 827 LaSalle Street in Ottawa, Illinois.  It originally opened as a vaudeville theater named the Gayety in 1910.

     In the early 1930’s, it became a movie theater.  Its name was changed to the Roxy.  It was operated by the Alliance Theater Corporation.  It originally had one movie screen.

      GKC took over management of the theater in the mid 1980’s.  They converted it to a two screen house.  A few years later, an addition was made to the theater and four screen were added.      Capacity was increased to 750 seats.

    Theater is now managed by 21st Century Cinema.  It is still active showing first run features.

This theater was located at 5400 N. Sheridan Road in the Edgewater Neighborhood in Chicago. It was across the street from the Edgewater Beach Hotel. It opened in 1962. The construction costs were $250,000. It had one screen and a seating capacity of 600. There was abundant parking at the corner of Sheridan and Balmoral.

The theater was owned by Peter, Chris, and Lambros Demos. They had managed the parking lot that was the site of the theater. Balmoral had a policy of having afternoon and evening performances of single feature domestic and foreign films.

The theater has a short history closing in 1966.

Unless otherwise indicated, all photos and text are copyrighted.

    A store front theater named the Edgewater opened in 1912.   It was located at 1130 W. Bryn Mawr Avenue.   It had one screen.  Its seating capacity is unknown.  It closed in 1914.

       The Hollywood Theater was located in the Edgewater Neighborhood of Chicago at 5628 North Broadway.  It operated only for a short period of time 1913–1914.    It had one screen.  Its capacity was 299 seats.  One of the used of the building after the theater closed was as an auto repair shop.

     The Granville Theater was located at 6161 N. Broadway in the Edgewater neighborhood of Chicago.  It operated for a short time between 1913–1915.  The architect was S.N. Crowen.  There was one screen and had a capacity of 299 seats.  The owners were Harvey Wells, Homer Jones, and Joseph Tuohy.

      After the theater closed, it was used as a real estate office.   From the 1950’s to the 1990’s,  it was used as Mann’s Draperies and Interiors.  The building is currently used as a restaurant.

     Another movie theater in the Andersonville area of Chicago was called the Thelma.  It was located at 5255 N. Clark Street.  It operated briefly from 1910 to 1914.  It had one screen and had a capacity of 299 seats.  The theater building is currently be used as Reza’s Restaurant.