Downtown Libertyville Theater on Market for $3 Million

LIBERTYVILLE, IL - A historic theater in downtown Libertyville is currently on the market for $3 million as a potential redevelopment opportunity. Mayor Terry Weppler said that unless someone interested in preserving the theater purchases the property, the historic building would likely be torn down. The theater, he said, is not profitable and the current owner could not make enough money to keep it going, Weppler wrote in a Facebook post over the weekend.

"I am sometimes asked why the village didn't do something to stop it from happening. Here's your chance if you love the Liberty Theater," Weppler wrote in the Facebook post.

The theater at 708 N. Milwaukee Avenue has been around for decades. A Hollywood premier was held at the theater during World War II and Libertyville residents raised more money for war bonds per diem than any other community, Weppler said. Actor Marlon Brando was once an usher at the theater. And many children growing up in Libertyville saw their first movie at Liberty Theater.

Most recently, Scott Dehn, who also runs the McHenry Outdoor Theater, took over Liberty 1 & 2 Theaters and put $130,000 into the facility to get it up-to-date with digital equipment, according to the Daily Herald. He says the theater will remain open for the immediate future but he could no longer stomach the $3 million mortgage he was paying on the property.

"The hope is there's someone who will come forward to say, 'I've got the resources to keep it going.' That's why I went to digital. That's what I'm continuing to do here (and) hoping for a miracle," Dehn told the Daily Herald.

Weppler said that if someone, such as a historian or an investor who cares about Libertyville's history, would need to purchase the property otherwise the theater would likely be "gone forever." If that's the case, he foresees a new multi-story building taking its place.

"So if you want to save it and you've got the money," Weppler wrote in his Facebook post, "here's your chance."

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