‘We’re passionate about the history’: Why new Catlow Theatre owners are trying to restore venue to former glory

Maybe it’s obvious, hearing Brian Long marvel at the walnut flooring in the 1893 Barrington building anchored by his Long & Co. Jewelers.

The question still needs to be asked: Why is he doing this?

Why is Long, a 50-year-old Algonquin native, compelled to restore and reopen the 97-year-old Catlow Theatre at 116 W. Main St., just down the street from his store?

“I did it because it’s the architectural gem of Barrington,” he said. “It needs to stay that way. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places.

“We’re passionate about the architecture, we’re passionate about the history,” Long added.

On Thursday, Long and his director of operations, Dylan Nelson, funneled his passion into the launch of the Catlow 1927 Foundation, which seeks donors to support the building’s restoration to its 1927 sheen and reopen it for use as a performance space and movie house and to host private events.

A 501(c)(3) organization, the foundation aims to raise $5 million to cover rehabilitation expenses and perpetually maintain the theater as a cultural hub.

Long purchased the Catlow from Tim O’Connor in October 2022. A Tudor Revival rendered with medieval English flair by Betts & Holcomb of Chicago, the theater has been closed since March 2020.

Italian American sculptor and designer Alfonso Iannelli led its interior design. His touches include painted crests of arms at each end of the lobby, stenciled wooden beams and carved buttresses in the auditorium, as well as the one-of-a-kind fountain in the foyer.

“There is something magical about it,” said Nelson, 43, son of former Barrington Mayor David Nelson. Dylan Nelson’s first kiss occurred at the Catlow, and it’s where he saw his first movie, “Ghostbusters,” in 1984.

“There’s a feeling you get when you walk in there that I don’t get anywhere else in this world. It’s got a special feeling to it and just the idea of future generations being able to experience that, that’s huge for me,” Nelson said.

Along with establishing the foundation website, www.Catlow1927.org, Long managed to obtain the theater’s previously disconnected phone number, (847) 381-0777.

He calls it the “Catphone.”

“The mission of this capital campaign is not only to raise funds to restore the Catlow but also to create a base within that will allow it to generate funds in order to never have a capital campaign again,” said Long, who with his wife, Julianne, moved to Barrington in 2004.

“Any additional funds that don’t go to the build are in the endowment to keep it surviving indefinitely,” he said.

The main fundraiser involves eight levels of “Dynasty Donors” who contribute amounts ranging from $1,000 to $249,000. Of course, any amount is accepted. Dynasty Donors will see their names on a large bronze plaque mounted on a lobby wall.

In addition, five different “private donor spaces” — the foyer, lobby, projection room, stage and the 450-seat auditorium — will offer naming rights and accompanying individual bronze plaques to “Catlow Restoration Partners.”

“The foundation will make more than it needs to survive, and that will allow us to donate to other foundations and other causes,” Long said.

The initial aim is to get enough funding to start exterior remodeling, from the Catlow’s slate roofing on down.

While exterior work proceeds, Long plans to convert interior renderings into architectural plans and complete the permitting process with the village. Once the roofing, gutters and masonry are done, interior remodeling can begin.

Considering quirks such as the building’s ancient cloth wiring and its lobby formerly heated by boilers, this will be a painstaking process.

Yet Long and Nelson are determined to reopen the Catlow in time for its 100th anniversary in May 2027, if not earlier.

A preliminary floor plan shows two entrances off Main Street: the existing theater lobby entrance and another between the former Boloney’s Sandwich Shop and the easternmost space that housed a dentist.

Those two storefronts will be converted to a lounge and bar area, with the lobby accessed through the existing brick archway.

A catering kitchen and new, accessible bathrooms will be built. Long plans on applying for a liquor license but will not serve food.

Three upstairs apartments will be rehabbed for other uses.

As for the auditorium, Long seeks a return to the Catlow’s Vaudeville roots by highlighting its stage. He plans to remove the permanent movie screen.

“Instead of having a permanently mounted screen like there is right now we are going to have a retractable screen. We can drop it, play movies when we schedule that. People want to see movies in the Catlow, and we want people to see movies in the Catlow. But it is unsustainable to run as only a movie house,” Long said.

Promising to honor the theater’s history by displaying its numerous artifacts — photos autographed by Mickey Rooney and Ernest Borgnine, vintage movie posters, Boloney’s memorabilia, documents of original owner Wright Catlow — Long and Nelson also foresee hosting live performances, with high school events, weddings and community gatherings among the endless possibilities.

“We really believe it was God’s plan that we ended up with this place. It really was not our plan,” Long said.

“But we are the people who can facilitate it and get this done in a way that will benefit our community.”