Enduring Arcada: Landmark St. Charles venue celebrates centennial

On the day it opened 100 years ago, thousands of people flocked to St. Charles' Arcada Theatre, so many that the owners reportedly had to turn hundreds away.

During its heyday, the vaudeville palace and movie theater welcomed iconic performers, including Judy Garland, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy and Olivia de Havilland.

A century later, Arcada headliners included rock, pop, blues and country stars such as Buddy Guy, Night Ranger, Loretta Lynn, Gladys Knight, Robert Cray, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, Donnie Wahlberg, Ted Nugent, George Thorogood and The Gin Blossoms, among others.

For more than two decades, stewardship of the landmark has been in the hands of producer/promoter/entrepreneur Ron Onesti, who will mark the Arcada’s centennial Sunday, Sept. 6, with a daylong celebration that includes a parade, ice cream giveaway, a history of rock ‘n’ roll concert and appearances by celebrities Chubby Checker and Priscilla Presley.

“We're excited to celebrate this milestone and congratulate the Arcada on reaching 100 years,” said Lisa Garhan, communications division manager for the city.

Producing about 500 events annually, including about 175 main stage shows, Onesti takes his responsibility seriously to preserve a theater that has served the Fox Valley for generations.

“With each customer who walks through the door, I realize how important this place has meant to people,” said Onesti, president and CEO of Onesti Entertainment, which operates the Arcada and its sister venue, the Des Plaines Theatre. “These types of places have been the center of social existence for many decades.”

The Arcada offers “new experiences for today’s audiences, but preserves the historic character that makes it a landmark,” said Garhan, and its influence goes beyond culture.

An entertainment destination that draws performers and patrons from all over, Garhan notes the venue has an economic impact on downtown restaurants, shops and hotels.

The early years

Built by millionaires Dellora and Lester Norris, the Spanish Colonial Revival-style theater opened to the public on Labor Day 1926, at the height of the vaudeville era, according to the St. Charles Historical Museum website.

Home to a grand pipe organ, the theater initially showed silent films and hosted vaudeville performances. After vaudeville faded and “talkies” emerged, the Arcada became a movie theater. While movies remained its primary attraction through the 1970s, it also hosted traveling and community theater productions, according to the website.

By the time Onesti encountered the Arcada during the early 2000s, it was operating as a “brew-and-view,” where fans paid $4 for a beer and a B-movie. At the time, Onesti, then manager of The Beatles tribute band American English, booked his clients into the venue.

The concert was a success. So a year later, Onesti tried to schedule another show. But when he reached out to the owner, he got no response. Arriving in St. Charles to try to speak to the owner in person, he noticed a dumpster outside the theater, where workers appeared to be in the process of dismantling the venue.

A landmark revived

“I dreamed of owning my own place,” explained Onesti, “but it was just a dream.”

The dream came true when Onesti hosted his first show in summer 2005 — a Beatles/Wings fantasy concert featuring his former clients American English and one-time Wings guitarist Denny Laine, along with his fellow Wings musicians.

“The show was three hours long,” recalled Onesti. “It was hot, but people stayed.”

In the years since, Onesti and his team have overhauled the space: adding restrooms, installing a new HVAC system, rewiring the building and replacing the plumbing.

“It needed a lot of work,” said Onesti adding, “We practically rebuilt the building.”

Adding a restaurant, saloon and dance club transformed the Arcada Theatre into an entertainment complex dedicated to “music and meatballs,” said Onesti.

“I can have a screaming loud rock 'n' roll show in the theater, a jazz clarinetist in Rock 'n Ravioli (an Arcada restaurant), a rockabilly band in the Club Arcada Speakeasy & Restaurant, and the Studio 64 dance club and not one note impedes another,” Onesti said.

Onesti also makes the theater available for community events sponsored by the library, historical society and other organizations.

Garhan attributes much of the Arcada's success to Onesti's dedication to the theater and the St. Charles community.

“The Arcada opens its doors for city gatherings,” she said. “It's part of the community.”

Onesti wouldn't have it any other way.

“One of the reasons the theater was built was to be a resource for the community, and I want to keep that going,” he said.

bvitello@dailyherald.com

Arcada Theatre’s 100th anniversary celebration

When: Sunday, Sept. 6. Restaurants open at 11 a.m.; 2 p.m. free ice cream cones to first 500 guests; 3 p.m. centennial parade through St. Charles with special guest Chubby Checker; 4:30 p.m. Priscilla Presley meet-and-greet; 6 p.m. history of rock ‘n’ roll concert; 7:30 p.m. the Piano Man Band.

Where: 105 E. Main St., St. Charles. (630) 962-7000 or oshows.com/arcada-theatre-100th-anniversary

Tickets: $28.75 to $84.75