History Walk Site 10: Paragon/Curtiss Theater

The Paragon Theater was built by local contractors to be “fireproof” with the “interior finishing… worthy of a city” according to the November 19, 1915 edition of the Downers Grove Reporter. It was a “cozy little playhouse, and not so small either, when one considers that the seating capacity is 484.” 

By 1919, the theater was known as the Curtiss Theatre. Although for an interim stretch it was used as an undertakers and by West Suburban Motor Company, the theater reopened in 1927. In July 1928, it held a meeting that introduced Downers Grove to the upcoming Century of Progress Exposition of 1933. According to the July 29, 1928 edition of the Downers Grove Reporter, attendees enjoyed (at no fee) “speakers from Chicago, several from Downers Grove, a band and movies.” 

The building has since undergone major exterior renovations, namely the addition of decorative asphalt canopies that obscure much of the original brick and transoms.