Did You Know? Loves Park Used To Have An “Adult” Theater

We unearthed this bit of trivia on today's morning show.

It started innocently, as most things do on the WROK morning show. We had our friend Dan Obert from the RACVB to let us know what's happening over the weekend to go out, see, do, and enjoy.

Dan had some information on a new, really cool mural in Loves Park. I drive by it every day and it's been a lot of fun seeing it gradually consume the side of CD Source Records on N. 2nd, just south of Riverside.

It's a nice, huge piece of art right in downtown Loves Park, an area of town that could definitely use a little sprucing up. Check it out.

Dan came on to let everyone know about the event being held there on Thursday night to celebrate the completion of the mural.

It will be on Thursday, Sept. 9th from 5-7PM. There will be live music, as well as Olivio's taco truck, J&C's ice cream truck and VeeDubs Mobile Cocktail Bar. The artist, Brett Whitacre will be there and available to talk to. Since the mural is DJ themed, all local DJs are encouraged to attend and maybe even pick up some new records from CD Source Records.

It sounds like a great event.

When Dan left after his interview, Riley and I started to talk about the building itself. I had a faint memory of someone saying that it used to be a movie theater. Riley wasn't sure about it but said that it also sounded familiar.

Then we took a break and that's when I learned about the real history of the building.

A caller let us know that yes, it was in fact a theater that opened all the way back in the 1940s but it was what it turned into during its final years that most people remember, an adult theater.

That sent us to the google machine where Riley uncovered this article from cinematreasures.org.

The Park Theatre was converted out of an Army surplus Quonset hut and opened on May 20, 1948 with Yvonne De Carlo in "Slave Girl." It showed mainly second run movies until the late-1960s or early-1970s. Around that time, it became an adult movie house and operated for a few years until public pressure caused it to close in 1978.

So yeah, there used to be an adult theater right in downtown Loves Park before it was (I'm assuming) run out of town in '78.

It should be noted that the current occupants are of much higher moral fiber.

To quote Paul Harvey, Now.... you know.