Click
here for a slideshow of the theater.
When it came to embarking upon their second custom home theater, this
Central Illinois couple had a desire to give this room more of a theme.
What they didn’t realize is how much fun and how far they would
go in making their vision a reality. A vision that would transcend
you back in time to the aura of Chicago in the late 1930’s.
Welcome to bustling Old Chicago and the “Hollywood Theater”,
aptly named after a theater of the same name that the homeowner frequented
as a child growing up in Fort Worth, Texas.
The journey begins as you open the door that leads you to the stairs
of this midwestern basement theater. As if you are walking through
the streets of Chicago in the 1930’s, a motion activated music
system triggers the sounds from that era. Passing by a brick wall,
you catch a glimpse of the city’s skyline and the first of several
custom painted murals. Staying true to the era, you notice a newspaper
stand with an original copy of the front section of a 1939 Chicago
Tribune before you are greeted by a ticket booth complete with a an
authentic change drawer filled with coinage dated prior to 1930.
When custom electronics provider Impressive Home Theaters became
involved, they met a pair of homeowners with an unusual amount of
pre-planning, vision and attention to detail. “We knew we had
a special client and a special project as soon as we met the homeowners.
It is a little rare in our non metro market to meet a client who is
building their second custom home theater,” says Dustin LaFond,
company founder and president. “This home theater is so well
appointed thanks to the room’s interior design and room construction,
that it is a wonder how this room stayed within the price tag that
it did.” The overall result is visually breathtaking and we
haven’t even talked about the electronics yet.
If these homeowners are ever in for a movie marathon, they may be
in for a long haul. Why go to the local video store when you can take
command of your Universal Remote MX-3000 touchscreen and cycle through
a vast 1200 disc DVD collection courtesy of Escient’s flagship
DVD/CD Manager and four Sony 400 disc changers. If that is not enough,
they can choose from over thirty-five HDTV channels from their Dish
Network Satellite and Off-Air High Definition system.
There are seven PSB Image Series speakers and two subwoofers paired
with an HDMI Up-converting Onkyo receiver handling the audio for the
room. The InFocus projector vibrantly displays a 119” image
on their Da-Lite Multi-Mask screen, which they can customize to precisely
fit the variety of Widescreen formats and 4:3 material. With motorized
drapes, six Buttkickers, and remote control lighting from a Lutron
Grafik Eye, this theater has more bells and whistles than the local
school playground.
This theater may transcend you back in time, but the electronics
will keep you focused on the future.
