Surprise Number Two!

I wrote weeks ago about two surprises. The first one is that Cynthia Ogorek's book on the Lincoln Highway is coming out through Arcadia Press. Now I can tell you about the second surprise, the Egyptian Theatre in DeKalb is getting an authentic Wurlitzer theater pipe organ, shipped out from Virginia. It is going to cost a mint to get it installed, but the theater originally had an organ, and after installation, the theater will become complete again. This future enhancement will complement the Rialto in Joliet and the Paramount in Aurora. This entire area already serves as a major representation of historic theaters, and that will just improve even more. I think there were just the four main types of theaters in the United States, Egyptian, Paramount, Rialto, and Fox. This area has three of those.

Happy Double Birthdays in 2008!

Happy 20th Birthday to Lee County Tourism in 2008! Check out activities and places to visit on the Lee County Tourism Web site at:

http://www.leecountytourism.com/

Today, March 1, 2008, is the 30th Birthday to an all volunteer group in DeKalb, the P.E.T. Inc. (Preservation of the Egyptian Theatre). Although DeKalb is infamous for tearing down the Old Post Office along Lincoln Highway, the preservation of the Egyptian Theatre is a success story, and it is one of the most photographed places along the Lincoln Highway (just two buildings off the route) in Illinois. The Web site for the Egyptian Theatre is at:

http://www.egyptiantheatre.org/

As always--for full disclosure, the blog master is on the Membership Committee for the Friends of the Egyptian Theatre.