PRAIRIE ROCK BREWING CO. & THEATERS
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
25 cartoons for a quarter drew every kid in Elgin to the Grove Theater on a Saturday afternoon. Armed with a 5 cent package of Chuckles or a box of popcorn, they sat in the darkness of the massive theater and laughed at the antics of that stupid coyote always getting outsmarted by the lightning fast road runner. Adults watched Charlton Heston duke it out with Pharaoh or saw Audrey Hepburn morph into My Fair Lady. The Grove passed into oblivion along with Elgin's other theaters as TV became the new entertainment medium.
The new Grand Victoria Casino sparked the re-development of the Grove's canyon-like interior space into a micro brewery and restaurant. Its name, Prairie Rock, partly derives from its location on Prairie Street, where it shares the busy corner with Festival Park and River Park Place residences; down a little further is the Casino.
Step inside, there's room in the balcony, right next to that stupid coyote; but watch out--you might get run down by a road runner--beep, beep.
PLAQUE LOCATIONS