The School of Rockford Dance Company's Nutcracker in Rockford

The Coronado Performing Arts Center

The Coronado Performing Arts Center (originally the Coronado Theatre), in Rockford, Illinois, is a 2,400-seat theatre, designed by architect Frederic J. Klein. The theatre cost $1.5 million to build, and opened on October 9, 1927

The theatre’s elaborate auditorium is designed according to the atmospheric style popular in movie houses built in the 1920s. This style simulates an outdoor theater-going experience. The Coronado’s auditorium walls are decorated with facades of gilded Spanish and Italian-style buildings, and the ceiling looks like a deep blue sky filled with twinkling stars and floating clouds. The auditorium is full of gilded detail. Green stained-glass lamps with fluted bulbs adorn the walls. Japanese dragons and glowing lanterns cover the organ screens on either side of the stage. Seating is on two levels, the main floor and a sizeable balcony. At the front of the theatre, in front and below the stage is an orchestra pit. Incorporated into the gilded sides of the interior of the theatre hall are several alcoves that resemble box seats along the sides, which can be accessed from the balcony level but usually do not have seats. All seats are covered with plush red velvet.

The lobby and mezzanine level are as elaborately designed as the auditorium. One of the grand mezzanine’s focal points is a statue of Venus standing in front of a golden seashell. Because of its breathtaking interior design, the Coronado is sentimentally referred to as “Rockford’s Wonder Theatre.”