The Friends of the DuPage Theatre:
Standing Strong for the Arts and History in Lombard

The Friends of the DuPage Theatre is a Not-For-Profit organization whose advocacy includes historic preservation, the proliferation of the Arts, and enhancing the quality of life in our community and its surrounding area. Established in 2002, our primary mission was to save, restore and adaptively reuse the DuPage Theatre and Shoppes, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Our Mission evolves to changing the local, state and national environment to one under which historically significant buildings and sites will be preserved and protected. We remain committed to the creation of a community-owned and operated Center for the Arts on the property of the former DuPage Theatre and Shoppes in order to fulfill the wishes of the original donor of this historic building and property.

Since May of 2007 when the DuPage Theatre was demolished, the Friends of the DuPage Theatre—working with state and local agencies—have made serious contributions to the State of Illinois preservation laws, protecting the issue of standing in preservation cases and eliminating the use of TIF monies to fund the demolition of historic structures. The Friends continue to support the proliferation of the arts, local and state historic preservation and the promise that the Village of Lombard will one day provide a community arts center for its residents.

The Friends of the DuPage Theatre are also stewards of the remaining artifacts of the DuPage Theatre and Shoppes, including the beautiful star lamps, original seats and many other irreplaceable items saved from demolition. We hope these items may someday be returned to the site and installed as part of a new Center for the Arts building.

The Friends of the DuPage Theatre Executive Board members are:
Deborah Dynako, President
Virginia Lippig, Past President
Kevin Fitzpatrick, Vice President
Allison Triplett, Treasurer
Judy Mazzolini, Secretary