John Brumund-Smith and Elizabeth Sickman will say “I do” June 11 in a Waukegan icon that has been part of his family’s history for nearly 90 years.
His great-grandfather, Alvin L. Brumund Sr., is one of three men who founded the Genesee Theatre in 1926.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous — the stage with all the golds and the reds and the bold colors, and the chandelier inside,” Sickman said, adding that the icing on the cake is that it’s an important place to her fiancé and his family.
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“It means a lot that we found a venue that has so much family history,” Sickman said.
Brumund-Smith said he had never been inside the theater until he and Sickman, both of Antioch, toured it last summer as a potential place to get married. But now he is learning about the theater’s history from his aunt, Charon Neul, the granddaughter of Brumund Sr. Her father, Alvin L. Brumund Jr., took over running the theater and the family’s Waukegan dairy business when Brumund Sr. died.
Now, performances and weddings are staged at the theater nearly every day of the year.
Neul, who never met her grandfather, said she learned the concept for the theater “was very avant garde for its day.”
In 1926, Brumund Sr., along with H.C. Burnett and D.T. Webb, purchased land at the corner of Genesee and Clayton streets from the YMCA for $130,000, according to the Genesee Theatre website. They spent $1 million creating a community center for Waukegan that included entertainment, commercial and living spaces.
The theater opened Christmas Day 1927 with four sold-out shows that included the film “The Valley of the Giants.”
The theater’s facade was made of terra cotta and pressed brick. The interior was designed in Spanish-Renaissance style using 1,200 yards of tapestry fabric and a huge chandelier in the lobby.
“At first, there were vaudeville acts there,” Neul said. “Eventually, they put a screen in there and showed movies. We went to see movies there all the time.”
Neul said she especially enjoyed hearing the pipe organ, which was installed for $25,000 when the theater was built.
“It was lovely because Genesee Theatre has such beautiful acoustics,” she said.
In 1952, the Genesee Theatre was renovated with new seats and a new sound system. In 1982, because of her father’s failing health and the advent of movie houses in the area, the theater was sold, Neul said.
The new owners foreclosed and 10 years later, the City of Waukegan purchased the building and spent nearly $23 million renovating it with help from about 120 volunteers, according to Neul and the theater’s website. It reopened Dec. 3, 2004.
“They did an excellent job to try and stay with the original intent of the theater,” Neul said. “They got the original carpet samples, the original wallpaper. My mother was still alive when they were refurbishing the theater.”
Brumund-Smith said he grew up near Madison, Wis., because his mother, Cynthia Caldwell, remarried and moved there. He said he always knew about the Genesee Theatre and remembers seeing a picture of his great-grandfather raising a flag outside it.
“I knew he had owned it and that was the family business for 50 years,” Brumund-Smith said. “But when we got a tour of it to see if we wanted to get married there, it was the first time I’d ever been there. I was a little upset that I hadn’t been there before. I worked at a school in Waukegan for a while, and every once in a while, I’d go to the library. The library is half a block away from the theater.”
Brumund-Smith, who also taught at Antioch Community High School, coaches track and field and swimming at Lake Forest High School.
When researching wedding venues, he and Sickman noticed the Genesee Theatre was available.
“We went to go check it out the day after we got engaged, Aug. 16, 2015. It was amazing,” Brumund-Smith said. “Elizabeth’s mom, Cathy Renner, was there. My aunt was there. They showed us so many cool things.”
One area that especially impressed Brumund-Smith is where the actors dress, which is where Sickman’s bridesmaids will get ready.
“Charon [Neul] has been telling us stories, how she helped her father, and she knew the ins and outs of everything,” Sickman said. “It meant so much to her family. You can just tell in Charon’s eyes how special it is.”
Sickman will have six bridesmaids wearing such subdued colors as champagne and taupe to offset the theater’s bold colors, she said. They’ll carry roses with antique brooches.
“John’s having a James Bond tux and my dress is very vintage looking,” she said.
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The couple will say their vows in front of the curtains, have cocktails afterward in the Jack Benny room “and then they bring everyone back into the theater for the reception, pulling up the curtains with the tables all on the stage,” she said.
For many reasons, Sickman said, “I think we all might be teary-eyed that day.”
Sheryl DeVore is a freelancer for the News-Sun