Many grandparents tell their grandchildren about once being able to see a movie for a dime. While prices have gone up, the Virginia Theatre still offers the same experience that the older generation had decades ago of watching a movie in a large auditorium with elaborate architecture. At more than 80 years old, renovations are required to maintain that experience.

Since taking over the Virginia Theatre in downtown Champaign in 2000, the Champaign Park District has made several improvements to the building, including new restrooms, an expanded lobby and a showering area for performers.

However, Jameel Jones, the Park District’s cultural arts manager, said these are only a few of the many renovations to come.

“It’s constantly improving. Every day there’s work being done,” Jones said.

The next projects scheduled include new seats and improvements to the stage and backstage areas, he said.

“It’s kind of hard to put a number of years on (how long improvements will continue to be made),” Jones said.

He estimated that the theatre needs to raise $4 to $5 million more to complete the renovations.

Much of the work is funded by contributions from individuals as well as businesses, Jones said. Using speeches and mailings, the theatre’s staff tries to show the community what has been accomplished.

“Their dollar is not going and sitting in a bank somewhere,” Jones said. “But it’s actually being applied to whatever we need done around here.”

A dollar from each ticket sale also goes towards renovations. Jones said the theater raises an average of $17,000 to $20,000 per month.

The Park District regained another source of funding through legislation passed by the State Assembly last week. The bill, which Gov. Rod Blagojevich has indicated he is likely to approve, would give money for zoos, museums, and other facilities to Illinois communities with off-track betting parlors.

“It’s very good news,” said Mike Seibold, the Champaign Park District’s director of finance.

The program was not funded this fiscal year, which ends June 30. Without the money, the Park District had been forced to take money from other departments to finance the renovations, he said.

The Park District expects to receive a little more than $47,000 next fiscal year, the same amount received in the four years prior to this one, Seibold said. All the money received from the bill will be used for smaller projects at the Virginia Theatre, such as replacing the carpeting, he said.

Roger Ebert’s Overlooked Film Festival, which draws up to 20,000 people to the theatre every April, has also been very beneficial to the restoration work at the theatre, Jones said.

The theatre hosts the five-day event that features movies selected by Ebert, the Chicago Sun-Times film critic. This will be the seventh year of the film festival.

“They see the state of the theater each year and how it’s improving, so that’s also a way that encourages people to continue to give to our renovation effort,” he said.

Mary Susan Britt, the festival’s assistant director, said the Virginia Theater’s history and architecture make it a good fit for the film festival. The size of the auditorium, which seats 1,525 people, works well for interaction between the audience and speakers.

“And it’s where Roger (Ebert) went to watch movies as a kid,” she added.

The theatre first opened in 1921 and was listed in 2003 on the National Register of Historic Places list maintained by the National Park Service.

“You have people who have been in this community forever … I still have those patrons that come in here and say, ‘Wow, I saw Batman when I was a kid here,'” Jones said.

Besides the architecture, the theatre has two high-quality projectors that offer a great image on the largest screen in the area, Jones said. The theatre also still has its original organ.

The Virginia Theatre is unique to the community because of the wide range of entertainment it provides, including plays, movies and concerts as well as hosting weddings and business meetings, Jones said.

The theatre also hosts a film series sponsored by the News-Gazette that shows “classic” movies for $5 and “Reel Deals” that show second-run movies for $2 or $3.

The Champaign-Urbana Theatre Company uses the theatre, too. Company Manager John Stuff said the non-profit company formed to protect the Virginia Theatre in 1995 after discussions of tearing it down to make a parking lot.

“(Our goal) was to make sure the building itself was maintained as an entertainment venue,” Stuff said.