Groundwork for the theatre began in December 1920, an idea of Elijah J. Boorde and his son, John Rosslyn Boorde, and blossomed into an actual plan with the groundbreaking in April of 1921. The Boorde family were the owners of the Hoopeston Telephone Company and pumped money into the outside and inside of the new Lorraine Theatre, purchasing only the best equipment they could find.

The $100,000 Lorraine boasted the “finest ventilation, luxuriousness of fittings and general appearance of any theatre in this section of the state... conforming to state safety laws and could be emptied at a very few minutes warning” in 1922.

Gloria Swanson's movie The Great Moment was the first silent film shown in the new Lorraine Theatre. Once the Lorraine Theatre opened on March 6, 1922, the theatre gained fame for miles around as a unique and beautiful grand theatre. People trekked from as far away as Chicago to see movies and plays in the theatre, and later to listen to the enhanced surround sound system which Greg Boardman added in the early 1990s.

Elijah Boorde's brother-in-law, John Randolph Thompson, a famous restaurateur and grocery chain owner in Chicago, bought the lease from Boorde near the end of 1922 and held it until August 1924, when Frank and Martin Polka of the Chicago Polka Bros. theatre circuit bought the lease. Their ownership was short lived, however. The Polka Bros. sold the lease to Arthur Bingham McCollum and Tracy L. Orr of Dwight and Gibson City, Illinois in March of 1925. At some point in time, Tracy L. Orr gave up his share of the Lorraine and McCollum became the sole owner.

Three things stand out in McCollum's tenure with the Lorraine. He was arrested in December of 1926 for showing a movie on Sunday which was against the City of Hoopeston ordinances, "talkies" came to the Lorraine in January of 1930 and the Lorraine Theatre received a complete remodel inside which added the balcony, restrooms with lounge areas and a new 15 X 30 foot lighted canopy with "3,000 light bulbs and a 1,000 feet of neon tubes in gay colors" on the outside.

According to one local resident, patrons previously had to use the restrooms in the gas station across the street before the addition of restrooms in 1937. Early entry into the auditorium before 1937 was through the area in which the concession now is located. Boxes were located on either side of the entry doors for the VIPS with the regular auditorium seating in front of the boxes. Seating capacity in 1922 through the 1987 era was 800 seats.
Alex Claussen, a Chicago theatre designer, designed the Art Deco remodel of the Lorraine in 1937. He also donated a canvas mural which represented the corn canning industry in Hoopeston.

New projectors and a stereo sound system was installed by McCollum in 1953 to keep up with the changing technology, upgrading the listening pleasure for the patrons. A wider screen was also added to play the new Cinemascope movies that were being released at that time. The first Cinemascope movie shown on the new system at the Lorraine was The Robe.

McCollum held at least two Hollywood Premiere's during his ownership, one in the 1940s and one on Friday, May 5, 1958. Both premieres had Hoopeston residents portraying "stars" such as Jock Mahoney, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Mae West, Marlon Brando and Elvis Presley, to name a few. Each arrived in limousines donated by local car dealerships and each "star" was announced as they walked down the red carpet to enter the Lorraine Theatre.

Art Nelson, McCollum's Theatre manager, later bought the lease dated January 25, 1962. He held the Lorraine until 1987. Greg Boardman and Jim Franklin bought the Lorraine in 1987 to restore it and run first run movies. In 1998, Boardman added the eight channel Sony Dynamic Digital Sound system to the Lorraine. To advertise the new system, Boardman showed Men In Black free during the weekend of April 25, 1998.

Boardman also expanded the Lorraine entertainment by adding a second theatre, Lorraine II, on September 18, 1998, in the former Rhonda's Baskets at 214 East Main Street. The Lorraine II had a three-speaker system which was later converted to the same system as the Lorraine Theatre. Seating capacity dropped to 500 seats in the Lorraine sometime after Boardman bought it and the Lorraine II held 50 seats. Later the Lorraine II seating capacity was raised to 80 seats.

Kevin Alvarez of Burlington, Wisconsin bought the Lorraine from Boardman in May of 2007. By October of 2008, Alvarez sold the Lorraine to a California man, Josh Caudle. Caudle did some remodeling and painting of the Lorraine after he purchased the theatres. The seats were replaced during his remodel, adding 60 inches more leg room in the auditorium and balcony, which brought the seating down to 318 seats in the Lorraine and to 48 in the Lorraine II. 

The economy took a nosedive after Caudle bought the Lorraine and he was forced to close for financial reasons in April of 2012. MainSource Bank took the Lorraine, and later, after they went into bankruptcy, sold them to Fontella Fraley Krout who donated the buildings to the Save The Lorraine Foundation. The Foundation is presently in the process of renovating the Lorraine while the Lorraine II, dubbed the Little Lorraine, is operational and showing movies.

Memories of the residents regarding the Lorraine Theatre are many and varied. Some remember that sweethearts sat in the balcony to "sort of be alone." Others remember A. B. McCollum, Art Nelson or Don Merrill shining flashlights on them when a group became a little too rambunctious while the movie was in progress. McCollum, Nelson and Merrill could always be seen walking down the side aisles in the auditorium and the balcony at different times during the shows keeping kids in line. Everyone kept track of time with the red neon clock located on the west wall in the Lorraine auditorium and telephones were provided in the lobby to call parents for pick up after the show or in emergencies, and sometimes when a kid got in trouble.

Still others remember the bank nights, the plays, the talent shows, a wedding or two, giveaways, a few famous entertainers performing on stage, the smell of Lorraine popcorn, high school boys and girls working part time, and so much more. If you lived in Hoopeston, the Lorraine Theatre and Cornjerkers went hand-in-hand. Hoopeston was defined by the canning factories, the Cornjerkers, and the Lorraine Theatre