The Preservation of the Egyptian Theatre (PET) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, respecting and sharing the Egyptian Theatre while protecting the historical integrity of the building. It is also our mission to promote community cohesiveness through the shared experience of the arts by being a center for the visual and performing arts through innovation and leadership.

This theatre is the jewel of downtown DeKalb. P.E.T. Inc. takes great pride in preserving this historic landmark and advancing the capabilites of the theatre for area and national groups to use.

The Egyptian Theatre was built in 1929 by the then DeKalb Theatre Co. to be the most glamorous theatre in the entire area. They achieved this with architectual details by featuring golden falcon wings throughout the building and two huge golden statues of Rames II, each one gaurding the sides of the stage. Other unique features include ten murals of Egypt depicting the pyramids of Giza, Abu Simbal, and the Sphinx; a stained glass window depicting the sacred scarab beetle;12 golden death masks; and an azure blue sky with twinkling stars. When it was originally built, it had 1,600 seats and in the '20's was the largest indoor auditorium in DeKalb County, Illinois.

The theatre opened on December 10, 1929, showing silent films during the week and vaudeville performances on the weekends. In the forties and fifties, the Egyptian concentrated mostly on movies, with an occasional live event. By the sixties, the Egyptian was mostly a movie house, although some exceptions did occur. It was during this time that Senator John F. Kennedy made an appearance to a packed house during a campaign stop in DeKalb.

By the mid seventies, the Egyptian was a ghost of its previous splendor. The plaster walls and interior motifs were crumbling away, the seats were in disrepair, the plumbing rarely worked, the boiler was no longer functioning, and there were holes in the ceiling. In 1977, the Egyptian Theatre was closed and the property given over to the city of DeKalb.

In 1978, a group of people banded together to form Preservation of the Egyptian Theatre, Inc, or P.E.T. Even though the theatre was in such bad shape, these people knew how spectacular the Egyptian used to be and had a vision of making it the jewel of the community once again. The theatre was one of only six remaining Egyptian themed theatres in the country. P.E.T. Inc. raised enough money to purchase the building from the city. They developed a plan to operate the Egyptian as a community performance center and to show movies on the weekends. Volunteers cleaned, worked on the plumbing, fixed seats and looked for ways to raise money for the restoration of the theatre.

In 1980, the Egyptian Theatre was registered on the National Registry of Historical Places. This designation helped the theatre qualifiy for a 2.125 million dollar grant from the State of Illinois. This grant enabled P.E.T. to restore the Egyptian Theatre to its original splendor.

Since the early eighties, P.E.T. Inc. has operated and staffed the Egyptian Theatre. Volunteers make up the majority of the staff by working concessions, cleaning and fundraising.

The maintenance and upkeep of a 80 year old building is no small task. Community support is essential to the continued success of the theatre. P.E.T. could not do this alone. Volunteers and financial support from the entire community is the lifeblood that keeps the Egyptian Theatre successful and ensures that the theatre will continue to serve the community as a venue for the promotion of the arts.