Oil Lamp Theater announced Thursday that it will trade its cozy 60-seat storefront at 1723 Glenview Road for a significantly larger home in the former Ten Ninety Brewing Co. space at 1025 Waukegan Road in downtown Glenview. Theater leaders say the move will mean room for bigger productions, expanded classes and, crucially, a more accessible and permanent base for the company.
Light the Way campaign will pay for the new home
According to Oil Lamp Theater, the nonprofit launched its “Light the Way” fundraising campaign in September 2025 with a $5 million goal to create a roughly 11,000-square-foot facility and open the new venue in 2028. The plan would increase seating from 60 to about 143. Campaign materials say the project is designed to grow the company’s arts education work and strengthen downtown Glenview as a civic gathering place, not just a spot to catch a show and go home.
Former brewery will be reworked into a flexible house
As reported by BroadwayWorld, the new site at 1025 Waukegan Road was purchased by the founder of the Negaunee Foundation as a personal project, then handed to architecture firm Future Firm to reshape into a flexible theater space that the outlet describes as seating “up to 150+” guests. The longtime Ten Ninety Brewing location offers something Oil Lamp has never really had before, prominent front-door visibility on Waukegan Road.
More room for shows, students and audiences
Local coverage and the theater’s own materials note that Oil Lamp already draws more than 10,000 patrons a year from roughly 225 communities, which is a lot of traffic to squeeze into 60 seats. Its education programs served more than 230 students in 2025, with participants ranging in age from three to 97. The added square footage and upgraded technical capacity are meant to relieve those constraints and open the door for more classes, camps and productions than the current storefront can handle. According to Spotlight on Lake, organizers made it a priority to keep the company in downtown Glenview rather than decamping to a larger space somewhere else.
Downtown impact and next steps
The theater’s campaign packet includes a comment from the Glenview Chamber of Commerce that frames the expansion as both an economic and cultural boost for the village’s center. Oil Lamp Theater says it plans to share detailed design renderings and a schedule of fundraising events in the coming months, with construction and a targeted opening still projected for 2028.
Designs, giving information and additional background are available through the theater’s campaign materials and local coverage. Spotlight on Lake and the theater’s Light the Way packet are good starting points. Oil Lamp will continue staging shows at its Glenview Road address through the 2026 season while fundraising and planning move forward.
