Patio Theatre
6008 West Irving Park Road,
Chicago,
IL
60634
6008 West Irving Park Road,
Chicago,
IL
60634
42 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 275 comments found
The Patio Theatre made an appearance (in vector form) in my comic strip Multiplex today: http://www.multiplexcomic.com/archive.php?name=416
(The two characters in the strip are making a habit of visiting classic theaters in the Chicago area; one is a photography buff, the other a budding classic movie theater buff. Chicago’s Calo Theatre has previously appeared, and they will be visiting more in the future, as well.)
Photography purists will be more interested in this recent gallery (from July, 2009) of Patio Theatre pics at my Flickr account, however: View link
exterior hasn’t changed since the last pics were posted, as far as I know I haven’t heard anything from the owner about planning to reopen.
Any recent photos of the exterior, interior or any news
Reactivate notification status.
You had to walk up the ramp from the lobby between the stadium style seating areas at the rear. The bathrooms were in the basement, though.
There is an inclined ramp that you have to go up when you enter the auditorium.
I remember something strange about this theater. Maybe I just dreamed it but I think that when you entered the auditorium you had to step down. Or was it up? Maybe somebody will straighten me out.
classic cinemas are you listening?
This is a recent photo.
Here’s a picture I took of the Patio on May 24, 2008:
View link
Re.: PATIO marquee –
trucks keep ramming it, can’t say why this should be a particular problem in more recent times. Someone else can speculate?
Wow the marquee is really getting beat up
My mom worked in the patio theater from about 1991 till 1998 and would often take me to work with her, at one time we lived in the apartment building attached to the Patio. After so many years of being around the Patio and essentially growing up there I share some of Mr. Antonelli’s memories of the Patio and of Alex K. Although I was too young at the time to think of the Patio in the same way I think of it now, I would love to be able to see a movie in it. Going into a new theatre today is boring and bland. Even if the movie was bad you wouldn’t be disappointed because of all of the things you could see while in the theatre. I remember on some days I would try to sneak into the projection booth and would see all of the posters on the wall and the big projectors and tubes of metal rods used to light the projectors. I also remember Mr. Antonelli and that he was very serious about his work at the Patio, when i try to remember way back I remember when “The Wizard of Austin Boulevard” was being filmed at the Patio and it was full of wires and lighting equipment. I think those who have worked in the Patio have an extra special bond with the place, even someone like me who as a little boy helped my parents clean up the empty popcorn buckets and pop cups. I also know that there were others who devoted their time to help keep the Patio running, and to the best of my knowledge they did this for free. The three gentleman would come in on Saturdays and fix-up the place. I don’t remember a whole lot about them, but maybe PatioMike or Mr. Antonelli can help me out here, I remember them as Mr. Richard (DIc), Mr. Jim, and Mr. Jerry.
Dave K
For PATIO to remain standing profoundly disused for so many years sort of tells me the owner awaits even expects the right terms to be brought them for putting it back in business. Optimism, can’t fault them for that. Otherwise it’d’ve wiped away already, right?
I think of other disused old neighborhood movie palaces that came back to life after years, but unfortunately I can think of some—Montclare is one—the owner seemed to want to but after time ultimately gave up the ghost. With that in mind what’re the realistic odds for the PATIO—there’s poor street parking and it ain’t of any architectural significance.
Here is another 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d9t4p3
Here is a photo of the Patio from July 1982. There was more left of the bottom part of the support for the former vertical sign at that time than there is now. Does anyone know when they took off the vertical sign on the Patio?
The marquee still looked great then, how I remember it when I went there when I was a boy. It’s too bad the marquee has fallen into such disrepair since it closed.
This, too, looks like a nice theatre inside.
http://members.fortunecity.com/patioman1/
The above website has a nice interior view of the Patio.
Good luck to all of you down there. Hope they re-open the Patio Theatre for you.
they should reopen this place
How cool, MK49er! Thanks for the sweet little story about your mom, you and the Patio Theatre.
My mother was born in 1921 and lived most of her first 35 years or so a few blocks from the Patio on Mason Ave.—including, probably, when the theater opened! She always called it the PAY-show. I remember my dad taking me there to see Disney’s Peter Pan. I would have been about 4 at the time (yes, it was a VERY big deal!).
It looks like a gorgeous theatre, both inside and out. Sure hope you guys can save it, for your own sake, although I’m not a resident of the Chicago area, or the State of Illinois, generally.
I am trying to reach Patiomike from above posts. We are interested in forming a Save the Patio neighborhood group to raise money for the restoration and preservation of this beautiful theater. Anybody with info please contact me at e mail below.
“LETS SAVE AND REOPEN THE PATIO THEATER”
Thanks
Dan
Here is another photo of the Patio Theater.