McClurg Court Cinemas

I’ll always remember that huge, slightly curved screen. It was the first time I’d ever seen one and it really immersed you in the movie-going experience. (In fact, as I recall, if you sat too close at just the right angle, the effect was rather dizzying!) My dad and I went there to see “Fiddler on the Roof,” a reissue of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “That’s Entertainment,” a Robert Blake film called “Electra Glide in Blue,” a reissue of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and “Logan’s Run,” amongst others. The last movie we saw there was “Moonraker” in 1979. By that time, we were living in the western suburbs, and it actually would have been closer for us to see it at the UA Cinema in Oak Brook. But we were big James Bond fans and we’d never seen a 007 film at the McClurg Court. So we made the trek into the city. I’m glad we did. It’s one of the lesser Bond films in terms of quality, but it makes up for that in spectacle—which made it perfect for the McClurg Court.

wow, first i read the Fine Arts is closed, now this! damn! this theater was awesome.

although i saw the star wars re-releases here (was third in line for one of them) where i was with 15 of my closest friends i’ll always rememeber this theater for a movie i saw by myself, which i rarely do. i saw the restored 70mm print of Vertigo at this theater and until that point i did not truly understand hitchcock’s genuis. that print was so beautiful, vibrant, and detailed that it made you forget it was a movie made years ago and it made you understand the difference between a film and a movie.

that understanding is the gift McClurg Ct. gave to me. i’ll never forget it.

Since I want to own movie theatres very soon, I’d like to turn this place into a art house or something. I miss McClurg Court with a passion.

It’s quite sad that this theater closed. I haven’t lived in Chicago since 1996, but made several trips to McClurg since then to see particular films. Today a friend of mine visiting Chicago and asked where a good theater was, without delay I responded McClurg Court, only to discover it is out of business.

I saw the rerelease of Star Wars there, when it was one of a handful of THX auditoriums in Chicago, the level of excitement and crowd participation was awesome. When Star Wars Episode I and II came out, McClurg court was the only DLP projection, THX certified auditorium in Chicago.

The main auditorium had a somwhat unusual oval shape, seemingly wider than it was deep.

I saw Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon there on new years eve 2000, sadly the theater was even then falling into disrepair. The screen and sound were still good, but the seats were threadbare, and the auditorium dirty.

I believe the seating was 1,189 after its conversion to a triplex. Can’t figure where the additional 189 seats came in.

John: Thanks for this update, sad as it is. Like yourself, I really liked the McClurg Court. In the seventies when I was just out of school, I had a studio apartment nearby and could walk there—a real luxury. As you say, yet another health club. :–( When I lived there, the McClurg Building had club and pool near the second level deck, possibly.

Wow…I’m embarassed to say that I wasn’t aware that McClurg had closed. For the 10 yrs I lived in the City, everytime a special-effects laden movie would come out, it simply meant Theatre 1 @ McClurg. While I’m in the burbs now, the imminent release of Episode III gave me the same thought, and I was keen to revisit the site of so many enjoyable evenings. Given the demise of this treasure, is there any other theater in Chicagoland that stands out and is worthy of being a destination for big-time movies like Theatre 1 once was? Please advise.

Greg: Into how many screens did they divide the theater? What a disaster.

I used to live a few blocks away from the McClurg in Lake Point Tower in the mid-1970s. I only saw a couple films there, even though it was an easy walk. I saw a revival of 2001. Sound and projection were suberb. I’ve heard it rumored that it was designed for single lens Cinerama. I think I recall the screen had some curve to it. By the time I’d moved to Chicago, the three-projector Cinerama theater had closed.

As the one-year anniversary of its closing nears, is there any news to report on plans for the former McClurg Court Cinemas space?

One of my most magical nights was spent at the McClurg Court reliving a treasured childhood memory. It was opening night of the reissue of Star Wars and I happened to be lucky enough to get tickets to the 7pm show. It was a packed house, yet even though there were 1000 people there, the place was strangely reverent, and crackling with excitement. I remember sitting in the vastness of the theatre before the lights went out and feeling how special it was to know that we all were either going back to a special time in our lives, or creating a new childhood memory, which really connected us all. As the lights went out, people began cheering with excitement, and when the first strains of the overture (it really is too symphonic to be a theme song) started, tears streamed down my face, and many other faces, too. As we left the theatre, everyone looked renewed and young again. It was such a gift. To see this movie on such a screen was for movie lovers like going to the altar of Notre Dame for a devout catholic. I will truly miss it.

Aaron, even before the McClurg was closed, there was a party interested in converting the theater into a performing arts venue, either with three auditoriums, or restoring the original single auditorium, but it apparently has fallen through, and there has really been no word about the McClurg since its closing this past summer. With the River East 21 so close by and a number of performing arts and stage venues already in the city, many of which are underused or dark for long stretches, it wouldn’t make economic sense that the McClurg would reopen as a movie theater or performing arts venue at this point.