No big surprises here, considering Mizrachi was supposed to have renovated and reopened the place two years ago. I doubt the city will come through, considering how little historic preservation there is. And I’m not talking about old casinos, either. When I was there in 2006 I had a 1996 guide to historic Las Vegas; 90% of the sites had been torn down.
Sorry to disappoint, but my understanding from Chabad Lubavitch is that they intend to convert the existing structure into a school, not tear down and rebuild. Whether Village stays or not, we’re stuck with the building for a while. Maybe it will look better once windows are carved into it.
There’s a building permit application filed with the City for 3300 W. Lawrence: ERECT 6 D.U. WITH (2) FIRST FLOOR OFFICE SPACES MASONRY BUILDING. 6 EXTERIOR PARKING SPACES ON CONCRETE PAD. 5 FEET HIGH 9 FEET BY 4 FEET MASONRY TRASH ENCLOSURE ON CONCRETE PAD WITH GATE. 74 LN. FEET OF 6 FEET HIGH WOOD FENCE. CONDITIONAL PERMIT. SUB. I didn’t find a demo permit in the system for the existing building, so maybe it’s staying after all.
Still sitting dormant, with No Trespassing signs posted on the front doors. Some of the “CASTLE” letters on the right side of the marquee have fallen backwards.
The seats and screen are gone, the floor is leveled, and the whole interior is essentially one big room. Also, as the description states, the building itself is an old Quonset hut; except for the marquee, there isn’t a hint that this was ever a theater. It also happens to be functioning as a successful antiques/crafts mall.
A woman who works in the antiques mall said it was called the Loves Park Family Theater, though I can’t verify that.
Just curious, where did you park? You said there was a sidewalk directly to the theater, so I’m guessing you were in the shopping center lot. I’m 99.99% sure the signs on the door, at least a couple of weeks ago, said to park in the Home Depot or the shopping center lot. I’ve never seen anything about parking at Thillens, and that lot is all the way up at Kedzie & Albion, a half mile from the theater!
There is a notice of water service termination posted on the door of one of the stores, and it looks like some interior demolition has begun. Also, the restuarant north of the theater on Spaulding has closed, with some interior demolition going on. Interestingly, the fence around the rear of the property has been removed, and there are a couple of murals (or at least very elaborate graffiti) on the back of the building.
The building was donated to Lubavitch Chabad to be turned into a girls' school; it is not hearsay. See “Movie Theater to Close over Rent Dispute,” Crain’s Chicago Business, 9/4/07. They plan on adapting the existing building.
Crain’s New York reports that the Astoria Theatre was purchased by Skyline Developers. Manhattan-based Skyline, which typically acquires sites for big-box retailers, has no immediate plans to redevlop the site evict the current tenants, but Crain’s predicts there are some plans for the future.
I stopped in last night. They are open and playing current films (30 Days of Night, Dan in Real Life). The employees do not know when the theater will close.
The link I posted on 9/26/07 no longer works; use this one instead:
Bus in front of the RKO Forham, circa 1956
The link I posted on 10/23/07 no longer works; use this instead:
RKO Jefferson in 1982
The photo link I posted on 12/5/07 no longer works; use these instead:
Jenny, 4/3/70
Semi-Tough, 1/21/78
Superman II in 70mm, 7/15/81
Deathtrap, 4/19/82
It’s gone.
It’s still open.
It is the same theater. Here is a 2006 photo.
Here are a couple of photos of the lobby. The auditorium is reportedly in similarly excellent condition.
No big surprises here, considering Mizrachi was supposed to have renovated and reopened the place two years ago. I doubt the city will come through, considering how little historic preservation there is. And I’m not talking about old casinos, either. When I was there in 2006 I had a 1996 guide to historic Las Vegas; 90% of the sites had been torn down.
First-class demo job, too. You can jump from the sidewalk right into one of the windowless storefronts and land in the basement.
Heh; I bought two pair of shoes here about six months ago. Never knew it was a theater!
The location is still showing up on Shoe Carnival’s website, so I’d guess it wasn’t torn down.
It’s there:
3300 W LAWRENCE AVE
Description: WRECK AND REMOVE A TWO STORY COMMERCIAL BUILDING.
Total Records: 2
Discipline ApprDate Status
FINAL DATA REVIEW 02/20/2008 APPROVED
FINAL DATA REVIEW 02/20/2008 APPROVED
Which Village Entertainment theater will close next.
Similar to the Logan, maybe even a bit nicer. It’s NOTHING like the hellhole it was in the late 1990s.
Sorry to disappoint, but my understanding from Chabad Lubavitch is that they intend to convert the existing structure into a school, not tear down and rebuild. Whether Village stays or not, we’re stuck with the building for a while. Maybe it will look better once windows are carved into it.
There’s a building permit application filed with the City for 3300 W. Lawrence: ERECT 6 D.U. WITH (2) FIRST FLOOR OFFICE SPACES MASONRY BUILDING. 6 EXTERIOR PARKING SPACES ON CONCRETE PAD. 5 FEET HIGH 9 FEET BY 4 FEET MASONRY TRASH ENCLOSURE ON CONCRETE PAD WITH GATE. 74 LN. FEET OF 6 FEET HIGH WOOD FENCE. CONDITIONAL PERMIT. SUB. I didn’t find a demo permit in the system for the existing building, so maybe it’s staying after all.
Still sitting dormant, with No Trespassing signs posted on the front doors. Some of the “CASTLE” letters on the right side of the marquee have fallen backwards.
The façade above the marquee is covered in graffiti. Sad.
Sounds like a first class restoration job; I can’t wait to get down there to check it out.
The seats and screen are gone, the floor is leveled, and the whole interior is essentially one big room. Also, as the description states, the building itself is an old Quonset hut; except for the marquee, there isn’t a hint that this was ever a theater. It also happens to be functioning as a successful antiques/crafts mall.
A woman who works in the antiques mall said it was called the Loves Park Family Theater, though I can’t verify that.
Another bus passing the Murray Hill, this time in 1982. Deathtrap is on the marquee.
GS,
Just curious, where did you park? You said there was a sidewalk directly to the theater, so I’m guessing you were in the shopping center lot. I’m 99.99% sure the signs on the door, at least a couple of weeks ago, said to park in the Home Depot or the shopping center lot. I’ve never seen anything about parking at Thillens, and that lot is all the way up at Kedzie & Albion, a half mile from the theater!
There is a notice of water service termination posted on the door of one of the stores, and it looks like some interior demolition has begun. Also, the restuarant north of the theater on Spaulding has closed, with some interior demolition going on. Interestingly, the fence around the rear of the property has been removed, and there are a couple of murals (or at least very elaborate graffiti) on the back of the building.
The building was donated to Lubavitch Chabad to be turned into a girls' school; it is not hearsay. See “Movie Theater to Close over Rent Dispute,” Crain’s Chicago Business, 9/4/07. They plan on adapting the existing building.
Crain’s New York reports that the Astoria Theatre was purchased by Skyline Developers. Manhattan-based Skyline, which typically acquires sites for big-box retailers, has no immediate plans to redevlop the site evict the current tenants, but Crain’s predicts there are some plans for the future.
I stopped in last night. They are open and playing current films (30 Days of Night, Dan in Real Life). The employees do not know when the theater will close.