Portage Theater
4050 N. Milwaukee Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60641
4050 N. Milwaukee Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60641
35 people
favorited this theater
Showing 176 - 200 of 212 comments found
thats the picture I have referred too.
A view of the Portage’s vertical sign is visible in a late 30s photo of Six Corners (with the fantastic Art Deco Klee Building in the foreground of the photo) on page 22 of Neal Samors & Michael Williams' “The Old Chicago Neighborhood: Remembering Life in the 1940s” (2003).
ahh ok.
The sign in question also carried M&R’s logo.
Vertical would have been a better way to describe it..I sent a picture to paul, Once this site can handle more pictures, Ill get the one I have of it posted. Do we know where it is?
Brian, I’m thinking Elizabeth means the vertical sign when she refers to the “big letter sign”.
The circle used to be the logo for the ABC chain, as in this 70s photo of the Roosevelt Theatre in the Loop which also was then part of the ABC/Great States chain. In a Chicago Tribune movie listing I have dated 1984, the Portage is shown to be part of the M & R chain.
I always assumed the circle was an abc sign, I don’t know the ownership history of the Portage, though.
At the moment the picture uploading is down. Paul I have sent you a picture.
in the picture above there is a circle between the marquees
the clock would have been there. Im going to see if I cant get a picture of the big letter sign posted.
?? There is no clock that I know of and I do not know what letter sign to which you refer. Sorry.
What are the big letter sign and clock that you refer to?
A well worded business plan would work. I can help. E-mail me or call our office. (630) 221-0667
Do you think a petition would work in any sort?
Elizabeth: Great questions. Alderman Levar was absolutely NO help to us with the Portage Park Theatre. He did not facilitate the departments of the city (health, building, fire, etc.) and would NOT sign off on a generator that is needed now for all PPAs (Public Places of Amusement.) By the way, there are great secret rooms and a magnificent old vaudeville proscenium hidden behind the movie screens. We could have opened it and been running movies now. It is sad. The Landlord is a nice guy but does not want to invest any money in the theatre. I would LOVE to come back and help after our success here at the Wheaton Grand Theatre.
Oh I wanted to ask if you knew of where the big letter sign was that came from the building? the clock? Is there a basement? Any secret rooms?
Ok laugh, Im curious thats all.
Know what? maybe the Patio would be a better choice for a movie theater they can keep their capacity low,more shows,play two a week for 3 days a piece and then Sunday play a First Run A for what the larger theaters charge..4-7$Limited tickets.
Hey…that’s why they gave us two blockbusters huh?……
Anyway, The portage has a larger capacity for a bigger venue.
Paul, Did you have any qualms with Levar?
Hello.
I was looking into a maybe smaller venue for a NeverEnding Story Convention / Meeting.Right now Im in the Midst of pulling together a fan base,and possibilities of a location, but the thought of politics in Rosemont kinda detoured me away from the convention center. This wont be for another 1 to 2 years though.
As for the thought of a CVS??? Have you seen our neighborhood lately?
Its bad enough we already have two blockbusters within walking distance! Thats about all the entertainment and shopping we have without going towards that overcrowded mall!Oh forgive me we have a Marshalls.
Besides theres a Jewel Osco, and three Walgreens!we dont even need to be putting the thought into their money hungry corporate heads.
What Im saying is the neighborhood itself is becoming pretty pathetic. Its disturbing and sad!
We need an “in stone” foundation building thats says WE ARE PORTAGE PARK!
and we need it there to pick this neighborhood back up,for a good use! (Education in the Arts,or make it home to the next second city, or something worth while a dinner theater maybe,Auction House.) instead of knocking it down for condos!(Which that big Klee building is there for)Or putting retail in it that says nothing about the neighboorhood(once again what the Klee building is for). For god sakes we have an olympic size pool that held the Olympic try outs! that says Portage Park and it deserves so much better than what it has become today!We need something to Keep Our Own.
We also have the Parking, which says more than the Patio where you have to fight though dumb people pulling stupid moves on Irving Park going to a deli!!!
It’s SIX CORNERS not IRVING AND AUSTIN!
We need this theater (maybe not so much of a theater to nessisarily house movies or (hell Keep a screen!)at six corners but the building needs to stay too!. The apartments in the building… they can have there condo fun with.
Its nice to see that the lights were on,For as long as I have been alive I had never saw those lights on…Until closing the recyclery one night. When that building just illuminated the street It brought tears to my eyes! Someone cared about it that much.
If you only knew the troubles I had with the city and that theatre!
The Portage Theatre should be able to copy the success of the Davis Theatre on Lincoln Avenue, there’s plenty of room in that building for more than one screen and virtually no competition for miles around.
I think you are right, Ken. My comment could have been more carefully worded…and Paul, I applaud your efforts in Wheaton.
You are a smart man, Ken. It does take a village to save a theatre!
I am aware of the past tribulations you encountered. I’ve been in the area for awhile. (I used to actually go to the Portage to see movies).
The United States is a very young country, (200+ years), and tearing down our architectural past certainly doesn’t help preserve any cultural threads. I only wish I had the vision to see a viable option. I would love to support a creative, community-enriching solution. Coming up with one isn’t my strong point.
With Regards,
Ken Janssen
To Life’s Too Short & Ken Janssen: I agree. Before we took it over, it WAS a pigsty! I should know: I ran the Portage Park Theatre for a year. The owners were well intentioned but did not know the game. The city did NOT help us at all. They put every imaginable obstacle in our way. The neighbors really wanted us to open and tried to help. Chicago is still a great city BUT its bureacracy brings it down. Some structures should be saved and some should be considered for other purposes. Turning a profit IS the American Way but some of us try to save the old and make a living.
And when we have a CVS on every corner, we will complain how boring
our neigborhoods have become. Surely, there is a more creative solution/use for an old theater. Does it need to be a theater? Maybe not. Does it need to be an overpriced pharmacy, selling trinkets, and junk? I hope not.
Can every old structure be saved? No. Should every old structure be preserved? Probably not. But some thought needs to be given to the solution. Turning a profit for a few, while saddling a community with something it really doesn’t need, isn’t very creative.