McVickers Theater

It was rumored that John Wilkes Booth had performed there.

The McVickers is mentioned in the final scene of the musical "Chicago"; it's where Roxy and Velma's act opens. The theatre was replaced with a parking lot -- the only surface parking lot within the Loop.
- pc

The fourth McVicker's actually opened in 1922, for the Jones, Linick & Schaefer circuit (which also operated at that time theaters such theaters such as the Rialto, the Orpheum, and the Randolph). When the McVicker's opened, the corporate offices of the chain moved from the Rialto to the McVicker's. The McVicker's had an arrangement when it first opened in 1922 with Paramount to play that studio's movies exclusively for some years.

The first time I ever went to the McVickers was in 1962 when I was in 2nd grade to see "The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm." In the early-mid '70s, it was reduced to a 3 for $1.00 kung-fu/blaxploitation movie house.

An office tower is now under construction on the site.

I went to the McVickers during the Kung-Fu days of the 70's and I new then that a sad end to another part of history was near

I knew the end was near when my feet would stick to the carpet while I was walking down the aisle and when I would see and hear rats running through the place.

A 1929 view of the McVickers' exterior viewed from the corner of State and Madison can be seen here.

A 1903 view of the third McVicker's can be seen here

Also here.
The Library of Congress site has this mislabeled as a shot of the Auditorium Theatre, but it clearly is not and matches the above shot.

The two photos Brian posted of the McVickers auditorium shows the work of Louis Sullivan, from the 1891 Adler & Sullivan designed version of the theater. The misindentification by the LOC isn't too far off because of Adler & Sullivan's being the architects of the much larger and far more ornate (and still surviving) Auditorium Theatre.

Here is a photo dated 1926 of the ticket box and main entrance of the McVickers.

I worked at the Mcvickers theater in the late 60's early 70's as a usher.During that time they had stage shows as well as movies .I remember James Earl Jones in the Great White Hope and Sherman Hemsley in Purlie.

The Mc Vickers played Cine Miracle in 3 strip Cinerama from 12/25/59 thru 5/22/60 and then played Cinerama features in borth 3 strip and 70MM from 8/8/62 thru 6/13/66. This was the only known venue that played "Russian Adventure."

A very versatile venue, being Chicago's original Todd-AO house in 1955, then a moveover location of CineMiracle's "Windjammer" from the Opera House; and then the 26 frame-per-second Cinerama in 1962. Only venue for the 3-strip "Russian Adventure" in the U.S., the 70mm version having a number of stateside runs. There is also a possiblity that horizontal VistaVision ran there. The McVickers was certainly not among the 10-12 original VV houses literally hand-picked by Paramount in 1954. But there are press releases beginning in mid-1956 that the distrib had plans to lease/rent VV projectors to "deluxers," as "Variety" called them, that had booked "10 Commandments." Along with the Chicago McVickers, that list would also include the New York Criterion, the LA Beverly, and the Philly Randolph. I vividly remember the Randolph run and the screen was gigantic compared to those I had seen there prior to the DeMille epic. Am I safe in assuming that if true VV ran in NY and LA (I can't imagine Par not having it presented in at least those 2 prime premiere cities in VV), and Philly might have, then why not Chicago? Comments?

The McVickers I remember was showing Cinerama films in the sixties. I saw "How the West Was Won" there three times. My sister recalls seeing the 70mm, Todd-AO road show of "South Pacific" there in the late 1950s (I still have her program book from the show.)
I did see "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" at the McVickers when the theater had converted to 70mm, single projector Cinerama.

Such a shame that this Chicago theatre and the Garrick are no longer with us today as they both were connected with the famous Alder/Sullivan team!

By the early seventies, the McVickers was a dump. The carpets were sticky and the seats were in disrepair. At this time, the theater was a three films for a dollar movie house. I don't remember exactly when it closed, but I believe it was the late seventies.

The 1984 closing date in the description sounds about right. If memory serves, the building was condemned because the facade was in danger of collapsing.

Good thing it didn't collapse with anyone in it.

Our eighth-grade class, St. Bernard's School at 66th St. & Stewart Ave., took our class trip to the McVickers to see "The Ten Commandments" in 1958. Walked to the L station at 63rd & Harvard, rode it downtown, got off at Randolph St. and walked to the McVickers.

The McVickers' marquee, dated 1958, can be seen in this fantastic nighttime view. "South Pacific" ("In Todd-AO") is playing.

The only surviving theater by Adler and Sullivan is the Auditorium theater. This is a shame, since they where considered the best theater designers of their time.

NOT SO about "Cinerama Russian Adventure" only playing here in 3-strip. IOt also had a successful run, in that format, at the Cinerama Music Hall in Detroit which, by the way, was the second Cinerama installation in the US after the first in NYC at the Broadway Theatre. The Music Hall was also the larget and most successful of the US CInerama theatre, often playing out to sold houses with bookings sometimes being extended for such a long time that a second Cinerama theatre was installed, called The Summit, which only played the single frame 70MM Cinerama movies. phillster on Feb 7,2005 at 4:25 pm

I am well aware of the Music Hall in Detroit. What I am NOT aware of is any evidence that 3-strip "Russian Adventure" played anywhere else ouside of Paris and Brussels, and, of course, Russia. YOur logic is false, btw. That the 70mm version of "TIC" played ANYWHERE is no indication of how the original film ran.

I do recall the Cinerama's Russian Adventure being shown at the McVickers in the mid 1960s, although I was away at college and unable to see it during its run there. I remember the newspaper advertising which mentioned Bing Crosby's narrating the film. Whether or not it played anywhere else in the US, I'll let someone else investigate.

I found this web site which confirms my recollection of the Chicago engagement:
http://www.kinopanorama.biz/credit_russian_adventure.htm

In its last years, they showed stage plays and movies, sometimes in alternating runs! I saw the road company of *Man of La Mancha* here in between movies.

The 1945 Film Daily Yearbook shows seating for 2264 at the McVickers.

Here is a view of the corner of Madison and Dearborn Streets today. Where the 40-story One South Dearborn tower is rising today stood the McVickers on the left-hand side of the tower site, next to the still-standing Chicago Building (just visible in this photo) and the original Chicago Tribune Building on the right-hand side.

I saw "Russian Adventure" at the McVickers and it was in 3-strip. The McVickers re-ran most of the 3 strip Cinerama travelogues in the '60's, and since it was set up for the format threw in "Russian" narrated by Bing Crosby. One of my disappointments was that they didn't show "Windjammer" in that series. It had only a limited run in Chicago originally since it had opened at the Opera House and had to make way for the opera season. At the time the McVickers was doing 3-strip, the Christian Radich, the ship in "Windjammer" docked in the Chicago River just a few blocks from the McVickers and allowed people to tour it. I waited in line for some time to do so, and thought with all of the interest in the ship it would have been a perfect time to bring the film back to the McVickers. The McVickers was also the first 70mm booth I was in. I was still in high school and was in Chicago getting clothes for school and saw a matinee of "Porgy & Bess" at the theatre. Afterwards I asked to see the booth which was at the back of the orchestra, and one of the operators was kind enough to give me a piece of 70mm film from "Oklahoma". The last time I was in the theatre was after its legit days, and went in with an RCA service man who was setting up a video projector in the balcony for an upcoming fight. By that time the theatre was a grind house, and the 70mm projectors had been moved up to the original booth in the back of the house over another booth that had been built for spotlights during the legit days.

I am trying to find a home for a photograph I rec'd. The photo is prob. circa 1900-1915-ish and is glued (?) onto a cardboard frame which, at the bottom, states the following in gold lettering: :Stevens (photographer ?) Dresden Panel, an emblem looking like an artists pallet which has the word "souvenir" written on it; and then the words: McVicker's Theatre Chicago" (apostrophe is there!).
She is wearing a very formal, puffed sleeve, high neck corsett-type jacket with formal skirt. It appears she is wearing a badge of some sort on her left breast. Are you aware if this theatre hosted any special benefits for honored women? Thanks for your terrific insight to this great Chicago landmark! I am originally from a suburb of Chicago and love this stuff!

I would love to have that photo. My Great Grandfather performed there in the early 1900's as a tap dancer. He won a large silver cup. He was in a Vaudeville act. He travelled to Chicago from Toledo by train. Since he was just a young man and couldn't afford the fare,but desparetly wanted to go he found an empty car and jumped on. What an adventure for him and the reward of the silver cup was worth any trouble he encountered. We still have the cup and the number he wore on his back as he performed, along with his wooden soled tap shoes. He met his wife on the Vaudeville circuit...she was a "fortune teller" we had the crystal ball she used but my mother sold it at a GARAGE SALE!!!!

On my first visit to Chicago by myself (no parents) in the 1950s, I stumbled off the train on a cold gray winter morning with snowflakes in the air, and went walking around-- came around a corner and saw the McVickers, with its majestic facade and its colorful marquee all lit up. What a grand sight! I knew that it was the sucessor to a line of historic theatres. Its facade alone made it an instant landmark in my eyes.

I have a commemoration plate made of some sort of cast iron from the 50th performance of "Shenandoah" on June 20th, 1898 at the McVickers Theatre in Chicago. The management is listed as Jacob Litt and the plate has a raised image of a man on horseback along with two men on the ground. I have always wondered about the significance of the plate.

I found out about Jacob Litt on josephhaworth.com. Apparently he was a producer who wanted to further his career. So he produced a revival of the play "Shenandoah" which was successful. It seems the play was about the Civil War. It's cool that you have that plate. Where did you get it? My Great Grandfather Steven Smith won a silver cup for tap dancing in the play "In Old Kentucky", mentioned in the post above.

If I recall, I received the "Shenandoah" plate from the estate of a 2nd cousin who lived in the Everett, Washington area. He was an antique collector and had numerous Faberge Eggs - which were amazing! At the time, I collected plates and this was one of the several which I chose to receive because it was so different from the norm.

I love how just a plate or silver cup can open up avenues of discovering these interesting glimpses into the past. Did you get one of the Faberge Eggs too?

I agree...and no, I didn't. The family was able to go into his estate and pick out things before they were sold at auction and I didn't want to look like I wanted everything. It gives my 13-and-15-year-old daughters something of the past as well. But they have always enjoyed antique stores! :)

I have found a 1870 picture of the McVickers theater in chicago, i would like to share it with this website but i don't know how. if someone wants a personal email of this pictures you can request it at carold913@yahoo.com also i am interested in all pertinents information on two theaters. one is called the Four-Star and the other is call the Imperial both were located on Chicago's west side during the 1960's. i grew up in this neighborhood and would love to hear about these two movie theaters.

I saw an article that said the architect for the fourth McVickers was Thomas Lamb with Newhouse & Bernham associated.

Here is a profile from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency's HAARGIS system. It includes a small picture.

I also saw "The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm" at the McVickers Theater. I remember sitting way up in the balcony and still being engulfed by the screen - it seemed so huge at age 9 or 10. I also remember the sound being so good that NOTHING came close to it until digital surround in the 90’s – seriously!! The animated dragon in one of the fairy tale dramatizations was so good as a special effect, to my memory, that nothing compared until “Star Wars”. I had thought I was there in October of 1963, but could be it was 62. My birthday was that weekend and my family was in Chicago so my father could help plan a judges convention. We stayed at another long-gone Chicago landmark - The Hotel Sherman House (replaced by the Illinois building in the 70’s or 80’s). That weekend I say Henny Youngman at the College Inn Porterhouse at the Hotel Sherman (where Don McNeil's breakfast club originate on WLS radio), saw Cinerama for the first and only time at McVickers and also saw a Dean Martin "Matt Helm" movie at the Chicago Theater (why did my parents take me to that horrid movie with near nudity? - oh, yeah, to see the Chicago Theater), and visited the Museum of Science and Industry for the first time. A great birthday weekend. I fell in love with Cinerama and the Museum of Science and Industry. Somewhere my mom still has the soundtrack album for "The Wonderful World Of The Brothers Grimm" with the souvenir book on Cinerama. I can still remember the theme music for the movie – it was quite good.

i think this is the first picture of the McVicker theater in chicago on madison and dearborn before the chicago fire. it seems to be fitting to allow everyone to see what it looks like. follow this link

http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/3754.html

I really believe that the plate I mentioned before should go to an historic agency in Chicago, or a theatre group....but don't know how to get it to them. Anyone have any idea?

the chicago historial museum will be glad to take they are located on clark and north ave. they would be glad to rent it from you or buy it. not sure of the price because something like that can't be priced. contact them immediately. because i would hate to hear something happen to such a variable part of our legacy.

They may have assessed a similar plate before. There is a 1978 Chicago Tribune antiques article about a similar plate. The columnist did not know about the item, but referred the writer to a Sharon Darling, curator of decorative arts at the society. This being nearly 30 years ago I'm sure she's no longer with the society but after this and perhaps others like it there is more information on file.

GOSSiP COLUMN ITEM:
Chicago Tribune, Monday, October 3, 1944, s. 3, p. 4, c. 3:
Tower Ticker, by Herb Lyon

". . . . The McVickers may not play Mike Todd's "Oklahoma!" after all. The cost of installation for the big, new Todd-AO process is estimated at a half million."

Grand Mogul- please recheck the 1944 date on your Gossip Column clipping--the movie version of "Oklahoma!" came out in the 1950s and was a big hit.

McVicker's a Picture Theatre.

NY Times May 9, 1913

McVicker's Theatre, Chicago's historical playhouse, was sold for $500,000 to-day, and will be a moving picture house. The theatre has passed through five fires including the great disaster of 1871, and has been rebuilt or remodeled each time.

ANOTHER THEATRE BURNED; M'VICKER'S, IN CHICAGO, REDUCED TO ASHES YESTERDAY. THE FIRE OCCURS IN THE EARLY MORNING WHEN NOBODY IS IN THE HOUSE -- SUSPICIONS OF INCENDIARISM.

NY Times August 27, 1890

CHICAGO, Aug. 26. -- McVicker's Theatre is in ruins. Everything in the auditorium, that last night presented a scene of brightness and color, is to-day nothing but a mass of black debris.

Here is a 1926-dated drawing of the McVickers by Anthony F. Dumas in the Library of Congress.

A Roosevelt theater organ opus 489 size 2/14 was installed in the McVickers Theater in 1891. Note: Third Organ installed in an American theater.

Here is a postcard of the second McVickers. (Pre-1920s)

Was not the McVickers remodeled into a legitimate theater for a short time in the early '60s? I thought it was there I saw Phil Silvers and Nancy Walker perform in a play that debuted the McVickers as a playhouse. The acoustics were the worst I have ever come across; and they had been rushing to open this booked play on time. With that, they still held it back a couple of days. I had tickets for the first week because at that time I would go anywhere to see Phil Silvers or Nancy Walker together or as a single. I could not make out one single word Phil Silvers spoke, and it was almost the same for Nancy Walker. During the show they were figuring it out, and Nancy Walker finally just stopped and spoke the words verrry sloooowly. The play was something about him being an inveterate gambler who was going to go back to gambling one more time on some sure thing. The Press went somewhat easy on the acoustic situation - didn't really pre-warn the audiences. I think the play then went on to NYC. I think this theater failed as a legitimate playhouse.

Also wasn't one of the McVickers the site where vaudeville performer Eddie Foy calmed the audience during a fire; and was credited with saving so many lives?

In December 1961, Jones Linick and Shaefer finally sold the McVickers, to a syndicate composed of the Nederlanders, Herman Bernstein from New York, and the Smerlings, of the Chicago-based Confection Cabinet company, which operated theater concessions around Chicago. The idea was that it would replace the Erlanger theater, which closed March 10, 1962 with "Bye Bye Birdie" and was demolished one month later to make way for the Civic Center. The McVickers with "Do Re Mi" opened Jan 30 1962. The Tribune makes no mention of delays, except to say that the house was not really ready, and that the horrendous sound had to be fixed by lots of microphones and blasting speakers. In the review of the play, the Trib's comment on the suitability of the house says, "the orchestra pit is too small for the band. Patrons in the front seats may get stiff necks from looking up, and it seemed a country mile to the back of the balcony." However, 5 days later, their other theater critic published a scathing review of the theater itself, opening with, "The unaccustomed silence in this corner about the reopening of the McVickers as a legitimate theatre is not due to awe, just to plain, unadulterated shock." She described the theater as "kind of a tunnel with a sky-high stage stuck up at one end, a distant balcony at the other, and the main floor has a huge motion picture projection booth... the walls are lugubriously draped with mournful curtains, the seats are push-backs at an odd angle, the orchestra pit is a horror with most of the players shoved under the stage, the others trailing up the side aisles." The play, she said, was a cut-rate version of Guys and Dolls. She continues, "It is true that the management is losing the Erlanger for reasons beyond its control, and that it had to move fast to open the substitute house. It is just as true that the house is unsatisfactory in every aspect except possibly the boxoffice, and that little dabs of remodeling will not help. Myself, I would not suggest a thing except to tear it down and start over. It only lasted four weeks, followed by "Irma la Douce" for another four, and "La Plume de Ma Tante" for eight. Following this, they threw in the towel and began preparing for conversion to Cinerama.

Eddie Foy was at the Iroquois disaster.

The Iroquois was the site of the Oriental which is now the Ford Center for Performing Arts

Thank you for the memory check. This causes me to recall that, yes, there were curtains draped around the walls, which I took to be an additional patchwork method to treat the acoustical problem. Perhaps absorb some of the hollowness or wandering echos, or stabilize what could be heard from the actors on stage. There was also a young romantic couple in the plot who sang and their whole purpose in the plot suffered because of the sound problems.

I recall also some sort of newspaper chatter of the controversy over Phil Silvers, especially, and Nancy Walker, as traditional stage professionals, not wanting to be miked - indicating they felt they should be heard without mikes and were trying to address that problem with their own skills; but they eventually had to comply with the circumstances and wear the mikes. At one point, I think Phil Silvers insisted he wasn't going to do it, and Nancy Walker was; then he finally acquiesced.

As mentioned in a post above, the McVickers went legit for "Man of La Mancha", and I believe the Chicago home of the stage production of "Fiddler On The Roof". I remember hearing a story which perhaps someone on this thread can verify about the "Fiddler" booking. I think at the time, the McVickers was operated by LublinerTrinz (?)and was alternating between film and live stage shows. There was a need for a live house for the Chicago run of "Fiddler", and the McVickers was approached as a site. The story I remember hearing was that Lubliner Trinz said they would make the theatre available if when the movie version came out they would have the roadshow rights to it in Chicago. They then built McClurg Court specifically for the roadshow 70mm presentation of "Fiddler". I know I saw the film version at McClurg Court -- it was their opening attraction. Anyone care to comment?

REndres-Break my heart and mention the McClurg Court. Not exactly a movie palace, but technically a great place to screen a film. I looked back at the CT McClurg Court site and it lists "Fiddler" as the first movie and I did see it at the McClurg, GREAT SOUND. I do however seem to remember (at a previous movie that I saw at the McClurg) a womem employee all excited talking about "Fiddler" coming soon to the McClurg. Of course this was all over 35 years ago, I could have it mixed up. Pehaps they had a sneak preview or something? Not much to do with the McVickers, well they both start out with Mc!

"Ladies and Gentlemen, This is CINERAMA!" Lowell Thomas September 30, 1952

I am thinking about putting the plate which I mentioned above on e-Bay. Again, I have a commemoration plate made of some sort of cast iron from the 50th performance of "Shenandoah" on June 20th, 1898 at the McVickers Theatre in Chicago. The management is listed as Jacob Litt and the plate has a raised image of a man on horseback along with two men on the ground. I have collected antiques for many years since my girls were very young to help pay for their college...oldest graduates in June - near the top of her class. :) Any suggestions as to what it would be worth?

The apple often doesn't fall far from the tree in the Chicago area. Do those of you who are historians on some of these CT sites have a documentary to screen on Chicago movie palaces, or even a Power Point slide show? I would think that presenting something like that at Chicago area "retirement" sites for a concentrated audience would elicit precious remembrances to add to the record. I say that because I'm looking for remembrances from the '30s and '40s to trigger my own memories of a generation later, and wish there were more set out. Maybe you have done that already? Graduate students?

I, too, remember attending "Man of La Mancha" at the McVickers in, I think, 1966 or 1967 - in fact twice, as the first time I was in that balcony mentioned above and the it was rather far from the stage; later I saw it from the third row in the orchestra and it was an entirely different experience. I also remember the draping, and I also seem to recall that much of the ceiling plasterwork was painted over either a rose or a blue color. The orchestra level booths for Cinerama projection were still there then, also draped over. If memory serves, I also saw a production of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" there too.

At that particular time period, considering too that Cinerama product was drying up, converting the McVickers to a legitimate theater was probably also due to the fact that Chicago had very few theaters available for Broadway shows. Then, most musicals played the Shubert (now the LaSalle Bank Theater - dreadful name) and comedies and plays usually went to the Blackstone on Balbo (now the Merle Reskin operated by DePaul University). In the late 60s and 70s, many Broadway shows in Chicago were resident or "sit-down" professional companies and played long runs, rather than the touring companies that play most cities today, including Chicago, where the runs typically run from a few weeks or, at best, a few months. ("Wicked" is an exception and is a throwback to the resident company era). After the demise of the McVickers, the problem of available space remained. By the 70s, big shows for awhile started going into the Arie Crown Theater in McCormick Place (a horrendous barn of a place). The problem was partially solved, at least for the mega-musicals, by the 80s, when the famous Auditorium Theater was restored and made available. With the restoration of the Oriental and the Bismarck (Cadillac Palace) as legit houses - in addition to the LaSalle Bank Theatre, the situation is considerably different today. But I still think it's tragic that so many famous theaters in the Loop, in addition to the McVickers (State-Lake, United Artists, Woods, Roosevelt, Michael Todd, Cinestage, etc.) didn't make it.

REndres: I don't know about the McClurg Court Theater, past my Chicago time. I don't think I was ever in the McVickers again after "Do Re Mi" (or wanted to be for a while, probably). I remember reading in the newspaper/hearing on the news that the ship used in the "Windjammer" was in Chicago - there was alot of publicity about that. I knew of "Windjammer," but I don't remember if I saw it, sort of think I did, or maybe could have seen a trailer of it in another theater. But I am becoming verrrry seasick and see this ship roiling on the water. I may have seen it and left the theater early. I vaguely recall someone telling me once that if I had seen "Windjammer," I would remember it.

BWChicago: I was remiss earlier. Thank you for taking the time to share the detailed quoted material from the Tribune critics of "Do Re Mi" and the McVickers remodel in '62. I seem to recall those reviews and that being the flavor of them. Do you have the name of the critic who wrote the first, soft review? Just curious.

The McVickers was leased by B&K as a 30 year lease from 1937-1966. JLS had a 99-year lease previously, but after they defaulted on it the Board of Education took possession. The 1962 deal did involve some refurbishment such as paint, carpeted rows, and other things. It is unclear to me, then, how JLS was involved in 1962. The McVickers closed to Cinerama on September 11, 1966. Sill under the Nederlanders, first show this time around was "Half a Sixpence" for 7 weeks starting Nov. 1, then "On A Clear Day YOu Can See Forever from Dec. 19 to Jan 28, followed by the open run of Fiddler from Jan 30 to Oct 21. Man of La Mancha came on Nov. 8 and ran for 22 weeks. It then went back to movies with a reserved seat engagement of "Gone With The Wind". The Nederlanders, as the Diana Theater Co., retained the lease until 1984, when they closed it (though it had long ceased as a legit house and was instead showing X-Rated, rock westerns, and the like in the interim).
Citicorp then assumed the lease , because the Board of Education had sold it to Citicorp's predecessor, First Federal, in 1979, and Diana was not maintaining it. Citing an unstable facade, but perhaps more likely an excuse to get a tax drain off the books, Citicorp demolished it in 1985. The soft review was by Thomas Willis, while the harsh one was by Claudia Cassidy.

Thank you. I remember Claudia Cassidy; the other name is not familiar to me.

My great-grandmother writes in her diary of attending McVickers Theatre while visiting Chicago on June 19, 1884. I wonder if anyone could tell me what play she attended.

On Thursday, June 19, 1884:

M’VICKER’S THEATRE

THIRD WEEK OF CONTINUOUS SUCCESS.
The Magnificent, Spectacular, Dramatic, Ballet Pan-
tomine.

KIRALFY BROS.’
Grandest Production.

EXCELSIOR!

Sixth “Excelsior” Matinee Saturday
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE SUNDAY NIGHT

(Obviously, the typefaces and sizes were different; but there it is, the performance was called 'Excelsior!'.)

According to Gerald Bordman's "American Musical Theatre" (Oxford,2001), "Excelsior" opened in New York at Niblo's Garden on August 21 1883 and ran until Dec. 15th. The Kiralfy Brothers imported the show from Paris. It was a ballet-pantomime with no spoken dialog. Haniola, Imre and Arnold Kiralfy were immigrants from Hungary who began their American careers as dancers but later became prolific producers of stage spectaculars such as "Excelsior" at the McVickers.

I was unfortunately at the McVickers during it's decline. I was the ride to a heavily advertised, short-run showing of "Make Them Die Slowly" in late 1982 or early `83. A campy horror film billed as "Banned In 31 Countries!".
The tag line apparently worked, as the by then decaying structure was clearly overwhelmed by the those who showed up.
The restrooms were located in the basement. Needless to say the archaic plumbing was no longer up to the task of large crowds. As the ensuing flood approached the grand stairwell upwards, management saw fit to only rope off the area, instead of closing and/or causing chaos/losing money.
As with most of the downtown theatres already in decline, rodents could be heard and felt under foot during the feature presentation. So much so that at one of the many points the film stopped, rowdier patrons would yell: "Hey rats, the film broke!"
As if the rodents were somehow in charge or running the projector.
It was sad to see the once grand, vintage facade and ornate interior in such disrepair. Running "Make Them Die Slowly" sadly became a fitting end to a glorious theatre history. As previously documented, the McVickers closed shortly thereafter.

I went there a lot during the 1970s when it was in decline. It had been reduced to a 3 films-for-a-dollar dump. I remember the feel of a sticky carpet walking in. I also remember the Entenmann's Bakery across the street.

Here is a photo of a McVickers Theater. Its supposed to be the theater built after the 1871 fire.

The attraction posted on the marquee of the McVickers in the old photo posted above by Lost is "The Bostonians". It was a popular touring company in the 1890s and early 1900s which specialized in operettas and operas.

The McVickers Theater can be seen in the background of this 1950 photo from Life Magazine:
http://tinyurl.com/6f75v7

FYI, Just a further tidbit about Claudia Cassidy, originally posted by BWChicago & SPearce in February of `08.

There is a theatre bearing her name, the Claudia Cassidy Theatre, located in the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 East Washington. It is located next the GAR Rotunda & GAR Hall on the Randolph St. side. I'm sure the history can be easily accessed by visiting
www.chicagoculturalcenter.org

This is one of the earlier versions of the theater:
http://tinyurl.com/cfx5vf

Funny, that 11/29/08 picture link has a woman's bunny costume that predates Hefner's Playboy magazine launched in Chicago by 5 years.

Over on the Montclare Theater CT page, I believe it's mentioned Hefner thinks he got the idea of the bunny cuffs with no sleeves, from his days as an usher at the Montclare. They wore jackets with fake, cardboard shirt cuffs underneath.

Here are some 1982 photos:

Photo1

Photo2

Photo3

The Art Institute of Chicago has this item which attributes the third McVickers Theatre to architect Thomas W. Lamb as well as Henry Newhouse.

As the Adler & Sullivan-designed second McVickers Theatre was demolished to make way for the third McVickers, shouldn't it have its own Cinema Treasures page?