Logan Theatre

They made me get a note from my mother to see The Omen here in the mid 1970s. It was a cool vintage theater before the split.

I'ts a nice comfortable place to watch a movie, it cost less than other theatres, and the ushers are gentlemanly. It's in the logan square neighborhood and very easy to get to. Take the blue line to logansquare exit on the Kedzie end and it's less than a block away (there is a Mcdonalds across the street).

Love it. Looks like it did from the day that it first opened as a 4-plex movie house (I can only guess of course as I am only 31). There is much more to a movie experience than the movie itself (as you well know), and the Logan has much more. Everything from the black and white tile in the bathrooms to the wooden armrests on the seating to the side lighting is circa 1950. You will never get this type of experience from going to a modern suburban type of theatre. Fantastic neighborhood theatre. This is my favorite theatre for a 2nd run movie. I hope the operators/owners keep it just the way it is and continue to run it for a long time. Best of luck to you.

Recent exterior views of the Logan and its fantastic old-fashioned vertical sign can be seen here. (Second and third rows down).

The seats are a little lumpy but otherwise this is still a great place to see a movie for $3, plus refreshments are cheap and the A/C's cold! Lets hope they resist the gentrification mania creeping all around the Logan Square area.

How on earth did the Logan survive with the Harding virtually next door?

Very cool place to see a film when it was one large auditorium. Usual deal: it was painted grey front to back by the time I visited. Was there once after they split it up. Not nearly as cool. But it is nice to see an old-time neighborhood theatre continue to operate.

Here are photos of this theater.

I've never been here. Has anybody been here recently? Are the floors clean? How are the crowds, obnoxiuous or respectful? My girlfriend and I are considering going here.

Logan Square was once considered a rough area, but apparantly it is not becoming "Yuppy-ized."

It's pretty clean, crowds, I think depends on the show.

I saw Stranger than Fiction at the Logan last night (in Theater 3), and while talking to the manager after the show, learned that the scene in wich Harold Crick is watching Monty Python's Meaning of Life was filmed right there in Theater 1! He also says the original auditorium is intact behind the quadding. The staff and other customers were all very friendly, and concessions are inexpensive.

How big are the screens? How is the sound and picture quality? As long as the screens don't look like this, http://www.cinematour.com/picview.php?db=us&id=26744 I might finally go see Rocky Balboa here.

Screen (at least in Theater 3, but I think they're all about the same) was a good size. I noticed no obvious problems with the picture or sound, but there was one abrupt scene change that was probably a bad splice; I won't know for sure until it I see it again on video. There was also one crying baby in the auditorium - but my wife hustled him out to Ladies' Lounge very quickly :).

I have had to drive by this place on a regular basis lately. In the 80's & 90's they lit up the veritcal sign. It blinked LOGAN off and on in pink neon. All the letters blinked off and on at the same time. It was well-maintained back then. The letters never flickered. Now they don't turn it on anymore, although the marquee is still maintained. The chaser motor went out a couple of weeks ago and they paid to have it fixed.

Here is a recent photo of the Logan Theater.

This was my main neighborhood theater in the 70s. I saw "Game of Death", "The Omen", "Alien", and dozens of other great movies there when I was a kid.

In the 80s the Logan became a a genuine lowbrow entertainment multiplex, with really sticky floors and lively heckling. The last film I saw there was "Cyborg" (with Jean-Claude VanDamme) in the summer of '89. People were smoking, moving around, yelling at the screen, the whole nine yards that night.

I don't live far and visit the Logan on the average of twice monthly. As a retiree you can't beat the 3 buck admission.

Saw Wild Hogs last week during the day of course. Really don't go in the evening much. Waiting to see if Zodiac appears.

As far as the neighborhood as most keep changing. As with my 'hood which is Humboldt Park, property values rising but that's another subject.

Is there any free parking nearby?

You can find metered parking relatively easily and there's a city metered lot across the street, tucked away a bit.

Here is a recent image of the Logan Theater.

A Kimball theater organ was installed in the Logan Theater in 1916.

There's a city lot north of LOGAN (behind the McDonalds across Milwaukee) that, if it has meters, me 'n my car never notice them. So (free) parking's never been an issue. Public transportation users get off the CTA Blue Line @ Logan Square stop (Kedzie Ave exit south side of Milwaukee) and you're practically at the LOGAN's front door. (These points alluded to in above posts).

My memories of this place go back to the LOGAN vs. the HARDING days, and the latter threw in the towel around 1961. The (mens) washroom, with bathtub-sized urinals, has a blaringly huge ventilation fan that hasn't ceased running since about that time.

The place is clean, bright, and questions of safety aren't apparent to me so I can recomment LOGAN almost without reservation. Management/employees are polite to a fault. 2nd runs, with the occasional double-feature (!), with no duplication between (4) screens. Even limited release titles, like WAITRESS, INTO THE WILD, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, and GOOD NIGHT & GOOD LUCK have made their mark here.

So what's my itty-bitty reservation? No trailers at the LOGAN. Boo-hoo!

be aware...the public lot behind mcdonald's is indeed a PAY lot...there are no meters, instead you must purchase a paper window ticket from the kiosk next to what was once the manned pay booth (located across lot from mcdonald's at side street entrance)...meter maids are more prone to check during biz hours as this is the lot adjacent to logan square subway station...

This is a recent photo of the Logan and here is a nice close-up view.

Hey, if anyone has any further in-depth details of the history of this theatre, I am working on a project about it and would love more info. Links or otherwise. What year were the screens split up? etc. Are there any photos of the inside before renovation?

Thanks to anyone who can help.

Call these guys on the telephone. It is quite likely that they have something:

http://www.historictheatres.org/

They definitely have an auditorium photo from shortly after opening.

Lobby photos here:

http://www.cinematour.com/tour.php?db=us&id=6159

The Logan has played regular Hollywood fare for decades. However, at least twice in the past, they tried different policies. On Saturday, May 21, 1966, the Logan was showing the Midwest Premiere of "HOW TO BE LOVED", a Polish program with English titles. Not surprising, since the neighborhood had a large Polish population for many years. Exactly 4 years later, the Logan was showing adult fare. From the Chicago Sun Times movie listings, May 22, 1970: LOGAN (X) "MONIQUE" "BABY LOVE" .I don't think this adult policy lasted very long; thankfully the Logan went back to mainstream features(I suspect complaints from neighbors/ church authorities). At this time, you could park free in the Emmett St. City Lot. One thing that NEVER changed- the Logan had-and has- Matinees Daily.

Kringle: A shot of the stage end of the theater is reprinted on page 12 of the February, 1983 issue of "The Console" magazine. I can scan it if necessary.

Interesting... if it wouldnt be too much trouble, I would love to see it. Thanks for all the links, folks!

Here is the scan: http://flickr.com/photos/bwchicago/3131790568/

The Logan has 903 seats. Cinema # 1 has 265 seats, # 2- 175, #3- 198, and #4- 265.

More photos of the Logan Theater can be seen here.

The admission price is now $4.00. Still a good deal; I'm surprised the $3.00 tickets lasted as long as it did. My only complaint about the Logan- not enough leg room(stadium seating has spoiled me).

Here are some 1982 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/d35ql9
http://tinyurl.com/cnxpqn

Here are two night photos from 1982:

Photo1

Photo2

This is a 2009 photo.

Thanks for the photos, all.