Village Art Theatre

We are related to Sam and Louie Gumbiner. My 94 year old father remembers going to the farewell party for the gumbiner brothers when they left for Los Angeles to build what they were originally going to call the Egyptian theatre ( The Los Angeles Theatre). do you have any biographical information on the Gumbiners? thanks Barb Heinrich

From the mid-30s until the mid-50s, this theater was named the Gold Coast.

I grew up going to the village. they were my spot. right accross from linclon park, it used to cost .75cent to get in there---when they went up to $1.25 i was shocked. i've seen all the good 70's films there. they used to do a great midnight show there in the 70's. showing films like "clockwork" "pink flamingos" caligula...

Right before they cut up the theater they used to have a cat that roamed the auditorium. I was told the cat was used to keep the rodent popluation down. The new auditoriums are very small. They have old cinema chairs that, I believe, they obtained from another closed theater chain. The projection and sound here are awful. But the theater is in a great location and a good place to see a movie for "last minute decisions." The last time I was there (about 3 years ago) the staff was not very nice.

Theater 3 is running full DTS digital sound, and theater 2 is soon going to be upgraded.

A "for rent summer 2006" sign has gone up over the marquee.

The Chicago Historic Respurces Survey lists Adolph Hoerner as architect.

The Village has a new, young, energetic and film-loving general manager who is doing a lot to improve the theater. The place is looking better, the sound is better and the movies look better.

The architect named in the CHRS is erroneous. His name was actually Adolph Werner.

The Village originally was known as the Germania, for the nearby Germania Club, but the name was quickly changed to the Parkside following the US entry into World War I. The operators, as stated above, were Gumbiner Brothers, who were simultaneously building the similarly German Bertha in Lincoln Square. It became the Gold Coast on September 26, 1931, advertised as "Now One of Chicago's Most Beautiful and Coziest Talking Picture Palaces". Edith Rockefeller McCormick was mentioned as a frequent patron. Last mention I can find of the Gold Coast is in 1956. It became the Globe Theater, opening May 25, 1962 following a $50,000 renovation. In 1967 it became the Village with another $50,000 renovation, and later that year was targeted for demolition as part of the Sandburg Village redevelopment area (hence the Village name). As the owner was a State Representative, Schoeninger, whose family had built it, this did not happen. In 1977 some legitimate theater went on there; namely '1947', a play about the deaths of Capone, Bugsy Siegel, and Bugs Moran. It was one of the primary venues for the Chicago International Film Festival, and did very good business as a discount and revival house in the 70s and 80s.

Rumor has it that the theater will close very shortly. Relatively little of the original decor is still visible, including a few auditorium doors and some plaster ornamentation near the screens. If it does not function as a theater again, I hope someone has the vision to engage in some fine adaptive reuse. It might make an elegant restaurant. I hope the marquee comes down, it looks even uglier with its front panel gone.

Brian W, I think it's probably more than a rumor that this place will close. The "For Rent" sign on the marquee does not bode well. I wonder why the closure. The land could be "too valuable" (but as Arlington Heights proved, there can be room for condos and a cinema and live theatre). Or it could be that the building isn't in good shape--something that is stated in the above posts.

I've always associated this theatre with "indie" newspapers like THE READER. Like THE READER, it always seemed "funky" and "offbeat". But as Village Theatres has grown and become more "corporate," this place may not fit in with their business module anymore.

(Or it could be like the Wells Street "corridor". Once "artistic", the area is now a yuppified version, trading on how it used to be).

I've been meaning to get over to the Village, and I'd like to see one more movie there before it closes. But lately, they've been showing movies that I don't particularly care to see.

Hopefully, they'll play something like Silent Hill or The Sentinel. Hell, even Scary Movie 4. I've never been here also.

Cinemark Fan, how's your theatre chain school project doing?

For some interesting reviews of the Village Theatre, click here http://centerstage.net/patronreviews/pr.cfm?ID=4935&which=place and believe me they run the gamut!

It's coming along nicely. I've even wrote about Cineplex Odeon and their overbuilding. After that, I might get to Village Theatres. When I become a theatre owner, I might try and take over their operations.

Theatres closed by the Village Entertainment chain and the years Village operated them:

Biograph: 2002-2004
Burnham Plaza: 2002-2005
Fox Valley: 2002-2003
Golf Glen: 2002-2006
Hinsdale: 2002-2003
Water Tower: 2002-2003

Notice that all came from Village's expansion in 2002. Undercapitalized and over-expanded in such a short time

To CinemarkFan: Since your project is doing well, can't wait for the Oakbrook 1-4 to be reopened! Since you plan on taking over the Village Theaters chain, hopefully imporvement at the North Riverside and the reopening of the River Oaks are accomplished.

Right now, my corporation is in the devlopment stages. The project I'm doing at the moment is a school paper.(about to be done once and for all) Anyway, I'm going to write up a business proposal, try and get funding etc... Then who knows, I may be able to get this off the ground later this year or next year. If I succeed, I plan to remodel Oakbrook 1-4 and put 3 more screens in it. As far as North Riverside goes, if I can turn it into a 11/12 screener, it could operate like Webster Place and City North because let's not forget, Kerasotes is coming in the N. Riverside area this fall. Wish me luck everyone!

To Jimpiscitelli: Do you have any suggestions for a theater corporation name? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would have to think about that. If I ever come up with a name, I have to make sure that it is not a registered trademark.

Roxy is always a good choice to evoke movie palace glamour

That's it! Roxy Theatres.

Take that back, that name is already taken.

There are lots of nice names to choose from :):

Granada (one of my faves)
Majestic
Capitol
Valencia
Paladium
Palace
Orphium (I actually hate this name, but it has been used many times before).

Got a theme? Here is a name

Mayan
Paradise
Egyptian
Venitian
Parisian

OR Name it after the town (if another theatre doesn't have it already)

Or come up with something unique

Good luck with your project.

JG

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Say, I've got a few questions for the people who've been here recently. One: What do the seats and screens kinda look like? Two: Does it look ratty? Three: Are the bathrooms ok? I read MichaelCollins's comment and it shouldn't be bad. I'm getting ready to go here next weekend and I'm hoping that the place doesn't look like it had rats running around since December. Oh, these questions are for my mom and she's picky about where I drag her to. So basically, what I'm trying to know is this: Is the place is like Burnham Plaza(02-05) or worse? And my mom didn't mind going to Burnham.

So now I hear that Village has renewed the lease for another year on this place?

It appears that this place has reverted to the name "Village Theatre".

Cinemark Fan: The last time I went here was circa 1996 to see THE ROCK, which starred Ed Harris. It was kind of ramshackle back then, but as I haven't been there in 9 years or so, I can't say how it is now. And as I said on previous posts, the Burnham wasn't that bad. It needed an updating.

That's good news from Village. I'll try and see the next must-see here and snap some photos. Thanks for the news Paul.

BTW, I saw The Rock at Water Tower(mall cinemas). It was a little after Cineplex Odeon's remodel.

My girlfriend and I went here on 8-26-2006. I hadn't been here in several years. It is true that most of the decor was lost when the theatre was "quadded." Looking from the concession stand, one can easily guess the layout of the original single screen auditorium. Auditorium #1 is to the left and appears to be the largest. #s 2 and 3 are down a long hallway, presumably where the rear of the original theatre was. They are quite small. #4 is to the right. I couldn't see in because another movie was playing.

As for my experience here. Well, the best thing that can be said is that the floors and restrooms were clean. The seats appear newer. If you go to www.cinematour.com and check out the Belvedere Theatre (now closed) in Waukegan, the seats in the photos appear similar and they may actually be those same seats! The concessions were okay and the staff was friendly enough. It was, however, very stuffy in #3. All-in-all, the Village isn't a bad place to see a movie, but it really isn't on my "must attend" list either.

Correction, that should be spelled "Belvidere."

This is a photo of the Village Art Theater.

Lost Memory,

I like the "We are not closing" on the marquee. The "For Rent, Summer 2006" sign is still up as of today (10/03/2006). Anybody know what's up with that?

I think Village is too cheap or lazy to take it down.

In fairness, it was put up by the building's owner, not Village. Although Village is terribly cheap about signage, like the CO logos that are still everywhere. In fact, at Bloomingdale Court, they took half of the CO logo and rotated it 90 degrees to make a 'V' for Village.

Brian Wolf,

Per your comment on the Bloomingdale Court and the rotation of the
C-O logo: Yes that sounds like something our Village Emtertainment would do!

I attended a movie at the Village when it was still a single screen. This was in the pre-art house days. It was standard second-run at discounted prices. It was the usual situation for an old cinema: decoration at the front of the house covered by a modern screen and everything painted one shade of grey. It probably was an attractive house when it first opened. But it wasn't too exciting at that point. The lobby looked then much as it does today, as did the exterior. All in all it was a good experience. The presentation was good, the concessions were good and the auditorium was comfortable and clean. This was in the 80's. Don't know who ran it at that point. But I don't think it was Village.

Village didn't come around until 15 years ago. They made it a quad to compete with Piper's Alley which had just opened at the time.

Oh Paul, how was the picture quality when you went? And how small were the screens?

Ron Rooding, who runs Village Entertainment, bought the theater in 1993. It was quadded two years earlier.

Cinemark Fan,

The picture quality was okay. The screen sizes were small. It was what you would expect from any small, chopped up, awkwardly re-configured old theatre.

CinemarkFan I used to general manage this place last year for a while, and would love to chat about the theater as well the crazy corporation running it. I did everything from try to fix up the bathrooms to greatly improving presentation is all 4 theaters (not to toot my own horn). Feel free to email me at agrueneberg@sbcglobal.net

Village is now advertising legal movie downloads on its website.

Is it me, or is it just plain wrong for a movie theatre chain to do this?

Just plain wrong to be sure. But, he who sees the headlight of the train two miles down the track and continues to stand between the rails is going to get whacked.

Here are photos of this theater.

To a_projectionst: Cool, I would be glad to e-mail you regarding this place.

Because I'm low on cash right now, I might have to see Rocky Balboa here this week.

Cinemark Fan,

The movie-going experience here is okay, but only just okay. I'd give it two stars out of four. The rest rooms are clean, if a little run-down, same goes for the floors. As stated above, little decor remains. The staff is friendly in that you'll get a polite "hello" but little else. The auditoriums here are tiny, and the seats resemble those removed from the Belvidere. The popcorn here is okay, somewhat reasonably priced.

But they do charge $2.00-$2.75 less than AMC! My girlfriend and I come here because the parking here is cheaper than at the River East or 600 North. And the Village apparently gets a lot of walk-up trade from the neighborhood. So all-in-all, if you come here "don't-expect-much-and-you-won't-be-disappointed."

Thanks for the imput. The auditorium isn't small like this is it?
http://www.cinematour.com/picview.php?db=us&id=26744

No, that's about right.

At least for the front two. The rear two are a bit bigger.

I hope my movie is playing in the rear two. Thanks for the info Brian.

My Dad took me in 1959 to see (Jacque Tati's) MON UNCLE here when it was still (definately) called the GOLD COAST. Somewhat art-house fare, as it did win an oscar for 'best foreign film' back then. The auditorium looked completely different then, even as a single-screen. And thanks, Dad.

Took my 2 older sons to see THE SHADOW here (VILLAGE this time) in the mid-90s; kinda neat they gave Jonathon Winters a little improvisatory room.

One more remembrance, if you don't mind: (probably) just before they 'plexed it I saw ONE TRICK PONY (w/ Paul Simon) there and during
the intro they cranked up the volume for "Late In the Evening" to distortion levels, and that is certainly one way to see (hear) it. The film also served to add the work 'mellifluous' to my regular vocabulary (you'll have to see it).

There is a pic of the auditorium, taken in 1990, in Set #15, here:

http://www.mekong.net/random/theatres.htm

I used to do some work at the Village from time to time in the late 1980s. As Chitownguy noted above, there was a cat that lived in the theatre. His name was Mitchell (after a nearby restaurant), and he was supposed to be a mouser. I don't know how effective he was, but I'm guessing he never went hungry.

This theatre had the tiniest bathrooms of any theatre I ever went in, and it was the only theatre I can recall where the ladies' room was actually SMALLER than the men's room.

GOSSIP COLUMN ITEM: Chicago Tribune, Tuesday, June 21, 1960, s. 1, p. 14, c. 1:
"Tower Ticker" by Herb Lyon

". . . Marquee on a North Clark street movie: "Sink the Bismarck." "Once More With Feeling!" . . ."
--------------------
The ad in the movie section reads:

GOLD COAST . . . "Sink the Bismarck"
. . . . . . . . . "Once More With Feeling"
_________________________________________________________
______________________

"Thats all folks, Theater Closed"

..reads the marquee. Its been a wild ride village art. See ya my friend.

What happened? It looks like they didn't waste any time closing this place after the one-year lease was up. This explains why there was no answer when I tried calling to get showtimes.

Cinemark Fan and I had a "Deadpool" going as to which Village Entertainment cinema would close. We both picked the Bloomingdale Court. Boy were we wrong! The odd thing is that the Village could still draw a good crowd and still was popular with the locals.

I think that the closing of this place has sealed Village's fate as a cinema chain. I think that the remaining Village's will close no later than December, 2008. What say you, Cinemark Fan?

I don't know the recent history of the Village. But my guess is that it is not odd at all. A cinema that draws a crowd is not much in the eyes of a property owner when compared with a giant check from a real estate deal.

I wonder if Ald. Natarus' defeat had anything to do with this.

Per Cam's comment http://www.mekong.net/random/theatres.htm
above, it looks like the auditorium and the decor was mostly intact in 1990. I never was here when it was a single screen. The last movie I saw here was "Venus" starring Peter O'Toole.

The movie ads for this week show GRIND HOUSE as playing at the Village. It would have been appropriate.

Marquee photo of a closed Village Theater.

I went over here this afternoon to take some last photos. Somehow, I don't believe that this will ever be a movie theatre again. There was still a tied bundle of CHICAGO SKYLINE (a free weekly newspaper) from April 12 in front of the theatre.

Speaking of the SKYLINE, a front-page article in that April 12 issue dealt with the Village's closing. The article stated that the building owners wanted an increase in rent and that Ron Rooding refused to go along with it. So he abruptly closed the theatre.

Can the demolition crews be on their way?

If this place gets the wrecking ball, I hope Mitchell's restaurant next door doesn't go too. I love that place. As for the theater, I thought it would go after Bloomingdale Ct, guess I was wrong. But it seems that Village Entertainment CEO Ron Rooding is a cheap man. With that mindset of his, he'll be out of business very soon.

Cinemark Fan,

Did you ever get to see a movie here? Y'know, the funny thing is that I believed that almost ALL of the theatres which Ronny R. (a.k.a. Village Entertainment) operated HAD potential if only a good company with vision would operate them!

I was out there on Sunday, 4/15/07, photographing the place. Did you ever get photos of it?

I am a 70 year old Chicagoan and every day I think what's next. When you are my age it is so sad to see my world disappearing into what I call the seniors twilight zone because it seems surreal. Only those with a long Chicago histoy would understand.

Of course I believe it is the sign of the times due to our love affair with cars and easy transportation. Not much parking in that area. I ride buses and also live 1/2 block from North Ave and this was a very easy place to visit.

Chris in Chicago
PS Still waiting to hear about the Patio on Irving Park Road

I don't think the theater is under imminent danger; keep in mind the sign says "Theater for Rent", and not Build to Suit

Paul,

I never saw a movie here. I was going to see "Rocky Balboa" here, but my brother ended up taking me, my other brother and my mom to Ford City to see it. In fact, I almost saw it at the Logan too. But after I found out how small the small auditoriums are at this place, I kinda got put off from going. I should've went though, considering how old the place is, and how much history goes with it. With a better and smarter owner, it could've survived.

Now Paul, you belive that the remaining Village locations will be gone by December 08? I kinda belive you there. I know Bloomingdale Ct's fate is sealed, and watch out for news of it's closing. Lincoln Village ain't well kept from what I've heard. That's bad news, because it didn't look all that great last summer when I was there. North Riverside: Will close soon because of the popular Showplace 14 nearby. I think the only Village that might come out alive would be the Village North. I've haven't been there yet, but I've heard that lots of Loyola students and Rogers Park residents fill the place up. With a good remodel and up-to date projection systems, it will stay. If I get started with my corp soon like I hope, I plan to save it.

BW Chicago,

But what would happen if the building owners are unable to find a suitable company to operate the Village Theatre?

Then it's still an Orange-rated building, so it has some protection in that it would be subject to a 90-day hold for review before any demolition or alterations were approved.

I was in it the other day. It is a disaster. The seats are gone. What remains is a crumbling shell. The outside is salvagable.

I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a "crash-and-burn-operation". The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:

HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry's, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry's , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer's Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer's Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry's, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.

Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a "crash-and-burn" operation?

FYI Paul (and maybe, just maybe) you might want to think about actually having some FACTS before randomly posting. As someone who actually works for Village Entertainment here is a reality check.

Hinsdale -- operated on a short-term lease as the building owners had plans to renovate the building. Closed at the end of the lease.

Burnham -- building owner wanted to redevelop so lease was not renewed (more $$$'s in redevelopment than in theater rent so who can blame him).

Stratford -- mall ownership wanted to redo the location. Decided to go with a national chain.

Water Tower -- operated on a short-term lease. The space was scheduled to be converted to live theater but the mall ownership wanted the theater to remain open in the meantime.

Biograph - sadly impossible to get film with the opening of the AMC on Western Ave (also impacted the Village's ability to get film -- that is the way the industry is people).

Golf Glen -- mall ownership absolutely refused to address major plumbing problems which resulted in spouting raw sewage at any time more than 50 or so people were in the location.

Village Art - basically unable to book films after the openings of the Century (removed art films) and the AMC on Western -- Village cannot play day and date with either location. When the lease was up Village Entertainment attempted to work with the building ownership in an attempt to find a workable rent to keep the theater open. VE offered to leave the seats and projection equipment in the location but the landlord wanted them gone.

Sadly, small companies have a tough go with the recent trends towards monopolization of the industry. New mega-plexes open and the smaller, older theaters just cannot compete because the audiences want to go to the brand-new facility. The advent of DVD's, pay-per-view and so on have shortened the "shelf-life" of film so there are no longer many surviving second-run or augmented-run theaters. Landlords want to maximize rent and sometimes another use is better for the landlord.

Cinema Employee,

I'm not doubting that Village Entertainment has faced numerous hurdles. But, using your arguement, how do you explain that a small cinema like the LaGrange still packs 'em in? How do you explain how Classic Cinemas, a local chain about the size of Village at its peak, does very well?

Yeah, success is really about the management decisions of a given company.

There are always ways to succeed. The movie exhibition business is not the jump-on-the-bandwagon, easy success strategy that it was in the first half of the 20th century. Most people don't want to think. So they follow the big trends. Nowadays that could be opening a trading company and importing a bunch of cheap items from China for distribution, or building condos. Back in 1999 everyone was getting into e-commerce ventures.

Cinema Employee,

While I certainly wouldn't want to get into "flaming" on this website, I do wish to make a few things clear. I certainly want Village Entertainment to succeed. I try to patronize local businesses whenever possible. I used to go to the Burnham and the Village Art all the time. My movie experiences at these places have always been good if not great.

On the other hand, I see no concrete business plan from Village. I see little promotion fromt he company other than the occasional ads in the Sun-Times for the Lincoln Village and North Riverside. Village didn't even have a website for awhile, although it is back in operation. To Village's credit, the company does seem to keep its theatres clean, however there has been little money invested in renovating its theatres (Cineplex-Odeon logos are still very much in evidence).

Again, I'd like to see Village Entertainment prosper because I believe alternatives to AMC-Loews are necessary. And if Village can't compete with the big boys, why try in the first place? As Village is locally and independently owned, the company could do somethings different. Why not midnight movies? Film festivals? Before the merger, the 600 North theatre did a free movie every Thursday night at 8:00 as part of the LOEWS' FAN FAVORITE SERIES. Granted, these were films 1 to 30 years old, but the series was popular. Why not revive an idea like that? There are things like that which Village could do, which don't cost a lot of money, which could say "Hey moviegoers! We're Village Entertainment and this is what we have to offer!"

Thanks Paul for the constructive criticism -- I think everybody has room to improve and good ideas are always welcome. You probably know that the Village North does do midnight shows. We do a fee summer series at some locations (primarily targetted towards children). I just thought calling Village Entertainment a "crash and burn" company is unfair. I suppose a lot of improvements are in the back ground (DTS, upgrades to projection systems and the like) and others are not totally obvious. New seats at the Village Art two years ago, new seating at the Village North and portions of the Lincoln Village and Bloomingdale this year and the like.

But...if people want smaller theaters to stay in business I say the way to go is the film distribution companies. The Village Art, for example, could sure pack them in when the location was able to get a film but mostly we were blocked out by the AMC-Loews theaters and the Century. The reality is that you must play movies people want to see -- if you are not able to book the films you cannot hope to survive on throw-away product. The same thing is now happening at the Bloomindale with the new theater at Stratford Square opening -- weren't able to book Harry Potter because the Stratford got it so if you wanted to see Harry Potter last weekend the Bloomingdale was not an option -- that means a lot of lost business to us and while free shows and other incentives can and do add some revenues they do not compensate for the loss of a film like Harry Potter and of course the trend will continue with the other film companies. Happens all the time, just look at all the smaller closed theaters out there. Films are our product and for each film there is one distributor, its as though there were only one distributor for beef and they told Dominick's we're not going to sell to you because it is in our best interest to sell to Jewel instead so you can't sell beef anymore. Doesn't seem entirely fair but that is the exhibition business.

So if you want to support smaller theaters -- complain to Warner Brothers and the other distribution companies about not being able to see their movies at your local small theater. Pressure from the consumer might just be the way to make sure the "alternatives" survive. I am sure your local theater (whoever they might be) will thank you!!


As to Classic Cinemas (which does an excellent job) I believe they have closed five or six locations in the very recent past, as has Nova, another smaller and very well run chain.

To Cinemaemployee1111

They installed new seats at the Village North? If so, cool.

I thought those seats in the Village Art looked new. There resemble the ones used in the Belvidere http://www.cinematour.com/picview.php?db=us&id=26745

If you are waiting for consumers to complain about film distribution practices, you are going to be waiting a long time. Most consumers open the paper and find the most convenient location. They will continue that practice as long as the venue is not extremely offensive due to staff, presentation or janitorial services.

A few upgraded seats is not going to get the job done either. That is especially true if, as the comment above seems to suggest, you are moving 1970's seats from a closed location in to replace 1950's seats.

In my opinion you need to take your thinking to the next level if you intend to survive. It is going to take intelligent, creative, innovative solutions; and, I don't have the vaguest idea what those solutions might be.

BTW: Classic Cinemas is an organization that most on this web site hold in extremely high regard. I would be careful when it comes to thowing around unsourced, vague statistics about their operation.

To LTS:

Cinema Employee is correct when (s)he states that it was unfair of me to call Village a "Crash and Burn Operation" if I dont have all of the facts. I am not an industry insider, after all. Cinema Employee is also correct in stating that Classic Cinemas has closed locations. But let's look at the CC locations which have closed:

Barrington Square--Closed because of competition from the nearby South Barrington 30. Also likey because the shopping mall management wanted to re-do the center.

Casino--Closed when the casino wanted to expand.

Foxfield--closed when CC had the opportunity to take over the nearby Charlestown.

Tradewinds--Closed when the area around it became run-down and the theatre started to lose money.

The Park Forest South and the Arcada were sold to other operators.

Now let's look at the remaining Village Theatres.

Bloomingdale Court--Cinemark Fan said that this theatre should be turned into a 2nd run supersaver house. And he's right. If you think that 2nd runs can't get movies and pack in good houses, look at the La Grange.

Glenwood--I've never been here, so I can't comment.

Lincoln Village--Could be good again if only money could be invested into it. Ample parking is available (although the lot needs to be re-paved). The adajacent Lincoln Village Shopping Center has recently been overhauled and seems to be doing well. The building is only about 20 years old. The nearest competing theatres are the Village North, The Century (Evanston), the Crown (Skokie/Niles) and the Davis.

North Riverside--This one's problematic. Why go to this location when you can either go to a wonderful old theatre (The Lake) or a new megaplex (The Hawthorne)

Village North--As stated elsewhere, this seems to be the one theatre that Village is doing correctly. It is popular with students (Loyola is nearby), the locals (gets good walk-ins) and it does things like midnight movies. It may look a little run-down, but has anyone ever seen pictures of it when it was the 400 Twin? It was twinned, then quadded while remaining open and it was a shambles! In short, this theatre seems to know its market and caters to it very well.

So, yes, Cinema Employee is correct in stating that there are difficulties in maintaining a cinema operation and LTS is correct in stating that there are innovative ways to get around these difficulties. Village needs to listen to its customers.

Cinema Employee, is there a way to contact Village and forward them my suggestions from my earlier post? One more suggestiong: Have "How Can We Serve You Better Cards" in your theatre lobbies and page for people to leave their suggestions on your website. Hold a contest and the winner could receive passes or concession stand vouchers.

Oh, LTS, one more item. You stated "Classic Cinemas is an organization that most on this web site hold in extremely high regard. I would be careful when it comes to thowing around unsourced, vague statistics about their operation." In all fairness, Cinema Employee did praise CC, saying "As to Classic Cinemas (which does an excellent job) I believe they have closed five or six locations in the very recent past, as has Nova, another smaller and very well run chain."

I was aware of this fact when I made my comment. But I didn't like the overall tone of what was said. The message seemed to be: "Look, they are in the same boat." As you just pointed out, it is most likely not the case.

It is also an old trick to say somebody is great and then follow it up with the message you are really trying to get across. Not saying that happened here for sure. But you could take it that way.

At the end of it all what I am saying is this:

Most people in this forum hold Classic Cinemas in very high regard. Most people have at least some degree of doubt about Village. I don't think that making comments that could be taken in a negative way about Classic Cinemas is going to improve Village's situation one bit.

I would say that the Classic Cinemas comment was out of line as it said "in the very recent past"; in reality, they have not close a single theater since 2003. Paul's list omits theaters closed between 1998-2001; namely the Sterling, Tivoli South, and Springhill. Since 2002, they have, however, built 5 screens at the York; 2 at Elk Grove and one screen with kodak Digital; 4 at the Fox Lake with a renovated lobby and all-digital sound; a renovated lobby and 50-foot screen with 8-channel SDDS at the Cinema 12; a screen with Real-D at the Lake; at the Lindo, a new concession stand and box office, with 4 new screens under construction; at the Ogden 6, extensive renovations; the Tivoli was totally reseated with top of the line seats, extensive lobby refurbishment, and a complete sound system; added 2 screens at the Woodstock, and renovated lobby facilities.

I can see all this because their attractive website uses good marketing and demonstrates that they care about their customers experiences, and enumerates the improvements they make. They show their customers that they are valued (through the investments to their theaters) and offer an experience the larger chains fail to provide, and are rewarded with loyalty.

In addition to these improvements, CC patrons tend to enjoy such benefits as free soda refills, good lighting, clean auditoriums and restrooms, and continued maintenance that goes beyond moving equipment from one theatre to the next.

If Village really wants to improve its image on this web site, perhaps Ron Rooding should do as Willis Johnson did and hold an interview with Michael Zoldessy on the front page.

BW, you are right. I forgot about those theatres. And I did forget that CC hasn't closed a cinema since 2003 and has been working very hard on maintaining its image. I once called Classic Cinemas a class act and I stand behind that. I wish that they'd take over some places in the City like the Patio.

I would like to see Village Theatres succeed too and I wish they'd listen to the movie-going public.

Correction to the above. I HAVEN'T forgotten that CC has worked hard to maintain its image!

Recent photos of this theatre are HERE

Has anyone but me noticed that Village has not updated its website in awhile?

There is a spectacular feature on Classic Cinemas in the Marquee Magazine that just arrived. It is also a tribute to Joe Ducibella.

It contains history, including openings and closings, as well as many photographs. I am sure THS would be happy to sell a copy to anyone interested.

Contact them through this web site:

http://www.historictheatres.org/

I wonder what will happen to this building. Does anyone seriously believe that it will be used as a cinema again? The only time I was in here..well, it didn't look dirty, but it smelled musty. I also don't know what else can go into this space.

I agree with what someone said above. I hope that they don't tear it down, along with Mitchell's Restaurant next door. When I take my niece and nephew to the zoo or the Historical Society, we always eat lunch at Mitchell's!

That place has gone way downhill since it ceased being Mitchell's and turned into Michael's. It was even shut down for cockroaches, improper temperatures, and an unsanitary grease trap for a while this summer. On the subject of restaurants, from 1899-1970, the corner of Clark and Germania was occupied by the venerable German restaurant Red Star Inn, which was torn down to allow the drive to be widened for Sandburg Village. This restaurant, a favorite of some influential politicians, including Sen. Dirksen, was the primary reason why the Germania Club, Theater, and Red Star Inn were spared from demolition in the mid-60s. Also a factor was that the theater and the adjacent buildings (Mitchell's was built as a Walgreens) were owned by State Rep. Bill Schoeninger.

Other things I just found out: In 1977 the operator was Kohlberg theaters. In 1985 there was a proposal to build a large, stepped apartment tower over part of the Germania Club and on the site of the Village and Mitchell's; the new building would have accommodated replacement locations for both. I would guess that because the Michael's restaurant is pretty marginal, the corner site including the theater is at risk despite the Orange rating on the theater.

BW

I forgot that Mitchell's became Michael's. I didn't know that the place had health code violations.

I guess I'll take my niece and nephew someplace else.

Robin, there are plenty of places that you can take your niece and nephew if you are in the area. The Cafe Brauer at the South Pond is much improved and is cheaper than the food court at the zoo. Cosi's is on Clark and they are kid-friendly.

On the subject of the theatre, I don't think we'll ever see another movie theatre in this location. I think the location is at risk and I would not be surprised to see demolition permits issued soon.

I think that the restaurant next door is now closed too. I know of the building's status, but I'm still wondering whether or not it is headed for the wrecking ball.

Kohlberg Theaters ran it from at least 1974-77. After their departure at the end of their lease in March, Charles Cooper signed a 15-year lease on the building and invested $50,000-$125,000 in improving the theater, which was then leased to Bob Taylor, formerly of Brotman and Sherman, with Oscar Brotman himself sharing booking responsibilities with Tom Brueggemann, who was characterized as a young whiz kid. The two quickly turned around the Village's reputation from dump to attractive.

The Village was quadded in 1991. Rooding came in 1993, after operating the Village North (then still called the 400 Twin) since at least 1989. Interestingly, Rooding attempted to have the building landmarked in 1995 to save it from "the continual and perpetual threat" of destruction. The Germania building was already on the list of consideration at this time. Another interesting quote from this article stated, "Rooding said he and his fiance, Terri Sween, bought the theater in 1993 aware there was a demolition clause in the lease that could be invoked in 1997. The lease stated if the building was not torn down then, they could remain tenants another 14 years, Rooding said." Shortly thereafter, a followup article stated, "The commission decided to examine other theaters of its era to determine if the Village, built in 1917, merits the designation. They cited the 400 Theatre, the Bryn Mawr and the Biograph as possibly being better examples of old theaters." Of course, the 400 remains in operation, with a virtually identical interior; the Bryn Mawr had a highly altered facade then and now and remains closed; and the Biograph was landmarked under the criteria of being a better-preserved example of a old theater and subsequently gutted. Now, comparing the facade of the Biograph to the Village - which is the only thing left of the Biograph - can the argument really be made that the Biograph is a better example of a theater facade? I don't think so. Nonetheless, the Village never received any landmarking.

Here is a recent photo of the Village Art Theater.

Wow BW - what a nice comment about me.

Bob Taylor had been a manager for Oscar Brotman, then leased this and the Harvey Theatres in the layte 1970s. Bob kept the account with me when I went to M&R Theatres.

For all the fun/successful work we did, one bad decision stands out. We were playing midnight movies regularly. Fox offered us The Rocky Horror Picture Show at slightly higher than average film rental, but with a deal-breaking caveat: we had to commit to four weeks. Bob wasn't comfortable with it, I didn't push it, and it went instead to the Biograph for the next decade or so....

Well, Tom, I was just paraphrasing the Tribune - I didn't have any firsthand experience, as I was not yet living. I certainly don't doubt it, however! That certainly is unfortunate; why was Fox demanding a higher rental if the film was not yet an established midnight performer?

As I recall, Fox felt (correctly) that they had a hit on their hands, and just wanted to have a commitment that a theatre would stick with it if it started slowly.

One of the reasons they didn't want the Biograph (also if I recall correctly) is that the film had bombed there as a first run theatre.

The Village (Germania) Theatre was originally the Gumbiner circuit. Chicago Tribune, Oct 26, 1915 pg 18. "NEW PLAYHOUSE FOR NORTH SIDE - A moving picture theater with a seating capacity of 1,000, to cost $75,000 is to be erected by Frank Schoeninger on the property at the southwest corner of North Clark street and North avenue...He has leased the entire building, including the theater, through White & Tabor, to H. L. Gumbiner...designs are being prepared by architect Adolph Werner [sic]." His last name is WOERNER in the 1917 business directory. Article also mentions Gumbiner's involvement in Paulina and a proposed theater that eventually became the Bertha.

this building has just been listed as one of the ten most endangered buildings in illinois.

a description with some pictures can be found here:

http://www.landmarks.org/ten_most_2008_5.htm

A note for Paul Fortini, and others calling Village Entertainment, Village Theatres or Lakehurst Entertainment or whatever name they are going by today, a "legitimate chain" is a huge stretch of grammar and common sense. For a business to be legitimate, they need to operate like a business, actually PAY their vendors and employees and try to be a good business citizen and comply with local laws (like paying taxes). Ron Rooding and his "partners" only pay vendors when sued or when they must pay to operate. They treat their employees like cattle (I know, because I was one, accuse every manager and employee of stealing from them and probably break every state and federal law concerning employees, time off, insurance, taxes, etc. Most of their locations have been shut down in the recent past for non payment of property taxes, sales taxes, health code violations, fire code violations and worse. They only pay their landlords when threatened with eviction and cant get a lot of films because several major studios have cut them off for non payment. They falsify attendance records and grosses and generally are shoddy, crooked operators.

Hello former village employee, I as well am one. I was a house manager here just before it closed. I tried very hard to breath life into this place. I can agree 100% with everything said about Village et.

The entire operation is a complete joke.

I sure do miss this place.

What a shame that Village operated that way. When they took over a lot of local theatres in the early 2000s, those sites were almost all still potentially good theatres. They were even still getting decent bookings into the Water Tower Theatres.

At the beginning, it appeared that Village Entertainment could have been a successful firm. A Projectionist, you certainly did try to breathe life into the Village Art. Given the right film, the location could still draw a big crowd. The last three films I saw at the Village, "Stranger Than Fiction", "Venus", and "Children of Men" certainly had decent sized crowds.

The Village could still make money today with the proper management.

Here is a fascinating website with many photographs and paintings
http://www.anatomicallycorrect.org/alltheworldsastage.htm

Greetings. Landmark status for the building housing the Village Theatre, was broached again maybe 10 years ago. Ald. Natarus' stance was that any landmark status would limit future owners from doing renovations. Or prevent them from beng able to sell it.
Duh, that's the point. To possibly protect buildings from their owners, If the owners actions could harm it's very existence, facade, or historical signicance.
A term politicos coincidentally like to use against a building as well. As "in no historical significance". Or "no architechtual sigificance" for that matter.

As with the Esquire and virtually anything else once in his ward, Natarus' opinion on landmarks is thankfully now moot.
I personally questioned him years back on the phone, on the rationale of not landmarking the now since demolished Coe mansion/Ranalli's at Dearborn & Elm.
He'd actually called me in response to an e-mail I wrote to his office, implying his constituency had passed him by. By not protecting the Gold Coast's neighborhood charm, in favor of OK-ing any development involving demolition that came down the pike.

He said the placement of the balconies on Ranalli's exterior, negated it's ability to be landmarked. Who was the Ald. when the balconies went up? (Brief Silence)
Of course he was.

So using his own argument, owners renovations prevent landmark status,
just as landmark status prevents owners renovations.
He said "I do the best I can".

So basically his opinion helped greenlight demolition of the Coe and all the 100 year old brownstones adjacent to it. As they were all deemed not worthy of saving.
He claimed we were just losing a few more bars. Which he couldn't name by the way. Instead the tax revenue generating high rise that was built in it's place is now a reality. Even it had stops and starts during construction. Then some folks who bought the high end condos, actually complained about noise on Division St.
That's like moving next door to Midway, and beefing about planes overhead.

The new Ald. has since showed with the Children's Museum controversy, that he'll at least do all his homework entirely, instead of just going along with any and all proposed developments. So hopefully The Village & Esquire will get 2nd looks under his watch.

Theatres seem particularly hard to protect though. Because it takes artistic visionaries with lots of money, to make anything else out of them even remotely viable. Some reasonable renovations have to be made. With The Village it's just the building's facade, part of which is the theatre ornamentation.
With the Esquire, it's really just a matter of saving the marquee & facade. Let them build out the inside however they want or need. Like the Biograph did.

The Village Theatre certainly has huge potential given it's location. And it's essentially perfectly square interior for remodeling.
Maybe Latin School could pony up some dough and make it their "part time" auditorium. A sort of Theater Workshop complex. They could probably even have help on the taxes as a learning institution.

My mother recently told me when she was a child near Armitage & Clybourn, her mother would take her & her younger brothers to the Gold Coast(Village) Theatre. However The Gold Coast would often not admit children, regardless of what was playing.
So they'd take the street car over a few blocks to the Lane Court Theatre(Park West).
When her & her brothers would go out on their own, they'd get one dollar to split 3 ways. 33 cents each, with the extra penny going towards candy they could share. The dollar included street car fare 3-cents each, and the movies for a nickel each. Their mother hadn't known the youngest brother rode for free when with his siblings. So they spent his car fare on more candy.

The Germania Club next door used to host the Santa Claus Anonymous singles parties in the 1970's.

In addition to seeing the original Longest Yard at the Village, I'd seen Jurassic Park, Waynes World 2, the Oceans 11 remake and various others before that in the `70's & `80'S.

Here's a little piece of trivia I don't think anyone has mentioned on here yet: Did you all know the Village was a gay porno house for a short time just before Bob Taylor purchased it? Yep, it's the truth and I heard it from Bob Taylor personally when I managed the theater. He said they literally closed the theater and changed it completely in ONE WEEK! He told me this in 2005 when he (sadly) began working for Village Entertainment. I always found it depressing that he was this ill man who had to work for Ron Rooding; a guy who Bob Taylor originally hired as an usher at the Village North when he was a teenager in the 1980's. Anyway, Bob (or Taylor,as we always called him) mentioned that behind the walls in the lobby are beautiful green marble poster cases. He wanted to keep them at the time but they were in pretty rough shape so he decided to wall over them. Also interesting is the original screen made out of horsehair behind the screens in the back of theaters 3 & 4. Taylor told me the screen was the original from way back when it was a silent theater. Interesting also is the organ that was still in the theater when Taylor purchased the theater. Although long gone he claimed to still have the pipes, which were cleaned and are hanging in his condo.

I'll also mention this: I was very fortunate to have met and worked with Jerry Usher and Bob Taylor. They were true legends in Chicago, and they had no idea how much I valued them both. Taylor kept his distance from the staff and was pretty much a prick, but I could understand why. When I met him he was very ill and had to work for Ron Rooding, which was never a good time. Taylor was demanding about how things should be handled at the Village, and with good reason considering how it used to be his. Jerry praised having Bob Taylor as a boss before Bob sold the theater to Ron in 1991. Jerry explained that Bob would always pay him a nice bonus yearly for him to take a vacation-something that the Village definitely never did for him. Jerry would use the money to fly to Puerto Rico for a week. When Bob fell ill, he still came back a year later and gave Jerry his bonus - something Jerry found to be very touching. Another story I will never forget is how Bob Taylor would drive to the nearby Caprini Green apartment complex in the late 1970's and recruit a few children to spread lime throughout the rat infested Village basement to curb the rodent problems! Honest to goodness this was a story Jerry told me, and he honestly had no reason to lie about it.

Good news! According to 42nd Ward Alderman Reilly's Office e-newsletter, the Village Theater received final landmark status as of today.
The attached Germania Club building is next on his list.
I have the link if anyone is interested, you are welcome to e-mail me for it.

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c52/twinklebugpics/chicago/Historicarchitecture.jpg 1970 Slide

Bloody Mama must have been a good one to see. Shelley Winters and an early appearance by Robert De Niro.

I love the tacky blue marquee! The later gold and white one was an improvement!

As for "Bloody Mama", it was a Roger Corman film. 'Nuff said.

Apparently there was an article about the Village and a proposed National Historic Register status, in this past Saturday's or Sunday's Red Eye newspaper.
I looked for it online, but couldn't pull it up in a search of their site.

There was this in the Chicago Journal: It was declared a Chicago Landmark.

http://www.chicagojournal.com/main.asp?SectionID=46&SubSectionID=154&ArticleID=6816&TM=2487.472

Thanks. Cheers to the new Alderman for making the landmarking happen.
That never would have happened with Natarus. If only the Esquire facade could be spared.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeusofhollywood/3374349723/in/set-72157615748797666/ - Better copy of 1970 photo

I'll say. Complete with a `69 LeSabre at the meter. And what appears to be a `68 Vette w/sidepipes?
The florist w/awning is where the Starbucks is now.
The next storefront just North of the florist is now a Thai place called Tiparo's, for at least 10 years.

Forgot to check the box again...Doh!

Does anyone know what happened to Ron Rooding?

Here is a 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d2kjfo

The Village is still sitting there empty.

If you look inside the lobby of the theater now, it looks like they are prepping it for something new. They have stripped the walls, exposing one of the original doorframes which used to lead into the auditorium before they cut it into 4.

Interesting. I don't see any building permits on file.

There's a 'Weber Grill' sign on the marquee, but I couldn't tell if it's an advertisement or if Weber's going in there. I was about 1/2 a block away.

FYI. Michael's (formerly Mitchell's), the restaurant next door now appears closed down as well. I couldn't stop to read the sign taped to the window.
But I asked some friends and they thought it was permanent.

Fortunately the recent landmarking of the Village, can prevent any developer argument of even more dead space as a reason to demolish.

I went by the Village last week. The front doors have been covered with plywood and there is only one spot where you can see inside. The day I was there it was so dark inside that I couldn't see anything at all. Here are the links to a few of my pictures:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruce_theatres/3758639093/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruce_theatres/3759434978/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bruce_theatres/3759435026/

I used to be a manager/projectionist at the Village Theatre, from 1995-2006. I also worked at other Village Entertainment theatre locations during this period. I even worked at the Village when I was a senior in high school back in 1982-82. I've had this never-ending pipe dream that some day, someone will take over the theatre, knock down the walls, and restore the theatre almost to it's original 1916 glory and use it as a mult-purpose venue. One of the sticking points is the fact that the owners of the property (Price Associates) wants way too much money for it. Let us hope reason can descend upon Price and let us hope there's an ambitious businessman with showmanship ambitions will restore and re-open this once wonderful place.

So what's the deal with the Weber signs? Anyone?

There's a hardware store around the corner. Maybe they're just advertising their Weber grills for sale. Oh, and to Cinema Treasures: Thank you for straigtening out the huge gap from the comment that I had posted earlier. I had a little accident with my space bar on the keyboard.