Clark Theater

Here is a link to a photograph from 1927 showing the intersection of Clark and Madison Streets, with the marquee of the Adelphi Theatre on the far left edge of the photo. From the Chicago Daily News collection of the Library of Congress.

The Clark was the most unique theatre in Chicago. A different double feature every day of the year. Two dramas, two westerns, two foreign films , thrillers or comedies. Was open almost 24 hours a day...doors opened at 730 a.m. first show at 8 a.m. The last double feature would start at 3 a.m. Admission was cheap for downtown...85 cents for adults college students 65 cents and on Wednesday women got in for 25 cents! On the mezzanine level, there was a section called the "Little gallery for 'GALS ONLY'".From the early to late 60's spent many hours at the Clark. Favorite memories: Luis Bunel "LOS OLVIDADOS" plus "VIRIDIANA", "PSYCHO" plus "SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON", "A SHOT IN THE DARK" plus "THE PINK PANTHER", "THE BALCONY" plus "NO EXIT". By the early 70's it went to soft core sex films before closing.

"He took in the 4 AM show at the Clark - excitable boy, they all said" -Warren Zevon

The Clark's Art Deco marquee can be seen (partially hidden behind a bus) in this circa-1956 photograph ("Reasonable Doubt" is playing at the theater). The photo is mislabeled, it isn't Clark and Wenthworth, it's actually the corner of Clark and Madison.

Here is a new link to the photo I posted a now-expired link to above back on 11/20/03 of the Clark when it was still the Adelphi:

http://chsmedia.org/media/dn/08/0836/DN-0083643.jpg

In the 1960's Bruce Trinz managed the Clark and programmed the greatest array of movie doubles ever shown, anywhere. A different double every day, month after month, year after year. He sent out monthly programs listing all the films under the title "Hark the Clark!" I still have several years of these schedules and it is almost unbelievable to look at them now and see how he covered every type of movie. He wrote clever little ditties to accompany some of the films. My all time favorite was for the Marx Bros. film, "Horse Feathers"--simple and to the point, he wrote: "Marx Bros. at college/ Make farce out of knowledge." The theater was open almost 24 hours and I often had friends come in from out of town (as far away as New York) for the 3:00 a.m. double, then we would go out for breakfast about 06:30 a.m. while the theater closed for a quick cleaning. Then we would go back at 08:00 a.m. for a second, different double feature. Later in the early 1970's I moved to New York and in the theater comments registry for the New Yorker (another great revival theater) I saw many comments lamenting the passing of the Clark as a revival house. The movie grapevine was active and the demise of the Clark was mourned across the country.

Ah, yes...the monthly programs- if memory serves, the heading was "HARK, HARK...the voice of the CLARK". The two ditties I remember are for Hitchcock's "THE TROUBLE WITH HARRY"- (By Harry they're harried... he just won't stay buried!) and for Bergman's "THE DEVIL'S EYE"- (Womans virture's a sty...in Beelzebub's eye). Remember the suggestion box in the lobby? You could fill out a card with your name, address and film request...and the Clark would notify you a few weeks ahead of the playdate. Remember the square clock with the green background positioned to the left of the screen? What a great theatre...what a great way to get a film education!

Here is a postcard view, dated 1911, showing the Clark with its original name of the Columbia Theatre, which shared a building with the Hotel Planters.

I owe my film history education to the Clark. Since there were no VCRs back in the sixties there was absoultely no way have access to many classic and foreign films other than at the Clark.
My friends and I relied on (and even began some) college and school film series with rented 16mm copies of classic movies, often inspired by films we saw at the Clark. Here is where I saw double features of Hitchcock or Welles or Fellini - and on the big screen! Even today with the plethora of DVDs available, often with valuable bonus extras on board and on a big screen TV, it's just not the same as seeing the movie in a theater.
And I so wish I had kept the "Hark, Hark, the Clark" bulletins - those one-line rhyming summaries were brilliant! Would someone be willing to scan a few to share online?

http://memory.loc.gov/ndlpcoop/ichicdn/n0089/n008950.jpg Here is a 1911 image of the then-Columbia theatre shortly before opening, from the Library of Congress
http://memory.loc.gov/ndlpcoop/ichicdn/n0089/n008951.jpg Here is an interior view while under construction

During my college years (1969-73) I worked part time downtown in the summers. I used to stop here nearly every day after work to catch an older film I'd missed.

My friend Bruce Trinz doesn't do computers. He is 87 and last October he and I walked around The Loop for three hours.

He has two corrections of what is said above:

The Clark was at 11 North Clark Street.

The Late Show started at 4 am.

I would add, that the theater was the Adelphi before it became the Columbia as part of the "Columbia Burlesque Wheel".

Bruce is very pleased about what you have said about the theater and him on this site.

Paul, I have a number of editions of Hark! The Voice of the Clark which I will gladly send you by fax or e-mail. Contact me at ceb@ameritech.net

I think Bruce must be mistaken about the order of names- the photographs linked to on this entry prove that it opened as the Columbia (during construction, during for example), and was later the Adelphi (as in this 1927 view), before being renamed the Clark.

The 1911 Loop Street Address Renumeration Guide shows the address of the theatre entrance to be 11 N Clark and the hotel 15 N Clark. It's not unusual for a theatre to take on the address of the building its part of, for example, the listed address for the Shubert/Majestic isn't really accurate, so that's likely what happened here.

I'd like to thank Bruce for all his important contributions to chicago film exhibition over the years. Although i'm too young to have experienced them, I can appreciate that he played quite an important role.

Brian,

I know that this is perhaps too many details when you need to try to get information on thousands of theaters. The 1940 Film Daily Yearbook lists 19,084 theaters.

The statement about the names history came from me, not Bruce. Here is the answer:

The theater was built as The Adelphi, for example, the collection of the New York Public Library has an 1873 program for the Adelphi Theater Chicago.

In 1911 it was turned into the Columbia Burlesque, hence the construction pictures. The original Adelphi didn't have a marque.

In 1923 it was turned back into the Adelphi.

http://www.uic.edu/depts/lib/specialcoll/services/rjd/findingaids/TheaterProgramb.html

Bruce says you could climb stairs several stories into the flies and shreds of scenery still remained.

The Clark was still changing bills weekly when Bruce got there after the war, and he developed the policy of more frequent changes until the change became daily.

This article in today's Chicago Tribune mentions the Clark Theater as one of Chicago's "Seven Lost Wonders":

The Clark Theater

The Clark Theater was a Loop mecca for the generation of college students that discovered American movies were an art form, to be cherished, analyzed and debated, just like the "Iliad" or Shakespeare. Its advertising motto spoke to widening intellectual horizons: "Hark, hark. The Clark."

To those who came late to the cineaste's compulsion, the Clark offered a crash course: Its double-feature bill, of classics and B-movies alike, changed daily. On successive June days in 1957, you could have seen: "12 Angry Men" and "The Rainmaker"; "Oasis" and "The Quiet Gun"; "Naked Alibi" and "The Savage."

Manager Bruce Trinz was locally famed for his doggerel descriptions of coming attractions in the theater's program guide. Of the 1932 comedy "Horse Feathers" he wrote: "Marx Bros. at college/Make farce out of knowledge."

The Clark wasn't just a home away from home for the literati. Because tickets were cheap and the last show started at 4 a.m., it also was a magnet for lost souls. For women who wanted to concentrate on the on-screen action without fear of mashers, there was a mezzanine section labeled: "Little gallery for GALS ONLY."

So there were two theatres on Clark Street named "Adelphi!"

Yes, there were, at total opposite ends of the street, and both by the same architect. And it was indeed built in 1911. The 1872 Adelphi was elsewhere in the loop, and was better known as Haverly's, once the largest in Chicago, at Monroe and Dearborn. That theater had a rather interesting history. It was built following the fire using the outer walls of the old custom-house. It seated around 2500, a rickety firetrap with only two exits for the balconies and galleries accessible via crooked stairs, was rebuilt in 1878 and closed in 1882, replaced by a new Haverly's theater across the street, incidentally, known as the Columbia, which later burned. Perhaps Mr. Woods, who remodeled the 1911 Columbia into the Adelphi was alluding to this earlier prominent theater.

The Clark Theater is the greatest movie house of all time. Talk about getting a lot for your money, for a buck or less - and at almost any time of day or night - you could see some of the greatest movies ever made. On arriving in Chicago in early 1966 I worked as a clerk at the (old) 1st National Bank of Chicago, just a half-block away from the Clark. For a poorly paid bank clerk the Clark was a cultural life-saver. The film I remember more than any: Jules et Jim, with Oscar Werner and Jeanne Moreau. What an education the Clark provided. Thank you very much, Bruce Trinz, for your magnificent contribution to Chicago life.

Some of the films I remember seeing at the Clark- with a special fondness: "DIABOLIQUE" very late (1 a.m. to 3 a.m.) I got chills and goosebumps- literally! "LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES" with Jeanne Moreau-very daring and sexy for the time. "GIRL WITH A SUITCASE"- Claudia Cardinale on the beach, while the hauntingly beautiful song "Il cielo in una stanza" played. Ursula Andress in "THE TENTH VICTIM". Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in "BEDAZZLED". A great Peter Sellers double feature,"A SHOT IN THE DARK" plus "THE PINK PANTHER" (spring or summer of '65 or '66)- especially memorable because the Clark had a nearly full house. They had to open the balcony; it was the first and only time I got up there. If memory serves, the balcony had considerably more seats than the main floor. I, too, wish to thank Bruce Trinz for for running a great operation.

Here is an early postcard view of the theater

In the late 1960s, I spent many afternoons at The Clark, and watched many classic films there. I recall seeing numerous W. C. Fields, Marx Brothers, and Laurel and Hardy films there, many obscure. I recall the neon clock to the left of the screen. Just recently, I noticed they have a similar clock in the Tivoli (Downers Grove, IL).

Once I recall seeing some ancient looking film cans lined up at the theatre, ready for shipment back to whatever studio or distributor they came from. I wondered when the last time was they had been used, and if they would ever run in a theater again.

It is a shame there are so few photos of this very important theater. Someone should ask Bruce Trinz if he has any, especially pictures of the lobby or the interior. I have never seen any photos of the interior.

I have a color slide from 1956 showing a PCC streetcar on Clark Street going by the Clark. Erroll Garner was performing at the Blue Note, and you cna also see the Wimpy's burger joint on the corner.

All icons of the old downtown, and all sadly long gone.

I'd love to see that color slide. Would you be willing to link that to us?

To all Chicago area residents: Try to get a copy of New City, dated 9-28-06. On page 19, there is a pic of Clark and Madison in the 1950s. There is a small but nice shot of the Clark marquee. Right next door is a Turkish Bath house; a few doors south is the Blue Note (The Bud Freeman Roy Eldridge Quartet) ,and indeed, a Wimpy's burger joint- above it a sign: Borden's IT'S GOT TO BE GOOD! ICE CREAM. This shot is an ad for Lee Balterman's Lifelong (Photographic) Romance with Chicago, at Stephen Daiter Gallery. It's at 311 W. Superior, suite 404/408. Admission is free; it runs through Oct. 28. I haven't been there yet, but I bet there are a few more (hopefully many more) photos of Chicago area theatres. In any case, it should be interesting to all of us who grew up in Chicago.

Here is the picture KenC referred to.

I am interested in writing a book about the Clark Theater. If anyone has information they can share, please feel free to contact me at:
dsadowski@gmail.com

If anyone can help me get in touch with Bruce Trinz, I would greatly appreciate it.

This book could contain all the photos I can find, (hopefully there are some of the interior), reminiscences, reproductions of the Hark Hark flyers, and a list of every film shown there during the entire two-a-day era.



Thanks.

Here is an exterior view.

A 1954 clip of the Clark marquee can be seen by searching http://www.wttwdigitalarchives.com/searchres.php for 26461

Here is a 1960s shot of the strip. Look at all that neon!

The Oriental theatre marquee is #14. The beloved Clark theatre is picture #19. Riverview park is #16... At first I thought this was the Tunnel of Love boat ride, but I suspect it is SHOOT the CHUTES. (Anyone born and raised in Chicago prior to about 1960 will know what I'm talking about). All this...and the Chicago Cubs! Thanks, Brian.

News Item:

Chicago Tribune, Sunday, January 12, 1958, s. 9, p. 13, c. 4:

1958 IS SILVER ANNIVERSARY OF CLARK THEATER

This year marks the 25th anniversary of one of Chicago's unusual movie theaters. In 1933, just seven years after the first full length talkie was introduced, the Clark theater opened its doors. Since then the Clark has shown more pictures than any other theater in Chicago. Since 1951 the theater has had a daily change of double features.

Under the management of Howard Lubliner and Bruce Trinz, the Clark has introduced many unique policies. One is the Film Festival, a special program of outstanding films from Hollywood and Europe. The 1957 festival was made up of academy award films comprising a total of 47 Oscar winners. In November, 1950, the Clark started its Sunday Film Guild to re-show two all-time film favorites each week.

Here is a 1926-dated drawing by Anthony F. Dumas in the Library of Congress of the Clark as the Adelphi (although in the drawing, it's spelling "Adelphia".) A note on the drawing says:
Formerly New Gayety Theatre
" Columbia "

If anyone is interested, I took some sad/beautiful pictures when the theater was being demolished. I have 3 nice B&W pics, one of the auditorium on a Sunday morning with noone around, affording a shot looking at the balcony from the stage area, the facade with scaffolding, and a side alley view with the original ADELPHI THEATER and the management painted on the brick wall, please let me know. I will scan and e-mail them to you.

I would be interested. You can find a link to my email by clicking on my name.

Here is a link to a 1967 ad for the Clark. Remember the "little gal-lery for gals only?"
http://www.emulsioncompulsion.com/gallery2/v/vintage_newspaper_rmovie_ads/Chicago_s+Clark+Theater.jpg.html

Here is an early handbill for the Columbia. Here is another, with a picture.

CHARLES BOOS
Please pass this on to Bruce Trinz. In the late 50's and early 60's my first job in high school was as a soda jerk at the Walgreens Redwood Inn Cafeteria at State and Madison. That had been the old Boston Store and is now a Sears. I had never seen many movies as I grew up so every chance I got I went over to the CLARK to see all those movies I had missed. I made up for lost time, what a film education I got! Thank you so much. In the early 60's at intermision one instrumental song was played, I think it was on blank film, do you or anyone else recall what that tune was? It's my one memory of the CLARK I can hum every place I go. Again, I can't thank you enough.

Bob- I think I have your answer. The dozens (hundreds?) of times I went to the Clark throughout the 1960s, my one memory of music played at intermission is DELICADO. Liked it so much, I bought the LP. It is on London records; the album title: "The Cash Box Instrumental Hits Stanley Black his piano and orchestra".

Bob -this will be easier than searching for an album: Go to you tube, type in DELICADO. You will find Percy Faith and his version of the tune. It is catchy!!

KenC-thanks for your help, I remember that song, but that's not the tune I remember from the CLARK. It seems to me they only played one song in the intermission, I don't remember it being that one. Perhaps they started Delicado after I went into the Navy. I can't remember did they show previews and did they show them between each film or after the double feature? Did a cartoon get shown? Sorta hard to remember after 45+ years. Anyway thanks for trying to come up with the song.

Bob- maybe the Clark played DELICADO after you went into the Navy; it's the ONLY song I remember playing at intermission. It could have been as early as 1963-64...maybe late as '65-'66. It was so catchy I went to Rose records on Wabash to buy the album. Oh well, maybe someone else will read this and remember the song you heard. As I recall, the Clark did NOT show previews between features...but there were exceptions. Never saw "TOPKAPI", but I remember the trailer: Melina Mercouri, looking at the audience, saying "I'm a thief- honest". I'm 99% sure I saw it at the Clark. But, generally speaking, no previews, no cartoons... a feature, then a 5 to 7 minute intermission, then the second feature. Other memories of the Clark: a mini cardio workout going to the mens room...from the auditorium to a flight of stairs at the north end of the theatre near aisle 4; to the second floor ,walking south(past the "LITTLE GALLERY FOR GALS ONLY") to another flight of stairs... long and steep...to the next level, finally arriving at the washroom at the far southwest corner of the buiding. The color green- lots of green in the theatre. The carpet, lights on the wall, the neon clock to the left of the screen (aisle 4), and parts of the marquee. At the concession stand, there was an older woman...white hair, glasses (she looked like a grandmother;she was perhaps 60- 65 years old).Never smiled...looked kinda mean...but was very friendly once she got to know you. She worked evening hours; sold me more than a few boxes of popcorn over the years(mid 1960s). One last comment: the Clark got all kinds of patrons: men in suits, teenagers in blue jeans (like me),downtown shoppers, young and elderly, black and white, rich and some people who had seen better days. Skid row on west Madison St. was not that far away. That said, it seemed like everyone in the audience was there to enjoy the films. No talking, no rude behavior, and laughter when appropriate. Going to the Clark was a great experience!

THE GREEN CLOCK! - I had forgotten about that. What a nice touch! To this day I have never seen a clock inside a cinema auditorium. Thanks for your memories.

I do recall an occasional trailer at the Clark, but very rare.

Some movies at the Clark were trimmed, but not very often. I recall one showing of Yankee Doodle Dandy where the whole opening was cut, Right after the titles we cut to George M. Cohan narrating about when he has born on the 4th of July in the flashback scene of his birth. The rest of the film was intact.

BUT then came a surprise - a spliced-in scene following the end titles. Somehow they added a scene of Cagney dancing as Cohan taken from "The Seven Little Foys" with Bob Hope. I guess they felt that the 5-minute sequence deserved special recognition. Another nice touch.

There's a fantastic little cult film called "The Smallest Show on Earth", about a couple who inherit a run-down cinema in England. I always think of the Clark when watching that hilarious film.

The Tivoli in suburban Downers Grove still has a neon clock above the exit.

Those clocks were made by the Neon Clock Sales Co. of Chicago, who typically rented them to shopkeepers for window use. The same firm is still in business today in the SW 'burbs.

They repair the old clocks and can still make new ones on a special order basis... but will not ship them, so it's pickup only.

Otherise, old ones occasionally turn up on eBay and often sell for as much as $500.

If part of the film was missing, perhaps they didn't get all the reels they were supposed to.

I recall once seeing some film cannisters ready for shipment at the Clark. They were of an old Laurel and Hardy picture from the 1940s (maybe "Dancing Masters") and looked as old as dirt.

Wonder where those film cans are today?

I could name several films that I saw at the Clark and have still never seen anywhere else... Harold Lloyd's Professor Beware, for instance, Laurel and Hardy's late short The Fixer Uppers, and one of the last films made by Will Rogers ("Judge Priest").

A clock inside a theatre auditorium was, indeed, a rare sight. Another movie theatre with a clock in the auditorium was less than two blocks from the Clark. The Monroe had a clock; it, too, was just to the left of the screen. If memory serves, the clock was round with a white or light yellow background. Can't think of any more...

Speaking of film cans does anyone know how many floors up the projection booth was at the Clark? One good thing about working in the booth is you never got real bored with the same movie (say "The Sound of Music" for over a year), but hauling 2 movies every day up and down could get hard on the back. How high up did did they have to go?
Anyone know if they didn't get the films sometimes or got mixed up reels?
I never saw films in the middle of the night, did many homeless folks spend the night at the Clark in cold weather?

"I don't sell tickets to movies. I sell tickets to theatres." Marcus Loew

Here is the Clark 's movie calendar for June 1965 (from the Chicago Sun Times movie directory dated June 1, 1965: June 1- UNDERWORLD, USA plus MURDER, INC. June 2- NO TIME FOR SGTS. plus MR. ROBERTS June 3- SAT. NITE AND SUN. MORNING plus THE HUSTLER June 4- SINGIN' IN THE RAIN plus BAND WAGON June 5- M plus FORBIDDEN GAMES June 6-CHILDREN OF PARADISE plus NITE AND FOG June 7- GINA plus YOUNG AND THE DAMNED June 8- AMERICA, AMERICA plus THE OUTSIDER June 9- EASY LIFE plus DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES June 10- OLD MAN AND THE SEA plus YOUNG LIONS June 11- ALEXANDER NEVSKY plus POTEMKIN June 12- WOMAN IN THE DUNES plus RIKISHA MAN June 13- WAR OF THE BUTTONS plus SAND CASTLE June 14- ORDERS TO KILL plus BRIDGE ON RIVER KWAI June 15- STAKEOUT ON DOPE ST. plus BIG DEAL ON MADONNA ST. June 16- THE BAD SLEEP WELL plus EXECUTIVE SUITE June 17- VICTIM plus THE MARK June 18- THE LAW plus L SHAPED ROOM June 19 - MAJOR BARBARA plus RULES OF THE GAME June 20 - DIMKA plus MY NAME IS IVAN June 21- EAST OF EDEN plus REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE June 22- A DAY AT THE RACES plus A NIGHT AT THE OPERA June 23- 7 BRIDES FOR 7 BROTHERS plus AMERICAN IN PARIS June 24- CAPE FEAR plus EXPERIMENT IN TERROR June 25- PICNIC plus BUS STOP June 26- RATTLE OF A SIMPLE MAN plus LUCK OF GINGER COFFEY June 27- GIRL WITH GREEN EYES plus LA NOTTE June 28- 7 DAYS IN MAY plus MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE June 29- A NITE TO REMEMBER plus PURSUIT OF GRAF SPEE June 30- EVA plus GYPSY AND THE GENTLEMAN. A pretty typical month at the Clark- dramas, comedies, musicals, and foreign films...something for everyone. To Bob Jensen- I saw a few double features in the middle of the night.If there were homeless people in the audience, they did not make their presence known. If some patrons were sleeping, they did not snore... I can't think of any time I was disturbed or annoyed by my fellow movie goers at the Clark. The projection booth was -I'm guessing- on the third floor (one floor above the mezzanine and the "little gallery for gals only"). That would be really high up- near the mens washroom. Yep, that would be a great workout for the ushers carrying the films up and down. And the projectionist was undoubtedly never bored- different movies every day with union wages. What a deal!

Here is an excerpt from a Chicago Daily Tribune article dated 1/4/22:

ARREST THEATER MAN:DOUBT TALE OF $2000 THEFT

C. L. Boyd, treasurer of the Columbia theater, 11 North Clark Street, who told the police yesterday morning that two burglars held him up...

(was lying, apparently, but I don't have the rest of the article)

Nice cliffhanger.

Here's the problem with the Chicago archive-I think it says $400 for 1500 articles. What if you pull up an article and you don't like it? I guess it counts against your total. I prefer something open-ended. I wish there was some other way to access the Tribune database.

The NY Times is very similar. Not even necessary to read it. If you click on it, you bought it. Some headlines sound great until you read the rest of the story. $400 is kind of pricey.

Both are available through Proquest, but you would have to be a member of a library which subscribes to it.

Not the Los Angeles library, that I know of. Maybe I can apply for a Chicago library card with a fake address.

There's a Proquest option on the LAPL database, but it looks like it only goes back about ten years.

Better than nothing.

Listed as the 4 Star Theater in the 1960 Chicago yellow pages. Phone was ANdover 3-2672.

Ken- there was a theatre on Madison St. named the 4 Star. The phone number for the Clark was fr2- 2843 (franklin).

This 4 Star was listed at 11 N. Clark.

The only theatre named the 4 Star in 1960 was located in the 2400 block of West Madison St. I can only guess the Yellow pages made a mistake.

Entirely possible. The 4 Star on Clark immediately preceded the listing for the 4 Star on 2418 N. Madison. The number given for the latter theater was SEely 3-0545.

Solely for argument's sake, the same 4 Star listing at 11 N. Clark was also in the 1954 yellow pages, six years before the listing I mentioned yesterday. Same Andover phone number as well.

I think the Yellow pages is wrong. The Clark Theater is listed in 1955 with 920 seats at 11 N. Clark Street. The Four Star at 2418 W. Madison Street is also listed that year. Only one Four or 4 Star Theater listed.

Last night, I was searching through the Chicago Tribune historical archives online (which you can do for free if you have a Chicago Public Library card). I looked up a bunch of movie listings for the Clark, in order to refresh my memory about its last few years.

From what I can gather, it looks like the two different films per day policy ended sometime around the beginning of 1970. From then on, it appears the films changed weekly, and there were sometimes one film, sometimes two. While there continued to be some art films and revivals of classics, more and more R-rated films and exploitation films were thrown into the mix.

At the same time, the Biograph up on Fullerton began showing the same sorts of classic double bills that that Clark had previously done- although again, not showing two different films per day but more like the same double bill for an entire week.

In fact, it looks like my memory is faulty and one of the classic double bills I thought I saw at the Clark was actually shown at the Biograph in 1970 (the early Janet Gaynor talkie Sunny Side Up, paired with Judge Priest, a 1934 Will Rogers pic directed by John Ford).

In early 1971, it looks like the Clark experimented with a couple of triple features- a Magnificent Seven trilogy and then three horror films. Not long after that, the bookings disappear from the Tribune "Movie Clock" section. (I don't think the Clark ran too many display ads in the Tribune.)

David- the two fims per day policy ended, to be exact, on Thursday, June 25, 1970. From the Chicago Sun Times movie directory dated Friday,June 26, 1970: THE CLARK GOES 1st RUN MIDWEST PREMIERE starts TODAY CHARLTON HESTON "THE HAWAIIANS" Open 9 A.M. Midnite Show Tonite. Just to the left of the ad display, Roger Ebert wrote a few paragraphs re: the theatre: "The lament over the passing of the Clark theatre's rerun policy is louder than anyone expected."......."But support for the policy dropped off gradually during the last couple of years, expenses rose quickly...." The first run policy did not seem to be very successful: it didn't last very long, and in between first run films the Clark did indeed experiment:On Wednesday, Sept. 2,1970 the Clark was showing 4 Clint Eastwood Westerns- fistful of dollars(9am-5:25pm) for a few $ more(10:30am-7pm) hang 'em high(12:45pm-9:15pm) the good,the bad, & the ugly(at 2:45pm- 11:10pm)in Color on 1 Program! SPEND A DAY (OR NIGHT) WITH CLINT EASTWOOD.(from the Sun Times movie listings).By early May, 1971(and perhaps sooner) the Clark was showing soft core adult movies. Monday, May 3, 1971: "PATTERN OF EVIL" Isabel Sarli "HEAT". If you decided to drive to the Clark, you could park your car 1 door south for 4 hours for 95 cents!

A Chicago public library card will cost me $100 since I'm out of state. I guess I won't be doing that.

Me either.

We lost the Clark gradually as a haven for great films. As the films departed, so did my interest in the place- and not many back in the 1970s would lament the loss of a theater specializing in soft core porn. There were larger factors involved, to be sure- the entire block was razed to build Three First National Plaza.

Then again, the role of Loop theaters changed. They all went into a decline and never really recovered. For a time, I don't think there were any movie theaters left in the Loop, at least until the Fine Arts began a glorious run on Michigan Avenue.

There are hardly any even today, except for the Gene Siskel, run by the School of the Art Institute.

Here is the Clark in 1966.

I found an archived interview with Bruce Trinz here:

http://archives.iit.edu/technews/volume91/tnvol91no7.pdf#page=3

Besides giving his whole family history with the Clark, he mentions that he sold it in May 1971. He also explains how the changing nature of downtown forced him to choose between either selling the theater, or turning it into a porn house (he chose the former).

Source: IIT Technology News, Oct. 15, 1971

There is a beautiful picture of the Clark here:

http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/talking_pictures/2009/04/share-your-tales-of-theaters-long-gone.html

Thanks for posting that great picture, David. It's just how I remember the outside of the Clark!