Webster Place Theaters

They don't seem to use fresh popcorn here. Apparently, it is popped elsewhere and placed in warmers. Also the movie choices here seem to be a little pedestrian.

Still, it's a good place to see the latest blockbuster.

This is one of ten theatres that AMC and Loews are selling off as part of their merger, to satisfy antitrust concerns. See this news item for more information and discussion.

It would be a shame to have this place close. Admittedly, some of the lustre has worn off of this theatre. But it could be made good again. It's in a popular location, close to restaurants and bars and there's a Barnes & Noble in the same strip mall. The only thing is it's not on a bus line nor close to the L, but a METRA stop (Clybourn) is only about 4 blocks away.

Considering their recent take-over of the Lincoln Village, this would be a good theatre for Village to take over.

I sure hope Village does not pick this theater up. They should focus on cleaning up their current theaters like the Village North and Village Art before they pick up another cinema. Not to mention any theater Village seems to acquire they seem to run completely into the ground. They just don't care. See the Burnham Plaza, Water Tower Place and the Biograph.

Here is an article from the theater's opening

Per a 2/28/06 article in CRAINS CHICAGO BUSINESS, Keresotas Theatres has abandoned its plan to build atop a new Target store. They cited the cost as being too high. Instead, the chain will try to acquire the City North 14 and the Webster Place from AMC/Loews.

Here is the article

http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=19671

I should say that the Target store will be at the corner of Broadway & Wilson, the site of a former CTA rail yard. The complex was to have been called "Wilson Yards."

Starting tomorrow, the Webster Place (along with the City North 14)will be a Kerasotes theatre. If the Kerasotes chain is anything like AMC or Century theatres, I'll be satisfied.

I was just at the Bally Total Fitness next door tonight. They appear to be cleaning and stocking the place. Staff members are outside telling the customers that the theatre will reopen tomorrow.

I'll be here ASAP. I've never been to a Kerasotes theater and I like to see how they do things in terms of staff and etc...

I have to correct you Paul. There are 2 bus stops closer than the Metra station. Take the Fullerton bus to southport(near the Burger King) and walk a couple of blocks south or take the Ashland bus to Webster and walk one block east across the Chicago River bridge.

Soxfan,

You are right about it being reasonably close to those two bus lines. The main transportation complaint I've heard about this place is that it is a bit of a distance from the nearest L stop. If one is coming from downtown, the north or northwest side, then the Metra is a good way to go, particularly in rush hours.

Cinemark Fan,

Keresotas used to run small theatres in the midwest. Keresotas had the Towne in Chillicothe, IL. In Quincy, IL they had the Adams, the State, and the Washington. I've been in all of these many years ago. I believe only the Towne remains a cinema and is currently part of the Reynolds Cinema chain.

Humm, interesting Paul. I wanna go to their Showplace 12 in Bolingbrook pretty soon, and then I'd like to go to the Showplace at Golf Mill when that opens. And I've been here(Webster Place) before on the 9 Ashland bus. Boy I don't wanna do that again because, a fight broke out between a man and woman. The woman won.

I was back at the gym again last night. The Keresotas employees look pretty lame compared to the AMC staff(based on how they were dressed). The Loews signs have been torn down and not replaced. So there are ugly black marks on the bulding. The electrical signs in the box office aren't working. So they had Microsoft Word printouts displaying all the show times hanging from the eletrical signs.

I'll admit that they may need more time to get settled. But my first impression is that they wandered into the big city from the corn fields and bought a cinema. Hope they don't wreck the Webster Place. I've always liked it.

Speaking of Kerasotes, I've heard from a good source that Showplace 16 at Naperville Crossings opens this Friday. Soon after that, Kerasotes will open Showplace 14 at Hawthorne Works and Showplace 12 at Golf Mill. I might come here and visit Webster Place next week to see how's everything coming.

Life's too Short:

My assumption is that Keresotes won't wreck this theatre. The company has had a lot of experience. It first entered the Chicagoland Area via the suburbs and has done okay with those properties. Although there will probably be "teething problems" during this transition period, but that is normal in cases like this.

If 'AMC Loews Webster Place 11' & 'AMC City North 14' REALLY ARE open under Keresotes, what are they now Named? I can't seem to locate them, at Yahoo; nor was a general search for their old Names, & "Keresotes" rewarding.
OOPS! I finally found something: Kerasotes City North 14 ... (773) 394-1600 ... District: Bucktown ... 2600 North Western Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647 ... http://www.kerasotes.com.. ; &: Kerasotes Webster Place 11 ... 1471 W. Webster Ave., Chicago, IL 60614 ... 1-773-327-1314. Found on Yelp, & Fandango, respectively. Fandango has Movie info for both Chicago theatres. Or, use their own Website.

This theatre should be updated. It is now a Kerasotes Theatre.

I was in here tonight to see THE DEPARTED. This was the first time I'd been here since Keresotes took over. The place seems a little cleaner, and better movies seem to be booked. But the movie was 15 minutes late in starting.

Here are photos of this theater.

Are this place and the Norridge the last two remaining former M&R theatres in Chicagoland?

Well, River Run is another M&R theater that's still around. But it's called Lansing Cinema 8, and it looks different now.

Last I heard the Evanston Theatres were still standing, although somewhat neglected and supposedly headed for demolition. The Portage on Milwaukee Avenue was M&R for a number of years. So was the Oriental on Randolph Street.

Cinemark Fan and Life's Too Short,

I believe that M&R briefly had the Esquire shortly before Sony-Loews took over. Am I correct on that one?

The M&R/Loews merger occurred while the Esquire was being opened; technically it was an M&R/Loews theater.

Of course, I meant the ones which were still open and functioning as cinemas. The Oriental is a live theatre, and the Portage sees sporadic use for different functions. How could I forget the Portage? I lived in the neighborhood.

So my I suppose the survivors would be the Norridge, the Webster, and the River Run/Lansing

I went to the Webster Place this past weekend with a friend to see "Breach". It was good to see a packed house for this film, thus proving when there is a good movie, people will still go to the show.

Some observations on the Webster Place:

1) I did notice a few changes since the last time I was here (when it was a Loews). The place does look somewhat cleaner. Two concession stands were open and, per Paul's comment above, they do pop the popcorn here. But the bulk candy seems to be a thing of the past.

2) No stadium seating here. Not a big issue for me. I'm more concerned with cleanliness, sightlines (I'm almost 6' OO" tall!), and comfort and repair of the seats.

3) Parking. If you are going on a weeknight, you might have a good chance of getting a spot on Clybourn Avenue. On weekends, forget it! Be sure you park in the parking deck marked for theatre patrons, because there is no validated parking for the strip mall lot in front of the place. This could set you back $20.00. Also, the parking deck is awkwardly configured. You can spend 15-20 minutes trying to get out of the lot after the movie.

4) Public transportation. As previous posters have said, it is not close to the CTA L lines and nor is there a bus line on Clybourn. The closest bus lines are on Fullerton (#74) or Armitage (#73), 1/4 mile north or south of the theatre. But the #73 doesn't run late on weekends. There is a Metra station about 1/2 mile away and that would be the fastest way on public transportation from Downtown Chicago.

Also:

5) It's now $10.00 per adult ticket on weekends.

It's not a bad place to see a show. Certainly it's no River East 21. Just be prepared to shell out a few bucks when you go here. Be sure to visit the wine bar on Webster Street before or after the show!

Catherine:

The #9 Ashland stops a few blocks away on Ashland & Clybourn. After I get off the bus there, I eat at the Wendy's across the street before I walk to the theater. Of course, I haven't been here in a while. I'll have to see how Kerasotes is running things.

PS: You're almost 6ft tall? Wow, that's cool.

Easy there, Cinemark Fan, I'm married and probably twice your age!!!!

But thanks for the compliment!

do you know how many "Millions" have been guided in hollywood films in the last 20 years from this location?

keep the theatre and renovate periodically, quite obviously


the real thomas :) :) :) :)

I belive Kerasotes might be remodeling it right now. For the past few weeks, only seven of the eleven screens have been open.

That's good news. I like this place.

They are currently only showing "Eastern Promises" and "In the Valley of Elah." These are probably in the newer rooms, so it indicates to me that they are doing renovation.

Goodbye 1988 look, hello with the Kerasotes design.

That's good news. I'm glad that Kerasotes is putting money into this theatre. It's amazing how this theatre withstood the competition from the newer City North 14, which has stadium seating. Oddly enough, both cinemas ended up in the AMC and later Kerasotas chains (WP started out in the M&R chain and CN14 began life in the General Cinemas chain).

I was here tonight for a movie. Currently only 2 or 3 auditoriums are being used. The rest of the place has been totally stripped to the bare walls. The 3 screens that were added later to the building, #s 9-11, are the ones in use. Nothing remains in the original 8 auditoriums. Even the concession stand has been taken out.

Normally, this place is busy on a Saturday Night. It was weird, almost surreal, to be here and have the place seem so empty. The Webster Place has been around since the late 80s, yet would always draw huge crowds on weekends.

That's sort of sad...

I'm gonna miss the decoration in auditoriums 1-8, along with the purple velvet rocking chairs. *sighs*

Well, hopefully the new interior will look like Showplace 12 @ Golf Mill, but better. And keep the screens big like they are.

Oh, Webster Place opened as a M&R 8 screener on 7/22/88. I'll post some stuff from the ad tomorrow.

I hope the crowds come back after they are done working. It doesn't always work that way. People may develop new habits in the meantime.

Life's Too Short,

I think that the Webster was due for a renovation. And if Kerasotes promotes it properly (which they undoubtedly will), people will come back. The Webster Place is an extremely popular place. And there are a few bars, the strip mall, etc., so it's not like that the place is in the middle of nowhere.

BW,

There was still a good crowd for the movie I was seeing. I didn't mean to imply that the place was a total masoleum! I think that remaining partially open will keep the WP in the public eye!

Don't forget, the LaGrange has been renovating for a few years now and it still does well.

I just thought it was a bit sad in that there are few vestiges of M&R left, except, say, Norridge.

BW

There may be even fewer traces of M&R soon. I was at a party Saturday Night and a man who is a Norridge police officer said that plans are definitely afoot to replace the Norridge with a Costco. He said that the Cinemark in Melrose Park took away a lot of business.

He did mention, however, that there may be plans to build a new theatre in the area of the Harlem-Irving Plaza (HIP).

I looked at the showtimes for this upcoming week, and eight of the eleven screens will be open. I imagine that those are the original screens. I won't be able to get down here to check it out for a while, so if anyone gets down here before me, please give me the lowdown... and maybe a photo.

Cinemark Fan,

I was here tonight to see DAN IN REAL LIFE. Here's the what the theatre is like. The box office has been moved to the indoors, upper level, atop the escalators. On the one hand, it means that patrons purchasing tickets will not have to wait outdoors in the cold. On the other hand, it's in the same area as the concession stands, so that could lead to congestion.

The auditoriums have been re-done into a red/blue scheme. The seats are much improved. They are similar to those found at the 600 North Cinema. Unfortunately, the place was not built for stadium seating, so it will never have that. New carpet has been placed in the main hallway. The hallway has been re-done with nice wall sconces. The entrance to the ladies restroom has been moved to the hallway too.

The concession area has been re-designed for better customer flow, but I'm still curious if it won't get overcrowded with the box office being there now.

The renovations are nothing groundbreaking, but the Webster Place is now much improved over what it was before.

Paul F.

I was here on Sunday with my girlfriends. You're right, the changes were more subtle than anything groundbreaking. I like the new seats and the cup holders. The entrance to the ladies' room is no longer on either side of the concession stand (which led to confusion). The ladies' room is much-improved too. The staff seems to be excited about working in this renovated cinema.

I appreciate Keresotas' investment in this theatre and I think it will be around for many years.

Looking at the showtimes for this Friday, it looks like cinemas 9 thru 11 will reopen, making all 11 screens fully operational.

Cinemark Fan,

It is a much improved place! It shows what a theatre company can do if it INVESTS MONEY in its theatres!

Take note, Village Theatres!

Cinemark Fan,

What's interesting is that this place opened up around the same time that the Lincoln Village and the Burnham did. Both were allowed to die, but this place has always done well.

But then again it's in a busy location.

Cinemark Fan,

The ads in the newspapers are proclaiming the newly refurbished Webster Place Theatre.

I've seen them. I might try and stop by sometime next week.

Cinemark Fan,

Have you gone to the Webster yet? I think you'll like it. You know, it's not hard to figure out what people like and if you invest money in your theatres, generally you'll make money.

I noticed a sign at the Webster Place saying that they are soon going to have reserved seating. How will this work? The rows are already numbered as are the seats, but will every seat now be reserved for every movie?

No, I haven't gotten the chance to go here yet. I was going to see "I Am Legend" here, but ended up seeing it at the Showplace in Schererville, IN because I was nearby shopping with my parents.

Because of the renovations, the Webster Place has become my favorite place within the City of Chicago to see a movie. The public thinks so too as the place has been crowded, even on weeknights!

Good job Kerasotes! I have a feeling that they will soon overtake AMC-Loews in the Chicagoland Area. Now they need to do some work on the City North 14.

Kudos to Kerasotes! This is now a great place to see a show again.

Per Kerasotes' website, they have already abandoned the short-lived reserved seating policy. That didn't last too long! I guess at the movies people wanna sit where they wanna sit.

I remember seeing "Basic Instinct" at the Webster Place Theatres when it came out. The lines were extremely long. Our goal was to get tickets and go over to Pequods or Flounders until closer to showtime. However the large crowds meant staying there until the next show. Cause they were doing the ropes and head count thing, and not really checking tickets.

There were some protesters on site who were vocally objecting to the film's depiction of a bisexual female lead played by Sharon Stone, as being prone to violence and a killer.
The heavy press coverage of that distinction likely caused larger crowds to sell out many of the initial showings.
Which in turn caused some of the protestors to essentially be drowned out and basically a non factor to sales, if that was one of their goals.

I'm not sure if Webster had the escalators or not before the remodeling. If so, they were possibly shut off to accomodate the large crowds waiting for the next showings. Because I remember standing for a long period on the stairs. I remember thinking fire code should have an issue with that large of a crowd waiting inside the building, with an already full theatre. And us on the common stairs out.

The last thing I saw recently at Webster Place was "Juno".
The trick there now is to make sure you park in the correct lot for the theatre, and not the adjacent strip mall lot. Something I did twice, got right, and still don't know how.
The cost for accidental mall parking was higher than that for the validated theatre parking. A security guard just happened to mention it. The theatre had not. And we again had already secured tickets.

Saw "Gran Torino" at Webster Place 11 on 01/19/09.
$10.75 each for adults, plus $2.00 for validated, automated parking. (Remember to park in the multi-level lot to qualify for discount. Open air strip mall lot is apparently still not inclusive to the theaters.)

Webster Place 11 was very clean with a uniformed staff. Visibly armed security guard seemed like overkill. But I assume only they know what they might encounter on a regular basis. Carpeting & restrooms were spotless.
Typical high prices for the ever shrinking sized snack items. Potbelly across the street seemed the better value for killing time. Short of staring at the mass of treadmill users in the gym's window.

Elevator from the parking lot had an obvious recoat of flat black paint, to combat past or ongoing graffiti. Carpet was beat, but it is mid January. Surrounding sidewalks remained unshoveled.

What's with all the TV show & Coke commercials before the trailers? They even offer advertising opportunities within the same.

It still amazes me how much trash gets left behind, in just two hours time. Hats off to the clean-up staff for their diligence.