United Artists Theatre
45 W. Randolph Street,
Chicago,
IL
60601
45 W. Randolph Street,
Chicago,
IL
60601
27 people
favorited this theater
The Apollo Theatre was opened in 1921 as a legitimate playhouse in the neo-classical style by Chicago architectural firm of Holibard and Roche, better known for their office buildings (they also designed the massive neo-classical Chicago City Hall and Cook County Building just around the corner from where the UA once stood on Randolph Street). The theater was built for A.H. Woods, the showman whose self-named theater sat on the opposite corner from the Apollo.
In 1927, Woods sold the Apollo to the United Artists Corporation. United Artists had architect Howard Crane, who earlier in the same year designed the United Artists in Los Angeles, remodel the Apollo, in Spanish Gothic style (its interior was similar to the Los Angeles UA). The Apollo became the United Artists Theatre (the Apollo name went to the another former legitmate venue-turned-movie house, the Olympic Theatre not far away on Randolph and Clark Streets).
The auditorium’s ceiling featured a cove-lit dome, encircled by ten smaller portholes. The lobby had a slightly Middle Eastern flavor, complete with polychrome plasterwork, black marble walls, hand-painted tiles in the lounges, and a carpeting pattern based on one from a 19th Century Ottoman palace in Turkey.
The theater was taken over by the Balaban & Katz chain in April 1929, which would soon operate the majority of the Loop’s movie houses. Balaban & Katz operated the United Artists into the 60s. Afterwards, B & K’s successor chains, ABC/Great States and then Plitt Theatres ran the United Artists. For its last couple years of operation, during the mid-to-late 80s, it was part of the Cineplex-Odeon chain.
By the 60s, much of the original decor was either gone or heavily remodeled. In late 1987, this once-attractive theater was shuttered and demolished two years later.
(Not only was the United Artists razed, but by 1991, every structure on the block—including the Roosevelt Theatre around the corner on State Street, the late 19th century McCarthy and Unity Buildings, and various other buildings—except an Art Moderne 1930s-era Commonwealth Edison substation at the corner of Dearborn and Washington Streets—was wiped away. The razing was in preparation for a huge office and retail complex to be designed by famed architect Helmut Jahn that never materialized. The site, called “Block 37”, remains vacant today, several plans for its redevelopment having come and gone).
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft, Ray Martinez
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Recent comments (view all 138 comments)
Apollo Lobby
The “Rally Round The Flag Boys” picture may be seen here. Thanks to archive.org for having old versions of the theater page, making a search possible. The picture was originally listed as appearing courtesy of Fred R. Krauss; perhaps if someone in charge asks Mr. Krauss nicely he will let the site use it again.
Any interior shots of the United Artists?
The first two photos are of the interior of the Chicago United Artists on this webpage: http://www.rphillipsphoto.com/gallery_art/movie_theatre/index_5.htm
The headnote should be revised to reflect that a commercial and retail complex finally was erected on Block 37 after years of false starts, revised designs, and financial wrangling. The proposed multi-screen cinema is not, at least as of 2011, a part of it, but there is much vacant space within in it and it still might happen one day, though not likely at any time soon.
The embedded links don’t seem to work. Any way to add the pics or links to the Photo section at the top of the page?
The photo from btkrefft was taken in 1954. The film playing at the Oriental was “Woman’s World,” starring Clifton Webb, Lauren Bacall and several other prominent actors/actresses of the time.
I checked the link I embedded in my comment of October 11, 2011 and it appears to be working.
The photo that shows “Middle of the Night” playing at the United Artists also shows that “Anatomy of a Murder” was playing at the Woods; then Mayor Richard J. Daley tried to ban the film’s showing within Chicago because of content some considered at the time to be taboo, but he and the then Chief of Police were overruled.
Greetings CSWalczak. Your embedded link from October 11, 2011 still does not work for me.
CT Administrators have indicated that there is some specific manner in which links have to be embedded within posts, since the website revamp.
The link likely still works outside of CT, but there is no way to click on it within your CT post. It just appears as a jumbled sentence. It will not highlight when clicked on. I presume it cannot be added to the Photos section, because it is a link with more than one photo. And not a specific photo file or whatever.
According to CT, it is the manner in which it is embedded.
This should make the Oct 11 link clickable. When adding links to comments I generally copy and paste the sample line from the how to make links on Cinema Treasures page and replace the data. Although it should be possible to duplicate that style on the keyboard for some reason it doesn’t always seem to work for me.
That did it, thanks!