Adelphi Theatre
7074 N. Clark Street,
Chicago,
IL
60626
7074 N. Clark Street,
Chicago,
IL
60626
10 people
favorited this theater
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The Adelphi never showed Spanish-language movies. It was a 2nd-run theatre; showing Hollywood movies. It did close for a short time in 1986 for a sprucing up, and it reopened as the North Shore Cinema under a new building owner. The general manager, the late Don Klein, told me the name of the theatre was changed to get the stigma of being known as the “Adelphi…..a shoddy, run-down movie house”. The thinking was that “North Shore” sounded…nicer, I guess. When the new owner wanted to get away from the movie theatre aspect of the building, he asked Don if he wanted to lease out the business. Don said, yes,…..under one condition….the name “Adelphi” must be restored. The owner said, “Fine, call it the Adelphi”. He didn’t care anymore. So Don took over in 1991 and it was once again known as the Adelphi Theatre. However, nobody wanted to spend money on changing the marquee so they covered the words, “North Shore Cinema”, with some type of cheap covering. It didn’t seem to last long on the front panel of the marquee (that was installed in 1986) and the words, “North” and “Cinema” were still exposed. Don struggled with the place for four years, showing 2nd-run Hollywood films. He finally threw in the towel in 1995 and Parag Gandhi took over the joint and showed Bollywood movies. The condition of the theatre got worse over time and it finally closed in 2002. Demolished in 2006. I used to work there. Don filled me in on the history of the Adelphi. He worked there when he was 12 years-old.
The theatre was known as the Adelphi from 1917 until 1986. Between 1986 and 1991, the theatre was known as the North Shore Cinema. In 1991 it became known as the Adelphi again; however, the owner did not take down the North Shore marquee. He covered up the front sign portion that read “SHORE”; but “NORTH” and “CINEMA” remained exposed. On the north and south panels of the marquee, the owner put up a painted sign on each side that read “Adelphi Theatre”. The theatre remained known as the Adelphi until it closed in 2002.
Adelphi Theater video posted to YouTube in 2007.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGnhab5AT5U&t=38s
Flickr page with Adelphi album.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/adelphitheater/
January 2006 demolition photo added via Chris Carson.
This opened on November 10th, 1917. Its grand opening ad can be found in the photo section
And still to this day, there’s nothing but a crater. They still haven’t built anything on the site. They haven’t even filled it in. It’s just a gaping maw. Very unattractive.
Circa 1984 photo added courtesy of Kenneth Swedroe.
https://youtu.be/hDoRf3VQ0zY
Thank you Joe Vogel. This afternoon I re-visited Cinema Treasures and discovered this “currently open” default to the search bar, but still did not notice the various tabs at the bottom of the map that would let me filter search results. Thank you for pointing this out. In my initial search last night I didn’t know the Chicago/Rogers Park Adelphi had been closed and in fact, demolished.
Fabfilmfan: Initial search on Cinema Treasures brings up a page listing only theaters of a given name that are currently open. To see a list that includes all the theaters of that name that have been closed you must go to the lower left of the map and click the link reading “All Theaters.” Here is the full page for the name Adelphi.
That said, there are still issues with the site’s search. Sometimes entire cities are missing from the drop-down menu and I, too, resort to Google to find their pages.
When one enters “ Adelphi ” in the search bar for Cinema Treasures all that comes up are two theaters that are not in the United States — one in Rabat, Malta and one in London, England. I got here to the Adelphi theater in Rogers Park not by way of the Cinema Treasures search bar but by leaving the Cinema Treasures website and instead Googling “ Adelphi theatre Chicago ”. The Adelphi in Rogers Park was where my Aunt took me and my cousin in, I believe, the summer of 1957 to see James Stewart play Charles Lindbergh in the film “The Spirit of St. Louis” I was 9 years old at the time and it was only my 2nd visit to a movie theater and only the 2nd feature film I’d ever seen. I was quite impressed and had a hard time sleeping that night as scenes from the film replayed in my head all night long. Rogers Park was my grandparents neighborhood and was where my Aunt, as their child, had grown up. The Adelphi was her childhood theater. My Aunt, my cousin, and I were visiting from out town and staying with the grandparents that summer.
Chris: the earlier Adelphi Theatre is listed here as the Clark Theater.
An ad for Pittco Store Fronts (a division of Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co.) in the June 29, 1935, issue of Motion Picture Herald featured photos of the Adelphi’s entrance before and after the remodeling designed by Mark D. Kalischer.
There was another Adelphi Theatre at 11 N.Clark St. in 1926 that seated 1550.
Hi Bob,
I currently have 76 Doris Day videos on my YouTube channel Sneaky Guy (www.youtube.com/user/SneakyGuy999). There is some controversy as to whether she was born in 1922 or 1924 so that’s why I said she’s about 90. The date you cite, April 3, 1924, is the most prevalent date given for her date of birth on the Internet.
dancindoug
Doug
Doris Day is “ONLY” 89, April 3, 1924.
I was born in Evanston, IL in 1943 and grew up in Rogers Park. I lived at 1904 Pratt Blvd. from 1943 to 1953. My family then moved to Arlington Heights. I was just on You Tube (channel name, Sneaky Guy) and was watching a scene from the 1953 Doris Day film “Calamity Jane,” which I had uploaded. I actually saw “Calamity Jane” at the Adelphia as a young boy of 10. I saw many films there as a child on a Saturday morning. Back then (back in the day) you got to see a double feature, a cartoon, and a short serial that kept you coming back each week, all for 25 cents. You could then go to Walgreens drug store on Clark and get a REAL chocolate malt for another 25 cents. In those days there was only air conditioning in theaters, drug stores, and supermarkets. Wow… that was 60 years ago and Doris Day is now about 90 years old.
I remember going to see “Beat Street” there in the 80s. Great theater. Breaks my heart that it’s closed.
My childhood home was about two blocks west of the Adelphi on Estes Ave. As the text notes, by the time I was going to the movies it was mostly showing second-run films. I think you could see a cartoon and a double feature there for a buck. My most memorable experience there was seeing “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” (1971). It was probably the only time I saw kids and their parents in a line that wrapped around the theater down Estes. I saw a lot of flicks there and other nearby theaters, including the Nortown on Western Ave. and the Grenada on Sheridan Rd.
It somehow went to a sad waste, Not only demolishing the once grand cinema. But leaving it as mere empty space.
I rode past the Adelphi site on the Metra recently. It’s still a pit and whatever steel beams the builders did erect are gone now.
I went by here a few weeks ago and was sorry to see that nothing has been done with the site. While this is a personal matter for us architecture fans it is not uncommon. There are unfinished projects from the boom all over Chicago. I remember going to the Adelphi in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It was kind of a dump at that point, and I’m sure the ten years after that didn’t help. But at least it filled the lot and was rented out for the occasional Bollywood film.
And so the hole remains to this day…
Bill and I are putting together a memorial site for the adelphi theater. If anyone has pictures that would like to see posted on the site or memories they want to share please e-mail me at If you have photographs that you would let us scan and post, please send them or visit us at QUEST – 7301 N. Sheridan Rd. in Chicago. The memorial site is www.adelphitheater.com
Thank you,
Kris
I worked as a projectionist at the Adelphi from Feb. 1993-Oct. 1994. It was one of the last projection booths with carbon arc lamphouses at the time. The late great Don Klein (1937-1999) operated the theatre. He tried to keep the place open as long as he could, but he finally relented and sold the business to Indian film exhibitors in 1995. I wish Don was still alive today. He’d be on the Cinema Treasures website 24/7. He really loved old-time movie houses. Working there was interesting, sometimes depressing, other times just downright scary. There were a couple of shootings near the theatre. Rats? Oh yeah, BIG ones. Attendance? Sometimes it was good; other times okay; and there were really slow weeks. The theatre was up and down; sometimes classy films; other times cinematic trash. It was one of the last of it’s kind: a double-feature theatre with 2nd-run prices. I really miss this theatre. I was hoping it would make it. It’s the type of theatre I miss working for: a single screen theatre. Well, as Don Klein said to me shortly before he died: “Let’s face it, Timmy, there’s just no place in this world for guys like me and you anymore.” P.S. If anyone is interested, there is a liquor store across the street from the Adelphi. It used to be a small movie house called Archibald’s Casino. Thank you for trying, Bill Morton. You and Don would’ve been great friends.