Devon Theatre
6225 N. Broadway,
Chicago,
IL
60660
6225 N. Broadway,
Chicago,
IL
60660
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Well it is definately pre-1986. That exterior, freestanding ticket booth was gone by the time I rented the upstairs space.
Here is an undated photo from the Chicago Tribune:
http://tinyurl.com/ckomjm
Well I guess that confirms my “Cat People” recollection. I just reread the very first post about this theater. I had no idea of the Herschell Gordon Lewis ownership/connection.
My late father briefly knew or worked with him in the `60’s. My father had worked at/with Vogue Wright, Wernecke, Joy Recording & Fred Niles Studios(now Harpo) back in the day. I wish I’d known of the connection when I lived above the Devon Theatre
Lewis is still alive. I think he released a CD called “The Eye Popping Sounds of Herschell Gordon Lewis.
Here is a 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dcd3r9
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I went by the site of the old Devon Theatre today on the “L” train.
The entire span of land from the neighboring McDonalds, all the way around the corner on Granville to the “L” tracks has been developed.
A massive condo project with different levels, balconies and what not stands in it’s place. Long gone with the Devon are the corner medical center, Char-Lar Lounge, Deadwood Daves & the Eagles Nest along the Granville side.
In late 1986, I rented the studio space above the Devon Theatre. It was a former ballet studio, and the horizontal ballet poles were still mounted on the walls. Which I used as closet poles. We painted the ceiling black & added some clouds after a buddy
spraying the walls got creative.
I was working in East Edgewater, and my grand plan was to create a unique loft space with limited funds. The rent was cheap. However the Devon Theatre below was already closed. The theatre portion had no heat or utilities. Hence when winter finally hit, no matter how much heat my ceiling level gas heater pumped out, the hardwood floors remained cold as ice. The pipes ultimately froze, spliting one of the sinks.
The portion of the Devon’s roof which had collapsed was behind me & above the auditorium. The ballet studio was directly over the lobby, the two long vertical windows on either side of the marquee.
6225 N. Broadway is the correct address.
There was also an occult store & mini diner next door. An apartment building was adjacent, as visible in the picture at the top of this Cinema Treasures page. Across the alley was a bar called Freddy Fuddpuckers, that then became Frankie’s. Owned by the son of an Alderman from another ward.
I believe Chicago band Nicholas Tremulas rented my space for rehearsal, after I was forced to abandon my grandiose plans. Plans that were likely fueled by too many nights across the street, at a bar ironically called Impulse.
Neighbors in the apartments next door, would bang on the walls when we made noise during our various improvements.
They probably sorely missed me once a band moved in.
Years later there was a small oil painting of the Devon’s facade, oddly hanging in Howard’s tavern beer garden down on Ontario St. I regret not purchasing it.
As a theatre, the Devon was still active as late as
80 &81. I saw “Cat People” and “Thief” there. The auditorium of the theatre had a giant round reveal in the ceiling, with it’s own recessed lighting.It too was all painted black. Surely to help mask the water damage that still found it’s way through from the white plaster beneath. Again like the 3 Penny, buckets on some of the seats.
Beyond what was thought to be humanly possible, the Peoples Gas guy and I found evidence of people living in the basement when we went down there to activate my service. Scar-y.
The space really had potential, but the Devon Theatre’s dormant status made it unworkable except during the Summer months. When they tore it down, I got one last look at the black ceilings from the street.
The police once approached the owners about using the upstairs as a surveilance spot for one of the taverns across the street. Did I really need them up there myself, with all my intended renovations? Not really. Besides, I patronized those very bars.
I moved before it came to fruition.
There was a bombing at the Devon in April of 1978, according to the Chicago Tribune dated April 22, 1978:
BLAST JARS DEVON THEATER
An explosion believed to have been caused by dynamite rocked the Devon theater, 6225 N. Broadway, early Tuesday, damaging the front of the theater and shattering about six windows in nearby buildings.
Officials of the movie house said the theater would open for business as usual Tuesday, adding they had no idea why anyone would wish to damage the building. “The Late Show”, a detective comedy, is playing at the theater.
Police are seeking to men in their early 20s who were seen in front of the building shortly before the blast and were later seen running north on Broadway.
Donald Keeney, a technician for the police bomb and arson unit, said the blast apparently was caused by “a high velocity explosive, possibly dynamite”. He added that the device was apparently hand ignited and placed at the entrance of the theater.
The blast shattered glass in the theater’s ticket booth, blew off part of the marquee, and knocked one of the theater doors off its hinges.
Windows were shattered at the Barr Funeral Home, 6222 N. Broadway, the Viquet Creme Oil, Ltd., 6224 N. Broadway, the Redmond Morey Co., 6226 N. Broadway, and Lamondi’s Beauty Salon, 6223 N. Broadway.
One of the men being sought was described as about 5 feet, 6 inches tall, weighing about 170 pounds, and wearing a dark blue ski jacket.
The other was described as about 5 feet, 8 inches tall, and wearing a dark jacket.
Dig this excellent photo set:
http://www.mekong.net/random/theatres.htm
Note the obligatory swastika spray-painted on the wall of the abandoned lobby.
Architect was Henry L. Newhouse, indicated by Chicago Tribune, August 8, 1915, pA8
“A Thousand Clowns” ran for almost a year at this house, and DeBroca’s “King of Hearts” for almost as long.
Correct address was 6225 N Broadway. It was owned by Herschell Gordon Lewis of exploitation fame, along with the 400, and Adelphi from 1967-1972. In 1972, he sold the lease of the Adelphi to Clyde Klepper and Jim Burrows, and 400 and Devon leases were sold to a third party. Burrows and Klepper quickly took on the 400 and Devon as well. In 1974 Bruce Trinz, who had run the famed Clark and son of one of the founders of the Lubliner & Trinz chain, was hired to program the three, which he did for several years. In 1977 the Devon and Adelphi were sublet to Richard Stern, who ran the Wilmette and whose family had been in the business since 1929. In the early 80s Burrows took back the Devon and Adelphi from Stern. The theaters, which were owned by a consortium of attorneys headed by lawyer Samuel Fumel, were deteriorating badly. In December 1984 the roof of the Devon collapsed, and Burrows asked the owners what they intended to do. One of the lawyers replied, “That’s what you have insurance for.” Fumel died in 1984, and soon the other owners were trying to sell the theaters. They sold the 400 in 1986. Tired of all the problems, Burrows unloaded the Devon and Adelphi in 1987. Prior to its demise, the Devon was owned by notorious chicago land bankers Lou Wolf and Ken Goldberg, who also have owned the Granada, Sheridan, Riviera, Uptown, and Marquette, among others. The Devon was finally demolished in 1996. Sources: Chicago Reader, “Three Penny Operator”, February 21, 1997; Chicago Magazine, “The Wrecker”, May 1989