Ridge Theatre
1554 W. Devon Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60660
1554 W. Devon Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60660
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We had a nice tour of the building by a man from the hardware store two months ago.
The original ceiling is still there behind the added ceiling but is pretty plain.
Here is a picture of one of the door frames that once connected the lobby to the auditorium :
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Here’s one of my pictures of the Ellantee/Ridge from June 26, 2008:
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We hung out Saturday nights in the late `70’s at a place called Fiddler’s Green across the street from the former Ridge Theatre.
There was also a rather small bar next door to the Ridge in 1984-85. Though I don’t recall the name. I think it had then recently converted in to the hardware store. Devon had many bars between Ashland & Broadway back then.
Cuneen’s, COD’s, etc. Dewey’s across from the hardware store parking lot, on the Clark St. side was the better of the late night food emporiums. Dewey’s classic name in the brickwork was covered by an awning a while back.
This is a recent photo of the hardware store.
Ad announcing the opening of the Ellantee: Chicago Tribune, Saturday, March 1, 1919:
OPENS TODAY, AT 6 PM. LUBLINER AND TRINZ' NEW THEATRE ELLANTEE, DEVON AVENUE AT CLARK STREET, with Dorothy Gish in “Boots” interwoven with a specialty orchestra and corresponding novelties; a program of high standards
Here is a 2002 photo of the former Ridge (Ellentee) Theater.
In “NEIGHBORHOODS WITHIN NEIGHBORHOODS-20th CENTURY LIFE ON CHICAGO’S FAR NORTH SIDE” by Neal Samors, there is a nice marquee shot of the Ridge theatre- circa 1940- on page 40. The Ridge specialized in westerns and war movies. Also in the book: at least 3 pictures of the Granada (from 1930, 1950, and 1964),the Norshore(3 great pics of the marquee, lobby, and auditorium),the Cine, and the Howard theatre.
They seem to be putting some money into the building – the facade is being worked on by a restoration contractor, with scaffolding up (although I think a part of it was removed). The stage floor, actually a rather deep stage, is still in the store, although the auditorium floor is leveled. I thought I saw a peek of plasterwork where a ceiling tile was missing. I didn’t see any posters on the walls.
Architect was Robert S. Smith. Chicago Tribune, July 9, 1918.
Years ago someone told me that the auditorium dome still exists above the hardware store. Can’t confirm that, and don’t suppose it matters much at this point.
Howdy Bryan…It has been so long ago, I am probably thinking of another theater. The theater I am thinking of, was a small hole in the wall about 4 blocks South and West of the Normal…I also remember the Verdi, but thought it was located at the foot of 114th street off Michigan Ave.
My main theaters that I attended were the Roseland, State, Parkway and Normal
Doug
Doug, the Ridge was/is located in Edgewater, while the Normal was located in Roseland, on virtually opposite ends of the City. Perhaps you’re thinking of another Ridge (or another name) theater that was located near the Normal?
I am not sure if this is the same theater that I went to as a young boy in the 1940’s…if it is, it was only a few blocks from the Normal Theater. The main thing I remember about the Ridge, was at age 8, going to see King Kong…walking home in the dark and thinking some monster was waiting behind every tree to eat me.
It is a shame all of those great movie houses are closed…
Doug Bruton Denison, Texas
The Ridge was opened in 1917, and its first name, the Ellantee, is a takeoff on the theater’s first operators, Lubliner & Trinz, or L & T. The former theater has served Chicago’s Edgewater neighborhood as a hardware store for many years now, though, in a nod to its past, displays movie posters on its walls.