Acadia Theater

The Acadia was a social experience found nowhere else. In the early 50’s my pals and I enjoyed tearing empty popcorn boxes into pieces and launching them with rubber bands through the light beam from the film projector. When our projectiles went through the beam, they lit up like shooting stars. They also lit up the ushers. During Saturday matinees, which were never attended by anyone over thirteen, the ushers had to keep order. Since an ever-increasing number of shooting stars would eventually end in general chaos, the ushers did their best to find the culprits shooting them. If caught, the culprits were ejected from the theater, something I fortunately never had to suffer.

The Acadia Theater was located on 55th Street between Fairfield Ave. and California Ave. 2739 W. sounds right. In 1947 I entered first grade at St. Clare of Montefalco School at 55th and Washtenaw, one block east of the Acadia. Today the Church is active but the school closed many years ago. From 1949 through 1954 I went to the Acadia Theater with my pals every Saturday. Movies told us about history, current events, good guys, bad guys, no guys (cartoons), and what it’s like when a kid grows up. All movies were family movies. The Acadia showed recent films and ones made back to 1939. Films included Wizard of Oz, original Disney films, John Wayne films about the West and WWII, Casablanca, Shane, and Samson and Delilah. Many were about American heroes who did the right thing no matter what. They stimulated our imaginations and educated us. The Acadia, St. Clare’s, and the Gage Park neighborhood were an incredible and unforgettable experience for a kid.

It appears from this 2000 photo that the former site of the theater is a vacant lot used for parking (or it was five years ago).

I also have an address of 2735 W 55th (close enough) and it was open from, at least, 1935-1955 if not beyond in either direction. Assessor search shows this to be a vacant lot as of 2000.