New Rex Theater
3679 W. Grand Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60651
3679 W. Grand Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60651
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Didn’t think someone’d pounce on this very minor entry so fast!
I agree about the auditorium. From the Grand Ave front, the facade has yellow-brick funeral home all over it.
http://tinyurl.com/4b65qb – you can see the auditorium part is still intact. Even the projection booth. The lobby was probably just extensively remodeled. If you look at the street view the lobby side walls look about the same age. Remember the theatre was reconstructed in 1940, so it probably did not need too much updating.
I so wish this theatre hadn’t closed when it apparently did, as it’s just a stone’s throw from where my family once lived, Dad referring to it I remember as the (former) REX.
When I see the place now – the church youth center appears closed – my distinct impression is only the rear half (against Division St) is part of original theatre left. The front half on Grand doesn’t blend at all, and later reconstruction I suspect stems from use as a funeral home in the ‘50s-'60s. I’d be interested what others may say.
Exhibit “A”: Welcome to Youth Center Church of God In Christ :)
I understand what your trying to accomplish and I think it’s a good idea. If your going to use the Google photos, you need to find another source to verify what the photo is showing. A website would be a great source. For example, if the photo shows a restaurant and you can find a website for that restaurant that verifies the address, you found the second source. And that’s assuming that the restaurant is the same building as the former theater. If you can’t verify what the photo shows, just post the photo and let someone from that area verify what the photo is showing. Filling in the blanks (status, function, etc) on these theaters isn’t easy. Sometimes it pays to play it safe.
No, I didn’t know that. My feeling is that this should remain a church. That’s what all the evidence points to.
The problem with those Google photos is, many of them are not recent. The youth center could still be there or it could have moved out. Maybe thats the reason that an address search returns nothing for this building. I don’t know if this will help you or not but C.O.G.I.C. might mean “Church Of God In Christ”.
This article mentions the COGIC church youth center. I think the blogger made a mistake as he listed the center at the same address as a diner which he mentioned in the same paragraph.
http://tinyurl.com/6xdyvy
It looks like it says LOGIC or COGIC Youth Center on the sign, but I didn’t come up with anything on the internet. I think the Google photo was taken some years after the 2000 photo. I don’t think Google started photographing street locations until 2005 or 2006.
You can’t see it in my photo, but the plaque stating “Church of Christ” as seen in the 2000 view has now been erased.
BW linked to a photo on Oct 16, 2006. Which photo is older and what do you believe is located at this address today?
This is a photo I took off of Google maps. There is an auto repair shop at 3685 a few doors down. That plus the function as church leads to the conclusion that this is the New Rex. It looks like the sign says Youth Center, but that could be a church program.
http://tinyurl.com/5dunhq
Further study reveals that the Lawndale opened in 1913. It appears that Blass removed the original auditorium or rebuilt it to be longer. The theater’s original architects were Grossman & Proskauer.
I wonder why the 1940 article referred to this theater as the Grandale theater and not the Gene Theater. Is there any website that gives the build date for Chicago buildings? That would be one way to tell if the building was replaced or altered.
A Sept. 29, 1940 Tribune article: “The former 289 seat Grandale theater at 3679 Grand has been replaced with the 600 seat Rex theater designed by Roy B Blass.” So i’m not sure these were necessarily the same theater, although the same site. Blass often did renovation work though, and considering when it opened, it may well have been. I’m just not certain how that much seating could be gained, unless a stage was removed or walls pushed back or something. Here is a 2000 picture of the church.
Thanks for the additional info Ken. Just tell me that its not already listed on CT. :)
This opened as the Lawndale Theatre in 1914. From 1930 to 1936 it was re-named Grandale Theatre. In 1939 it re-opened as the Gene Theatre and from 1941 until closing in 1951 it became the New Rex Theatre.
It is currently in use as a church.