Rockne Theatre
5825 W. Division Street,
Chicago,
IL
60651
5825 W. Division Street,
Chicago,
IL
60651
3 people
favorited this theater
The Ambassador was built for the M & H Theaters Corporation in 1924 by architect Harold E. Gallup serving the far western Chicago neighborhood of Austin.
It could seat 2500 in its auditorium and originally hosted stage shows in addition to motion pictures. It was built in the Neo-Classical style and featured a domed lobby which was topped by a cupola.
Its marquee was V-shaped, and had signage on both Division and Monitor Avenue. Over the marquee were four large arched windows. Terra-cotta decoration covered much of the facade, which was of pale colored brick.
After the death of Knute Rockne in a plane crash in 1931, the Ambassador was renamed the Rockne in his honor (similar to Chicago’s Will Rogers Theater at Belmont and Central being named for the cowboy star after his own death in a plane crash).
The Rockne was showing adult films by the 1970s. After its days as a movie house ended in the very early 1980s, the Rockne began a new life as a church, which it still serves as today.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 35 comments)
A Geneva theater organ size 4/14 was installed in the Ambassador Theater in 1925.
Here is an undated photo:
http://tinyurl.com/6m6pnw
Here is a July 1967 ad from the Austin Journal:
http://tinyurl.com/3p2lqs
The exchange in 1954 was AUstn 7-3266. As you can see by the ad immediately above, the exchanges were no longer being used by 1967.
Here are 1982 and 1983 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/dcwtuf
http://tinyurl.com/cn237k
The 1920-21 Film Daily Yearbook lists an Ambassador theatre in Chicago. Is it possible that this theatre was built earlier than 1924 or is this a different theatre? (No other information listed.)
Nice 80,s photos.
I lived in one of the two apartments above the theatre from Oct 1962 thru Oct 1963, we moved here from Rockwell and North Ave, I had transferred from Tuley High School. I loved that year. Attended Austin High School. But living there was totally unusual. You could hear the sounds of the movies , because the Projection Room was right down the hall. The Music Man was playing the week that we moved in and the next week it was The Birds !!!! Noisey. We had to go down into the lobby , by the main front doors to pick up our mail. And it was just neat being a teenager there. There on either sides of the stage , were dressing rooms. We were only there a year and moved to Stone Park after here in 1963 and I attended Proviso West then. I would love to here from any fellow students from Austin who knew about and attended the Rockne….contact me at or Susan Besaw on Face Book…would love to hear from you !!!
I lived at 1050 N Monitor all during the 60’s and started ushering at the Rockne when I was 12. They still had lots of costumes left over from when they did live shows. Don’t remember Sonny and Cher, but it seems like the Dave Clark Five were there. Austin was a great neighborhood to grow up in, mostly hung around Chicago Ave. St. Angela’s, Key School, Austin Town Hall. Took drivers ed at Austin High. Remember the “Mudhole”?
Tomkonsoer, my brothers and I were at the Rockne practically every weekend during the 60’s. As we got older, we would venture down to the State, the Lake, or even the Mercury, but the Rockne remained our favorite. I remember the Sonny and Cher event, but don’t remember the DC5 show.