Montclare Theatre
7133 W. Grand Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60707
7133 W. Grand Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60707
9 people
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Indiana-Illinois Theaters
Architects: William P. Whitney
Nearby Theaters
Opened March 1, 1929, in the neighborhood of the same name. The 1,200-seat Montclare Theatre was equipped with a Barton 3 manual 10 ranks organ. It operated for decades as a first-run theatre until it was shuttered in 1985.
After closing, the former theatre fell into serious disrepair, its owner turning a deaf ear to demands to either fix it up or demolish it. It was used by gangs and was set ablaze several times.
By the mid-1990’s, a concerned citizen’s group began to petition the city to seize the property, condemn and tear it down, which it finally did in December of 1996.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 47 comments)
Here is a 1987 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/cxlyed
http://bit.ly/1RuUTa A 1988 Image
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What a great vertical on the Montclare.
Hi everyone. My grandfather and great uncle were the two optometrist’s in the shop next to the Montclare. I was wondering if there were any photos of the montclare that had a full shot of the optometric shop and the theater. If there is I’d really appreciate it! Thanks James Binder
FYI. I added 2 photos of a Montclare lobby flier from 1936.
Interesting thing about the lobby flier display boxes. They spelled the theater’s name as “Montclair” cast in metal on the top. Wonder if anybody saved one of them?
The Mont Clair theatre opened on March 1st, 1929. Grand opening ad in photo section.
I remember the optometrist on the corner very well. I got my first pair of eyeglasses ever there. As I recall, it was called Gutierrez Optical, and the two optometrists were Binder & Binder. They had a hand-held stereopticon viewer in their waiting room that you could use to look at old stereo postcards, offering a 3-D view.
I remember the Atlantic Restaurant in the Montclare Theatre Building. Its entrance was just east of the marquee.