Windsor Theatre

1225 N. Clark Street,
Chicago, IL 60610

Unfavorite 1 person favorited this theater

Additional Info

Previously operated by: Balaban, H & E, Lubliner & Trinz

Architects: Hal Pereira, William L. Pereira, Cornelius Ward Rapp, George W. Leslie Rapp

Firms: Pereira and Pereira, Rapp & Rapp

Styles: Art Deco

Nearby Theaters

1937 photo credit Chicago Architectural Photographing Company.

The Windsor Theatre was opened September 20, 1886. The theatre suffered two major fires, and was rebuilt in 1914, opening as part of the Lubliner & Trinz circuit on May 9, 1914. It was one of the earliest projects from the architectural firm of Rapp & Rapp. The theatre was later run by the H & E Balaban chain. It was located on N. Clark Street near E. Division Street, in the Gold Coast neighborhood.

The Windsor Theatre was remodeled by the architectural firm Pereira & Pereira in 1936. The Windsor Theatre operated into the late-1950’s, and was razed by 1961.

Today the site is occupied by condominiums and retail.

Contributed by Bryan Krefft

Recent comments (view all 16 comments)

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on March 16, 2012 at 6:32 am

The principals of Pereira & Pereira, the firm that did the 1936 remodeling of the Windsor Theatre, were William Pereira and Hal Pereira. Percival Pereira was an older architect who was never a member of this firm.

radbid
radbid on June 28, 2014 at 7:48 pm

I used to go to the Windsor when I was a kid in the “old neighborhood”. Saw “Imitation of Life” with Lana Turner and the whole audience was sobbing at the end. LOL. Was also there the last day it was open – they had a really bad magician on stage.

anothertoothpick134
anothertoothpick134 on May 30, 2015 at 8:24 am

Movies I saw at the Windsor;

King Kong

Rodan

The Giant Claw

I lived on Wells street when I was a kid back in the 1950’s

We would walk to the Windsor on Saturday afternoon.

Does anyone have any photo’s of the outside…or the inside?

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on May 30, 2015 at 8:37 am

The Chicagology page has one exterior photo. Copy & paste to view.

http://chicagology.com/goldenage/goldenage040/

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on May 30, 2015 at 7:21 pm

An article about the closing and impending demolition of the Windsor Theatre appeared in the May 14, 1961, issue of the Chicago Tribune (Tribune archives.) The original Windsor opened on September 20, 1886, and later suffered two major fires. It was after the second fire that the house was rebuilt and reopened as a movie theater in 1914.

Broan
Broan on October 25, 2015 at 12:31 pm

https://books.google.com/books?id=1qFXAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22george%20l.%20rapp%22%20theater&pg=PA130#v=onepage&q=%22george%20l.%20rapp%22%20theater&f=false

Looks like this would have been one of the earliest Rapp & Rapp theaters with a cantilevered balcony.

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on November 24, 2015 at 12:18 pm

January 8, 1938 marquee photo in an Adler Sign print ad added, courtesy of Frank Dutton.

Broan
Broan on January 17, 2016 at 4:26 pm

Here is a THSA photo of the art deco exterior.

rivest266
rivest266 on November 14, 2016 at 3:33 pm

September 20th, 1886 and May 9th, 1914 grand opening ads are in the photo section.

Article. There are plans to move the archives to newspapers.com.

Found on Newspapers.com

DavidZornig
DavidZornig on August 2, 2020 at 11:02 am

Circa November 1935 photo courtesy David Sadowski in below link. Scaffolding for then upcoming art deco facade completed by 1937.

https://theclarktheater.wordpress.com/2020/08/01/the-windsor-theater/?fbclid=IwAR3syZ-XI4G94o_b-g9ih-9aqJUH0UJyoaQlyNS-56op1mCUZJ4Iq07dGDg

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment

Subscribe Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.