Village Art Theatre
1548-50 N. Clark Street,
Chicago,
IL
60610
1548-50 N. Clark Street,
Chicago,
IL
60610
15 people
favorited this theater
Built as the Germania Theatre in 1916 but changed to the Parkside Theatre after the US entry into the First World War when anti-German sentiment was running high. The theater later went through a couple of other name changes over the years including the Gold Coast Theatre and the Globe Theatre. The theatre is located on Clark Street at Germania Place in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago.
Prior to being divided into four small auditoriums in the early-1990’s, the theater could seat 900. Little remains of the original interior design, but the facade, despite being almost entirely hidden behind an ugly modern marquee, is still intact and features red brick and beige terra-cotta highlights.
Long a popular venue for art, foreign and cult films, the Village Art Theatre was closed in March 2007.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 147 comments)
here is a link to activity at this building site by a real estate developer, and reading it it seems to affect the theatre or at the very least its facade:
http://www.chicagorealestatedaily.com/article/20131024/CRED03/131029836/residential-planned-near-historic-village-theatre#
my fear is given enough time this proposed new condo/high-rise corner development will in fact gobble up the gold coast (village) auditorium itself given the theatres' current dormant if rather sorry state. of course we have other clear examples of new residential (and other) re-development that retains only the original theatre facade for quaint decorative purposes
I have read in the past that the auditorium and interior of the theatre were already gutted prior to the landmark designation. So it’s only the facade that will be protected at this point. BTW readers will not be able to open the above link as it is posted. This has been an issue ever since CT changed their website design.
David; I “blue”-highlight the link. Copy it. Go to my e-mail. Press “Compose”. Paste link to my e-mail in the area in which I type up a letter. Send pasted link to myself. Click on link.
Or CT could just go ahead fix this, since it’s been an issue for so long…
yes, my link above would have to be of the ‘copy-to-clipboard-and-paste’ variety, and this’d be the first i’ve heard there’s no more ‘inside’ to the theatre! such a relief they got landmark status so a real-estate developer could capitoli$e on the theatre facade—all they ever really wanted.
I used to work there as a teen in 1966 when it was the Globe Theatre. I worked the box office; my boyfriend was an usher; my girlfriend worked the popcorn counter. The theatre was a little down-at-the-heels, but was the only movie theater around, except for the Playboy Theater on Dearborn.
I was actually told to document how many negro (term used then) customers bought tickets (!), but I secretly rebelled (made up lame excuses) and ignored this because I thought it was prejudiced even then. My boss (owner?) feared the neighborhood was “changing.” It was—-to a more upscale neighborhood, since Sandburg Village was still being completed.
Drove by it October 2013, still closed but still there.
Does anyone know why the terra cotta is being removed from the Village Theatre? I just uploaded a photo that I took yesterday (Sunday, April 20, 2014) to the photos section.
9/5/2013 9/6/2013 2013-1504 1548 N. Clark 100486552 Village Theater 42
Exterior: Remove and rebuilt 76 linear feet of 3' high parapet along Clark Street façade per Historic Preservation stamped plans dated 9/6/13.
Salvageable masonry to be retained and reinstalled. Any required new masonry to match historic size, color, texture and appearance. Masonry to be cataloged and evaluated per submitted plans. Historic Preservation staff to be notified to view and approve terra cotta samples prior to order and installation. No other work permitted with this approval.
I hope they preserve it soon. I was just by there and the entire building is slanting noticeably to the right.
The Village in 1978: an artistic and financial success, according to Gene Siskel.