LaSalle Theatre
110 W. Madison Street,
Chicago,
IL
60602
110 W. Madison Street,
Chicago,
IL
60602
1 person
favorited this theater
The LaSalle Opera House opened in 1910, and could seat a just under 800.
It was located at the corner of West Madison Street and Clark Street, adjoining the Brevoort Hotel and across the street from the tiny Madison and Astor Theatres (all of which have long since vanished from the Loop). In addition to opera, the LaSalle Opera House also would later stage legitimate theater, as well as vaudeville acts.
However, beginning in 1927, the LaSalle Theatre began showing movies, becoming just another one of the many movie houses dotting the Loop. It remained a movie house until closing in the late-1940’s.
In Spring of 1950, the LaSalle Theatre was razed to make way for a new St. Peter’s Church, which relocated to the Loop, which is also home to 30 Franciscan friars who live above the church. St. Peter’s in the Loop, besides hosting classical concerts, is also known for its gorgeous stained-glass windows and the huge crucifix on its facade, overlooking Madison Street.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
The LaSalle was actually demolished in spring of 1950, but the construction of the church was delayed by a couple of harsh Chicago winters, and St. Peter’s wasn’t dedicated until early 1953.
This link to a photograph taken circa 1910-15 from the Library of Congress shows Madison Street, with the Hotel Brevoort and adjoining LaSalle Opera House (later Theatre) on the left-hand side of the street. Note the Coca-Cola advertisement on the hotel’s facade.
From the Chicago Tribune, Jan. 25, 1924:
Davy Miller Recovering
from His Bullet Wound
According to reports from the University hospital, Davy Miller, boxing referee who was shot on Sunday night by Dean O'Bannion, has passed the crisis and his wound is healing. It is expected he will leave the hospital in a few days. The shooting took place in front of the La Salle theater.
The LaSalle was showing movies in July of 1915:
“The LaSalle, another Loop playhouse, will show moving pictures throughout the summer, beginning Monday, July 19. The opening screen attraction will be Essanay’s fine six-reel feature, "The Blindness of Virtue”.
This New York Times article is dated June 5, 1909, which is a year before the opening given in the introduction.
http://tinyurl.com/mkkbyt
Here’s a ca1910 photo of the LaSalle Theatre from the Art Institute of Chicago web site.
The planned demolition of the LaSalle was reported in Boxoffice in July 1949:
http://tinyurl.com/yhp5thb
Here is a 1939 view of Madison Street with the marquee of the LaSalle Theater visible in the background. The entrance to the Hotel Brevoort is also center in the center background.
I remember going to the LaSalle Theater in the Loop as a young child. My aunt Chickie picked me up after work at Marillac House at Jackson and Morgan to take me to see a reissue of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. I can still remember the excitment of anticipation some 65 or 70 years later. I also remember, in later years, seeing a chapter of “The Vigilante” there. The theater frequently showed african safari films with bare-breasted natives. It also showed foreign films in the 1940s. I remember seeing a double feature of a German film entitled “The Iron Crown” (a legend about a crown made from the nails of Christ’s cross)and a French classic film entitled “Beauty And The Beast”. I also remember seeing another double feature of H. G. Welles stories: The Invisible Man and The Shape Of Things To Come. Yes, I remember the LaSalle Theater well.
The Google Map view is of 110 W Madison in Oak Park, IL, not downtown Chicago.