Varsity Theater
1710 Sherman Avenue,
Evanston,
IL
60201
1710 Sherman Avenue,
Evanston,
IL
60201
14 people
favorited this theater
The Varsity Theater, one of the largest suburban Chicago movie palaces ever built, was also one of the most spectacular. It was designed as a French royal chateau of the era of Francois I, and no expense was spared on luxury by its original owner, Clyde Elliot, an Evanston native who had worked in Hollywood for many years. From marble imported from Italy to antique tapestries, the Varsity rivaled many of neighboring Chicago’s finest theaters.
The theater was absorbed into the ever-expanding Balaban & Katz chain’s empire in the early 30s, and remained a popular fixture of downtown Evanston until competition from multiplexes caused its demise in the 1980’s. It closed in 1988 and was converted over to mixed-used retail.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 73 comments)
That is pretty neat about that guy that took all those images, I never knew it was one guy.
Anyway, as for the Varsity, this is very similar to what happened with the RKO Madison Theater in Ridgewood, NY, in which the theater survives above a fake ceiling and the orchestra level used for retail. The Gaumont Theater in Manchester England also had a smilar fate, with a nightclub opening on the main level, and a fake ceiling put in. That one however was completely demolished in the end.
Tribute from The Golden Age:
The Varsity Theater wasn’t made for Hollywood. Hollywood was made for the Varsity Theater.
Northlight spent a good deal of money to remodel the Coronet. It was a very nice facility. They even put blue neon “Northlight” panels on either side of the marquee. I’m not sure why they eventually left. My best guess is parking.
A 3/26 Geneva was installed in the theatre in 1926.
Wow, seeing those pics of The Varsity brought a tear to my eye. I worked at The Varsity, The Valencia, and The Coronet theatres from 1974 to 1978. I would love to see the glorious Varsity open it’s doors once again! Big thanks to my friend Dave Zornig for calling this site to my attention.
Such a sad story.
It seems like there’s been consistent interest in restoring the Varsity over the last few years. Every time I think the subject has died down I hear from someone that it is being dicussed again by people who seem to matter. I’d love to see the project come to pass. But what would they do with it?
This 1944 trade ad suggests that the Varsity’s entrance was substantially “modernized” when materials became available after the end of WWII: boxofficemagazine
The YouTube is now my second Varsity Theater. Because of the YouTube, there are now perhaps millions of younger people who are eagerly rediscovering the Golden Age. Thus, it would seem that the Varsity Theater could be reopened, showing only Golden Age motion pictures. Sample list:
Casablanca, Funny Face, You Were Never Lovelier, The Red Shoes.
Here is a report prepared for the city by some consulting firm in July, 2011. In it they discuss reactivating the balcony space for theater use while keeping stores in the ground floor:
http://www.evanston1stward.org/sites/default/files/IL_Evanston–Evaluation_of_the_Varsity_Theatres_potential_use_as_a_performing_arts_center–final_report.pdf