Cinema Italia
306 S. Cicero Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60644
306 S. Cicero Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60644
1 person
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This nearly 600-seat movie house was located on Cicero Avenue, near the intersection of Jackson Boulevard in the Austin neighborhood. It opened in the 1910’s. It seems to have closed in the mid-to-late-1920’s, before reopening in the mid-1930’s once again for about a decade.
During the early-1950’s, it very briefly reopened as the Cinema Italia, as the name would imply, screening Italian-language films. However, after closing once more, it doesn’t appear to have reopened as a theater, and has since been demolished. The site of the theater is today a large vacant lot.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 6 comments)
This theater was also named the Ben-Hur at some point, either when it first opened, or during the late 10s to early 20s.
Architect was D.S. Pentecost
From the 3/29/46 Chicago Tribune:
THEATER OWNER DENIES STRIKING BOY, 12, IN SHOW
A disorderly conduct charge against Nathan Fadim, 35, of 3270 Lake Shore dr., accused of assaulting a 12 year old boy in the basement of the Avenue theater for an alleged disturbance was taken under advisement by Judge John R. McSweeney in Fillmore st. court yesterday.
Owen Moriarity, 4707 Jackson blvd., testified that Fadim, owner of the theater at 306 S. Cicero av., dragged him into the basement, pummeling him and kicking his head against a door. Fadim denied striking the boy, but admitted pulling him into the show and calling the police following a disturbance created when Moriarity and several other boys chased thru the lobby and overturned a pop corn machine. Judge McSweeney said he would rule on the case April 2.
A Kilgen theater organ opus 3761 was installed in the Ben Hur Theater in 1926. Note: Used Bartola taken in on trade.
This article in The Garfieldian shows that in mid-1947 the theatre bore the name “K & C”:
(July 24, 1947) LICENSE DRIVE HITS 7 LOCAL MOVIE HOUSES
When the city’s drive on license violators hit theaters last week, seven West Side movie houses made quick amends in their admission prices. In view of speedy corrections of the violations, Judge Cecil Smith discharged the cases.
Theaters affected and their maximum prices were: Tiffin, 4045 North, 40 cents; West End, 121 N. Cicero, 40 cents; Byrd, 4730 Madison, 40 cents; Symphony, 4921 Chicago, 40 cents; Crawford, 19 S. Crawford, 40 cents; K and C, 306 S, Cicero, 25 cents; and the Plaisance, 466 N. Parkside, 40 cents.