NRA Theatre
5744 S. Prairie Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60637
5744 S. Prairie Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60637
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The Prairie Theatre opened in 1915 in the Washington Park neighborhood, on S. Prairie Avenue, between E. 57th Street and E. 58th Street, just a couple blocks from Washington Park itself.
It originally was part of the Alfred Hamburger circuit, which included the Argmore, Gayety and 20th Century, among others. The Prairie Theatre was renamed the NRA Theatre in 1936 and continued to operate until 1952.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 3 comments)
Never thought I’d find this. I lived at 57th and Calumet when I was a child and the NRA was my favorite place to go with my Godmother. In fun, she used to call it the national rat alley because it was old.
The October 23, 1915, issue of The American Contractor said that a two-story building, 75x162 feet, to house a theater, stores, and offices was under construction at 5746-5752 S. Prairie Avenue. It was one of several projects underway by developers Kusel & Harris. Ralph C. Harris was the architect.
Does anyone know what the name NRA means?