Lincoln Hall

A recent article about events, including free movie showings (probably video or digital projection) at Lincoln Hall, including a picture of the exterior as it is now:
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The 3 Penny Cinema is now called Lincoln Hall. Here’s the link to their website:

http://www.lincolnhallchicago.com/

Shaping up nicely. Good to see they tore off that ugly wood facade.
Must be big money into it by now.

If I remember correctly, they had the 3 Penny outfitted to look like a hotel for the filming of “Public Enemies. They hung a retro distressed neon HOTEL sign over the doorways in DarkRefrain’s above picture.

Scaffolds are now down. The front of building’s first floor is still covered up during whatever remodling is ongoing. However there are new Marvin windows installed on the second floor overlooking Lincoln Ave. Shouldn’t be much longer.

Still surrounded by scaffolds.

Excerpt from 2-5-09 Chicago Tribune, article “Director Ken Kwapis talks about the blizzard of ‘79 and Gene Siskel”

Director Ken Kwapis, a Belleville native, took time while promoting “He’s Just Not That Into You,” starring Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck and a host of others, to talk to the Tribune about his formative years in Chicago and directing the late Gene Siskel on “The Larry Sanders Show.”

“For quite a while, I managed the Three Penny Theater on Lincoln Avenue, right across from the Biograph,” Kwapis said. “I managed the theater during the blizzard of 1979. We were running John Carpenter’s film ‘Halloween,’ and like many theaters during the blizzard, we didn’t change the feature, because there was no point.

“So I could basically set my clock to ‘Halloween.’ Sitting in the lobby, I would play a game with myself. Without looking at my watch, I’d say, ‘Jamie Lee Curtis is just about to scream,’ then I’d open the door and she’d scream. I knew the film down to the quarter of the minute.”

Kwapis said the management running the Three Penny couldn’t make up its mind about the theater’s focus.

“The schedule was absurd. One week we’d show a new art film, say a Werner Herzog film, and the next week we’d run a porno feature. And the owner could never understand why we couldn’t develop an audience. I said, ‘Well, they’re totally confused, nobody knows what we’re showing.’ ”

-via David E. Zornig

I was never in the 3 Penny when it was a single-screener. The two times I was in there, I was very uncomfortable. I was getting claustrophobia in there—something that normally never happens to me.

I only saw a few films at the 3 Penny Cinema. Even back then it was in varied states of disrepair. Buckets on some of the seats, no concessions, etc. I seem to remember they too had a cat at one time.

I want to say “Zandy’s Bride”, “The Immigrants”, “Freebie & The Bean” and some Marx Bros. double features were among those I’d seen there.

I’d forgotten “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory” from my Biograph post. I’m pretty sure it was there and not the 3 Penny. Gene Wilder, the original Willy Wonka was the draw at the time.

I’m surprised it took as long as it did to finally close it’s doors. Whether forced to or not.

This is a photo dated May 2007.

The 3 Penny is down to the bare walls. It looks like the plaster ceiling must have been removed before as there are ceiling fans suspended. However, surprisingly, the proscenium is still mostly intact, as are the surrounds to the screen-side exit doors. Presumably these features will be retained, ironically making the 3 Penny better-preserved than the Biograph. The former snack shop space next door has been totally gutted, with the roof off, and multiple window and door openings have been cut into the 3 Penny’s north wall. This should be a very interesting project to watch.

Here is an interesting review of this theatre:
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