Beverly Theatre
1543 W. 95th Street,
Chicago,
IL
60635
1543 W. 95th Street,
Chicago,
IL
60635
5 people
favorited this theater
The Beverly Theatre was located on 95th Street in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago and opened on June 4, 1935. Adjoining the movie house was an ice cream parlor, called the Bon Bon.
Operated originally by James Coston, who was head of Warner Brothers Midwest, it was part of the Warner Bros. circuit up until the early-1950’s, when the Costons took it over completely, along with other former Warner houses (the Jeffery and Rhodes Theatres). The family continued to run the theater until its closure.
The Beverly Theatre dubbed itself the “Home of the Single Feature” in an age when most other theaters were showing double features plus added shorts. The theatre had a curved screen, four-track magnetic surround sound and was one of the few theatres to have “Perspecta Sound” installed for the screening of Disney’s “Fantasia” in 1940. During the mid-1960’s, the theatre had a 56 week-long run of “The Sound of Music”. It was closed in September 1976, still drawing full houses, with a double feature of “Mother Jugs and Speed” and “Sparkle” being the last films shown at the Beverly Theatre.
The former theatre has housed a church for many years now.
Many thanks to Nick Coston for his valuable information on this theatre!
Contributed by
Nick Coston, Ray Martinez
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater
Recent comments (view all 69 comments)
I was an usher at the Beverly for most of 1948 and a parking lot attendant throughout 1949 and into 1950, a promotion that got me a raise from 35 cents an hour to 45 cents. The manager was Ray Kenney, a decent guy but deathly afraid of the owner, Jim Coston. The names I remember were Brady (assistant manager), DePaul (head usher) and his brother, the Hennessey brothers, Leo and Bernie, the Cummings brothers, and the candy-counter girl, Betty Hallstein. We had a good softball team in the (unofficial) Warner Brothers theater league. Lots of good memories. My family attended movies at the Beverly from its opening until a year before it closed. Larry Smith
Nice image:
View link
Haven’t read the article, but it is probably good too.
Wonderful article.
Such good memory’s for all. You know, as it was once said, it’s time to grab the bull by the tail and face the situation.
The Hamilton,Jeffery,Beverly, Capitol, Highland, Avalon, Hiway.
ALL of these theatre’s closed when neighborhoods changed and white people stopped attending. Truley, look at the situation during those times. Black Panthers with shot guns,Eligah Muhammed(I know it’s spelled wrong, if his name was John Doe, I would have gotten it right), calling whites Blue Eyed Devils,BlackStone Rangers always in the news. White residents who stayed in the changing neighborhood, having their children jumped and beaten by blacks—-just because of the color of their skin! YES People, this happened ALOT, but the Pussies in the Media were too afraid to offend all these so called Black Do Gooders.
Hey, check into the REAL Reason Riverview was closed. It was closed because of Black Gang activity! Families, rightly so, stopped going.
The theatre’s were closed. Shops (Franks, Baskins, the B&F Men’s store, Walgreens, the Cigar Store with the Paper Stand out front.around 79th and Halsted closed!!
Don’t forget the two Dime Stores, Woolworths and Kressiges.
Sorry but the influck of undersireables, ruined the neighborhood and all the Goodie Good Shoes, REFUSE TO SEE THE PROBLEM!!!!!
Sorry to Ramble.
Jim
I am confused about the opening date for the Beverly theater. There was a grand opening that featured a raffle for a great bike that came with a portable radio on the handlebars. My father and I were there and I won the raffle. I was not able to ride the bike so we walked it to our home in Brainard. I was six years old and was born in 1933. So the opening was in 1939?
The bike was never ridden and was sold at an estate sale in Phoenix in 1991 for $900.
I remember Molly from Le Bon Bon. I was about 10, helped her put different color whipped cream on everything. I should be in Chicago the weekend of August 20th am hoping to swing by The Bev (aka Church) and arrange a weekend day in the fall when we can all meet there for a reunion. Does anyone know where we can find John Kenney, Ray’s son?
Thanks,fyi had an awesome Beverly dream a few nights ago where we re-opened it. Place looked great, and was filled up. Too many bourbons, I guess.
Nick Coston
Sam Coston, longtime Warners employer, Beverly Theatre operator, and Ops Manager for Plitt Theatres, Midwest, passed away suddenly while traveling in Europe with his wife, Demetra, October 8th, 2010. He was 87. Funeral arrangements in Chicago will be posted.
I had the privelege to work with Sam Coston and his sons, Nick and Jim, during the late 70’s with Plitt Theatres (Orland Square 1-4). In my 30+ years in this business, Sam is at the top of a short list of the best, a true gentleman. He will be missed.
My grandmother was Ethel Nortman Henricks and her father, Fred Nortman, owned several theaters on the south side (Fecher and Nortman). Ed Schell also was a theater owner and was Fred Nortman’s brother-in-law. We had free passes to the Beverly Theater when I was growing up because the Costans were associates/friends. Does anyone remember the Nortman/Fecher theaters?
Thank you for posting pictures of the Beverly Theater. I well remember my Dad taking me there as a child in the early 70s to see the classic Disney films that ran on Saturday afternoons. I saw my first features there as well and if I was lucky I might get something from the hobby shop next door.
I have great memories of those early days in Chicago and the Beverly was part of that. A beautiful venue that the State Street venues at the time could not match and would outshine today’s multiplexes.
Thank you for hosting such a fine establishment. It was very appreciated and sorely missed from the day it closed.
The building is now the Third Baptist Church of Chicago. http://www.flickr.com/photos/zol87/4796931252/ http://www.movie-theatre.org/usa/il/chicago/IL%20Chicago%20City.pdf The Zip code should be 60643 and the Google street view map needs to be updated