Davis Theater
4614 N. Lincoln Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60625
4614 N. Lincoln Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60625
13 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 26 comments found
I lived near the Davis Theatre for 25 years ( actually, I lived in the same building where the old Bertha Theatre was located, just north of the Davis on Lincoln.) I don’t remember ever seeing a movie there, but I did take piano lessons at the Herrstrom School of Music and Dance, located in the same building on the second floor. Mrs Herrstrom was a very nice lady and a good teacher. Because my family did not own a piano, I had to practice my lessons on one of three “practice pianos” at the school. Of course I didn’t practice as much as Mrs Herrstrom wanted me to, but still I spent many hours in the Davis Building during the 1960’s.
Noticing the Gum on the floor reminds me when we would scrape Gum from the outside entrance into National Hills Theatre.Of Course, that was in 1974 when Theatres gave a dang.
The Davis Theatre wasn’t exactly in my neighborhood (I’m from the suburbs) but when a Fred Astaire retrospective was booked there I made the pilgrimage in the early 1980s. I was there one time more, both times before the theatre was split up. It was nice, had good sight lines and sound, and was very large-sized. Nice lobby.
Some photos of the Davis Theatre.
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I worked for the company that distributed Caligula and we couldn’t get anyone in Chicago to play it. Then a guy named Nick DeLuca came through with the Davis. Nick was a pleasure and we had a good run there.
This site has a photo of the Davis Theater.
Here is a 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/dgnquy
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I was only in the Davis a few times in the late `80’s. “Look Who’s Talking” is all I remember though. Maybe “976-Evil” too. I love that they’ve maintained their huge vertical signage.
I wish them continued success.
I went to the Davis theatre with my parents throughout the 1960’s when it showed German language movies. We lived near Irving Park Road & Sheridan and Sunday evenings would dress up, take the bus to the cinema, buy Germany magazines (and comics) at the store nearby and meet the German community out for entertainment. The films back then were mostly musicals. As the German movie industry declined in the 60’s, the Davis theatre initiated live music and entertainment shows. Bringing German pop stars to Chicago. These shows were always hosted by Armin Homann, who still has a regular German language radio show in Chicago. What I did not realize was, that the theatre actually has a history of showing German films going back to its earliest days! Glad the place is still up and running. I visited the neighbourhood last year and was surprised to see the Old Town School of Music using my old library as their new home!
Similar to the Logan, maybe even a bit nicer. It’s NOTHING like the hellhole it was in the late 1990s.
My brother and I are going to go see NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN here next week. Has anybody been here recently? What’s this theatre like? I haven’t been here in years.
This is a more recent photo of the Davis Theater.
I visited this place in the late 80’s after it became a multi-screen theatre. I remember it being a pit: musty, sticky floors, non-descript screening rooms, poor choice of colors used in decoration.
Sounds like maybe it has come up since then.
Here is a recent photo of the Davis Theater.
I know that in the late 70s and early 80s two 6ft 6in twin brothers who wore Cowboy boots owned the Davis, I was a Shoe shine Boy and would shine their
Boots for a ticket and Popcorn, I had a friend who eventually went to work there in the mid 80s and threw a late nite party and someone brought a motercycle in through the back door exit and we were rideing it up and down the isles! I viewed All the great 70s and 80s Movies at the Davis, Alien, Conan, E.T., Raiders Of The Lost Ark, And all the rest! The price was 2 movies for $1.50. I Have many Great Childhood memories thanks to the Davis Theater.
jjj
This website has some photos of the Davis theater. Click the thumbnails to expand.
I enjoyed going to The Davis when it was a single screen theater back in the 80’s. The first movie I saw at the davis was The Shining. I miss all the old single screen theaters. The Davis was just like The Patio, But when the Davis turned into 4 small theaters the whole experience ended.
It looks like it was a gut job to create the 4 cinemas, but the lobby is still mostly intact from the 1930s. All the cinemas have between 230 and 250 seats. Also, look at the north-facing side of the vertical sign- the ‘i’ is upside-down. But it’s a decent place to see a movie. The sound isn’t fantastic, but the picture is clear and bright, and it has comfortable rocker seats, even if the floor slants at a funny angle.
I heard somewhere that a chain actually owns this theatre. Is this true or is the Davis independent? I believe it was an Essaness at one time, one of only about 4 remaining in the Chicagoland Area.
I beleive that the Davis’s dubious-yet-memorable moment came circa 1978. It was the only theatre in the Chicagoland Area to show CALIGULA—at the then-outrageous price of $7.50. The funny thing about this movie was that the mainstream stars of this movie—Sir John Gielgud, Malcom McDowell, Helen Mirren, and Peter O'Toole—were supposedly unaware that they were doing a glorified porn movie!
Does anyone know why this is called the “Davis”?
was it associated with the Davis Theater chain?
If so, what is known about that chain?
Is the wood ticket booth original to the Davis/Pershing, or was it moved from somewhere else?
Here is an undated exterior view of the Davis.