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Portage Park Theatre Struggles to Open
posted by
btkrefft
on
November 12, 2003 at 7:03 am
CHICAGO, IL — According to the Chicago Sun Times, Paul Warshauer, the new owner of the Portage Park Theatre (located in the Chicago neighborhood of the same name), is attempting to reopen the theater as a venue for classic and family-friendly films, but it would seem that the city’s revenue department has other plans.
Warshauer, who has been seeking an amusement license from the city for months now, has been accused by the city of selling popcorn without a license. He says that his staff was only in training and there was not even money in the cash registers yet. Warshauer also said that the revenue department is “terrorizing legitimate businesses” and has now appealed to Mayor Daley himself for assistance in a plea placed on the Portage Park’s marquee.
Comments (7)
That’s right, Bryan! Now the City of Chicago wants us to install an emergency generator to back up the two other systems we spend lots of money to replace. It never ends! The landlord refuses to install it but eventually he will be forced to if the theatre is ever to open. Still we wait and have no revenue coming in…no ticket sales, no concession sales. We cannot last forever here.
We will go to court in December and tell the judge the truth but it is costly. The concession kids were doing a training on the new popcorn machine. No one was selling anything. The Department of Revenue busrt in like FBI agents and scared the crap out of them and issued the manager a ticket! The Revenuers are like locusts… anywhere they see a dime they want five cents!
We may never open as we are almost out of money but we will go down fighting. Help? (773) 202-1010 x3.
Hey Paul, Best of luck and God’s Speed as well. I spoke to you this afternoon (Tue January 6th, 2004) regarding the status of the Portage and the calander. I really can’t believe a City that I grew up in, in the Neighborhood I grew up in, under the control of the son of The Mayor I grew up with would give such little help with keeping up a Landmark when someone else is putting up the funds. My prayers go with you. Jason
You are all so supportive. Thanks. The money has run out and I am afraid by February 1, 2004, unless there is a miracle, we will be forced to close the doors forever. No one from the city is helping. The Alderman (Pat Levar) has turned his back on us because the work is “too difficult for him.” Even the Mayor’s Business Express office (Joy Adelizzi) has done nothing for us. It seems that the city officials (especially the Department of Revenue’s cold and indifferent agent, Halyna Sellars and the shrill Alethea Cotton) do not want all the tax money that comes from a movie theatre….and I thought that this city needed the money. You live and learn. Goodbye for now.
Mr Warshauer did not own the theatre as stated in the first comment and if there were more stories posted about his spotty past and less about how the City of Chicago has taken advantage of him the true story would come out…all I can say is do your homework. A group of us from Portage Park did and were horrified at what we found
good-bye Mr. Warshauer and good riddens
“Good riddens?” Where was the PPNA when we were trying to open the theatre? Warshauer did his best but the city shut the place down. You should be horrified at your lack of support! The neighborhood wanted the theatre open and Warshauer’s group tried to open it. “Do your homework?” What happened to YOUR former President of PPNA?
Why are all these very old posts on here???Including mine?