Uptown Theatre will be restored: $75 million plan unveiled for grand palace on North Side.
(Chris Jones, Contact Reporter, Chicago Tribune)
After 35 years of stuttering starts, empty promises, a court-ordered sale and oft-reckless neglect, the 4,381-seat, 46,000-square-foot Uptown Theatre — once the gilded crown jewel of the Balaban & Katz theater chain, and among the most opulent and gorgeous movie palaces ever built in America — is finally to be restored to its 1925 glory.
In other words, what long has seemed impossible to dogged, devoted preservationists, nostalgists and the tireless volunteer group known as the Friends of the Uptown is finally happening on Chicago’s North Side. And an eye-popping $75 million has been pieced together and set aside for the restoration of a dangerously decayed and decrepit theater that was boarded up after a J. Geils Band concert on Dec. 19, 1981, leaving aging Chicagoans only with their memories of once seeing Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Prince or the Grateful Dead inside its historic bones.
This is not just another plan for the 4816 N. Broadway flagship of the Uptown neighborhood, insists Mayor Rahm Emanuel. This time it’s for real. Assuming the plan passes the City Council and other regulatory hurdles, the restoration and redevelopment project is slated to begin this fall. Within two years, the boards should be off the windows, the venue open for business and a curious public careening once again down the grand lobby staircase.
“This is the fulfillment of a promise,” said Emanuel in an interview Thursday. “When I was still mayor-elect, I talked about creating an entertainment district in Uptown. Our investments in culture are one of our best drivers of economic growth and job creation in our neighborhoods.”
The new Uptown will be a joint and equal venture between the Chicago-based promoter Jam Productions (which gained ownership of the landmarked Uptown for $3.2 million in 2008) and Farpoint Development. A new partnership entity will be formed.
Relatively new to the Uptown party, Farpoint Development is led by Scott Goodman, who co-founded Sterling Bay and helped build that firm into one of Chicago’s biggest and best-known commercial real estate developers, with projects including McDonald’s headquarters’ move to the former site of Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios and Google’s Midwest headquarters in a former cold-storage warehouse. Goodman and three other longtime Sterling Bay executives left the company in 2016 to start Farpoint.
“The Uptown is an amazing asset in an amazing neighborhood,” Goodman said. “This was the rare opportunity to do something really cool.”
Goodman said the architect for the project has yet to be selected.
Jam’s specialty is concert promotion, but the plan is for the Uptown to feature a variety of live events.
“Concerts. Comedy. Dance. Special events. A whole multitude of things,” said Arny Granat, the co-founder and co-owner, with Jerry Mickelson, of Jam Productions. “This is a game changer for the city. It’s not just about concerts, it’s about the economic development that now will occur in the Uptown neighborhood”
Granat also said that, for some events, main-floor seats will be removed, allowing for an audience capacity as high as 5,800. Even with all-seated events, the Uptown’s size eclipses all other theaters in the city, including the 3,901-seat Auditorium Theatre and the 3,600-seat Chicago Theatre, both of which are about to experience some formidable new competition.
The mayor’s office said the piecemeal financing for the Uptown Theatre comes from an array of public and private sources: $14 million in financing through the State of Illinois’ Property Assessed Clean Energy Act; $13 million in tax-increment financing; $10 million in Build Illinois bond funding; $8.7 million in federal tax credits; and $3.7 million in the City of Chicago’s Adopt-a-Landmark funds. Jam and Farpoint are kicking in the remaining $26 million in a yet-to-be-determined mix of debt and equity. The restoration scheme also includes $6 million in streetscape improvements to portions of North Broadway, and Lawrence and Wilson avenues and Argyle Street, including a new pedestrian plaza and public stage, located just south of Lawrence and Broadway.
The byzantine road to restoration — and the campaigns to avoid the wrecking ball — have been as melodramatic as one of the movies the Uptown showcased in the 1920s.
Back in 2002, politicians and arts supporters, including Ivar Albert Goodman, held a news conference announcing an impending restoration. But the nonprofit group calling itself the Uptown Theatre and Center for the Arts did not have the money to acquire the building. And Goodman’s $1 million donation quickly was spent with nothing concrete to show. In a civil complaint, the Illinois attorney general’s office alleged the money had been spent on purchases at luxury hotels, restaurants and clothing stores.
“This theater,” said then-Ald. Mary Ann Smith, 48th, to the Tribune, “tends to attract people with stars in their eyes.”
Indeed it did. All kinds of people with all kinds of fantasies.
But as early as 2000, a report by the Urban Land Institute of Washington, D.C., had laid out the essential, irrefutable argument for the Uptown: “Future generations will not forgive those who do not attend to this obligation.”
For Chicago politicians, the Uptown has been a major quandary for decades. Restoration was jaw-droppingly expensive and thus beyond the reach of most private owners, especially since success in the highly competitive entertainment business was far from assured. But what mayor or alderman would want to be associated for life with the demolition of such a treasured and unique beauty?
Designed by the famed team of C.W. and Geo. L. Rapp (known as Rapp and Rapp) and touted on opening as containing “an acre of seats in a magic city” behind its Spanish Baroque facade, the huge six-story lobbies and extra-wide staircases of the Uptown could get 4,300 people out the doors, and another 4,300 inside, all within 16 minutes. In its first five years of operation in the 1920s, more than 20 million Chicagoans went through its portals into a fantastical world apart, one that Rapp and Rapp had wanted to resemble such creations as the Palace of Versailles.
There were floating “clouds,” tiny twinkling lights in the ceiling and even a perfuming system under the seats.
It was a far cry from Al Capone’s Chicago.
Had the Uptown Theatre been in the Loop, it likely would have been restored long ago, alongside the busy, historic theaters now owned or operated by Broadway in Chicago and Madison Square Garden Entertainment. But the Uptown’s massive size — too big for many concerts and most Broadway musicals — and its location in a neighborhood with significant economic challenges presented the dilemma of how to attract suburban and tourist audiences to an address that’s about 8 miles from the corner of State and Madison streets. Especially given the relative lack of parking and the large number of competing venues in the city.
By 2002, the alarmed Friends of the Uptown group was calling reporters with stories of falling plaster and pooling rainwater. Some in the group suspected that the endangered theater was being intentionally allowed to rot and soon would be condemned for good (or, their minds, bad). Others were pushing for the city to acquire the building through eminent domain. By the summer of 2008, there had been a court-ordered foreclosure sale and competing bids, leading to Jam Productions taking control of the building through a spinoff company, UTA II, controlled by Mickelson and Granat.
Jam’s winning bid was widely seen at the time as a defensive move to counter the incursions into the city by such rivals as Live Nation and MSG Entertainment. But taking control and reopening were two very different things. The Uptown could not just be reopened to the public: At the time, Jam argued that no restoration would be possible without public money, which was not then forthcoming. And thus, although Jam invested in and stabilized the Uptown, and averted the building’s worst problems, the theater remained on the endangered lists.
Watch the video for Regina Spektor’s “Black and White.”
A few reporters, documentarians and artists found their way inside. In Chicago’s 2012 Cultural Plan, the Uptown Theatre got a hopeful mention. And in 2017, a music video was made by Regina Spektor inside the ghostly but atmospheric building, revealing to a new, younger generation what was hidden behind the barriers to entry.
But those who have fought for — and reported on — the theater have grown old while the Uptown has languished, its keepers fearing every severe storm.
So what changed? The construction boom in the city has certainly been a factor, as has the revival of urban entertainment venues and the urban economic momentum in general, often coming at the expense of the suburbs.
Farpoint is among the developers looking to capitalize on the nationwide urbanization trend. Its largest initiative is the proposed redevelopment of the 49-acre former Michael Reese Hospital site and other land south of McCormick Place into residential and commercial buildings. The project, called the Burnham Lakefront, was one of five Chicago sites that Amazon visited in March as the e-commerce giant scouted sites for its planned second headquarters.
This isn’t Farpoint’s first foray into cultural development: Goodman recently was involved with an unsuccessful attempt to build a new home for the Northlight Theatre in downtown Evanston. But that was potential new construction with vociferous local opposition. The Uptown is a fulfillment of a neighborhood’s dream.
“This is not unlike asking kids if they want another Christmas, or Chicagoans if they want another World Championship,” said Andy Pierce, the co-founder of the Friends of the Uptown, an organization with a 20-year history of campaigns and agitation, and now with results to show. “You just don’t meet anyone who doesn’t want the Uptown saved.”
Tribune reporter Ryan Ori contributed to this story.
Congress Theater getting $69.2M renovation, including $9.6M city subsidy (Fran Spielman, Sun-Times)
The Congress Theater, in the 2100 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, has been shuttered since 2013.
Owners of Logan Square’s shuttered but historic Congress Theater got the go-ahead Tuesday for a $69.2 million renovation that will restore live music to a nearly century-old building where Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis once played.
With help from a $9.6 million city subsidy, developer Michael Moyer hopes to host up to 125 live music shows-a-year at the renovated, 4,900-seat theater.
That would happen after his investment group completes a redevelopment plan at the venue, 2135 N. Milwaukee, that includes a 30-room boutique hotel, 16,000 square-feet of ground floor retail and restoration of 14 now-vacant apartments that will remain affordable after the renovation.
The project also includes a 100-unit residential building adjacent to the Congress Theater with at least 30 percent of the units earmarked for affordable housing.
The plan unanimously approved by the Community Development Commission calls for the long-awaited project to be financed, in part, by a $9.6 million subsidy generated by the surrounding Fullerton-Milwaukee tax-increment-financing (TIF) district. Another $800,000 TIF subsidy will be earmarked for the residential building.
The Congress was built in 1926 — in the Classical Revival and Italian Renaissance style — and originally operated as an ornate movie theater.
Moyer served as managing member of PalMet Venture LLC, which was established to redevelop the $120 million historic mixed-use block adjacent to City Hall that included the renovation of the Cadillac Palace theater and the Hotel Allegro.
Tuesday’s vote marked a major turnaround for the Logan Square theater where Berry and Lewis once strutted their stuff.
Built during the 1920’s, the Congress was designated in 2002 as a Chicago landmark and more recently earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
In April 2013, the city threw the book at the Congress Theater after the latest in a string of failed inspections.
The city’s lengthy motion detailed 26 violations at the theater, including a faulty electrical system, bare electrical cable wires strewn throughout the basement and defective lights.
“Based on the dangerous and hazardous nature of the building code violations, it is clear that the Congress Theater is a public nuisance and the continued operation of the business poses a continued harm to the occupants and the public,” the city’s motion said.
The theater’s ventilation system and a fire curtain tailor-made to prevent a fire from spreading were City Hall’s biggest concerns, but subsequently passed a city inspection.
That prompted a court order reducing occupancy on the theater’s first floor from 4,500 to 3000, and requiring then-owner Eddie Carranza to staff each event with two fire guards to help with overcrowding and guide concertgoers in case of a fire.
Concertgoers were further ordered to remain on the first floor of the theater because the second floor remained closed while staff worked to fix a backup generator.
The theater also agreed to have two fire guards and one stage fire guard at all shows to ensure safety and to guide concertgoers in case of an emergency, according to the order.
Five weeks later, the embattled Congress Theater was stripped of its liquor and business licenses.
It happened after a city hearing officer found the theater violated city codes “because within 12 consecutive months 5 separate incidents occurred on the licensed premises while the establishment was open for business involving acts that violated a state law regulating narcotics or controlled substances.”
In four disciplinary hearings, the city detailed alleged drug-related incidents and other alleged violations at the popular music venue in Logan Square.
They included allegations that staffers failed to call 911 to report a large fight during a Chief Keef rap concert in April 2012 and didn’t cooperate with police when seven underage concertgoers were let into a concert.
Carranza promised to appeal, but told the Chicago Sun-Times in a text message, “I don’t have the resources and money the city has to keep going on with court hearings.”
“We built a very strong music brand and revived a forgotten theater building. There will be plenty of buyers and operators interested in [taking] over our business,” Carranza wrote.
Carranza suggested then that he was being forced to sell. “The liquor commissioner sent a clear message he has some personal issue with me operating my theater,” he wrote.
The theater closed later that year and has been shuttered ever since.
(AP) Owners say the future of a central South Dakota movie theater is uncertain after lightning struck the facility.
A digital projector, server and some computer components were damaged last month at the Lyric Theatre in Faulkton.
Owner Dave Huss says he found an electrical surge through the theater equipment in April. He says a technician determined the damage to be the result of a lightning strike sending current through ground wires into the back end of the system.
The community movie theater reopening depends on the outcome of a $45,000 insurance claim.
Huss says the theater is a small operation. He says he’d be forced to close the theater if the damage isn’t covered by insurance. Huss' parents built the Lyric Theatre in 1950.
The RIDGE CINEMA in New Berlin is among 21 Marcus locations that will feature DreamLounger reclining leather seats in all their non-IMAX auditoriums. The seats offer more width than a standard seat and can automatically adjust to fully recline.
Ridge Cinema will also be renovated by May to feature two SuperScreen DLX auditoriums with an oversized screen, optionally heated DreamLounger seating and Dolby Atmos sound. Ridge joins 14 other locations that will feature one or more new PLF (premium large format) auditoriums. “Customer response to these amenities has been outstanding, leading many moviegoers to purchase their tickets well in advance,’” said Rolando Rodriguez, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Marcus Theatres. “They are eager to reserve their seats in our theaters that offer premier screens, seating, and terrific food and beverage.” The project has been underway for the past year and will be finished in upcoming months.
The Barrymore Theatre is in the middle of a capital-raising campaign to finance a makeover of its interior this summer.
The venue launched the public charity campaign last month to help pay for the renovations, which will encompass new flooring, a fresh coat of paint and new chairs in the 87-year-old theatre. The goal of the “Chair-ity Appeal” is to raise $200,000. Last week, house co-manager Ginny Jenkins said the public campaign had raised $10,000, enough to cover the replacement of about 50 chairs. Both Jenkins and the Barrymore’s other house manager Zach Richmond said the decision to renovate comes after years of hearing extensive community feedback particularly about the state of its 755 turquoise chairs, which are over 50 years old. “Some of the padding is definitely faded,” said Richmond. “Some of the integrity of the chairs, we’re constantly maintaining and fixing them.” Jenkins added “There’s been so much beer and who knows what else spilled on them.“ Jeff Kunkle, a bassist with a local bluegrass band, has performed in the theater for years as part of an annual United Way fundraiser. He said that the building is a gorgeous one. “You walk in, and it’s such a unique place … but it is feeling a little threadbare in places. It could use a facelift,” said Jeff Kunkle. The renovations are to some extent a move to stay competitive as a performance space, said Allen Arntsen, a board member of the Atwood Barrymore Corporation, the nonprofit that owns the theater. “People have (other) places where they’re going to put their shows,” Arntsen said. “We try to operate on a shoestring, but you’ve got to provide a good experience for your event-goers.” General manager Steve Sperling said “There’s a very strong feeling on the board about keeping the theater local and locally owned. We’re trying to do things that will further that.” The Barrymore is a beloved neighborhood institution that has served as an anchor of community development, those involved in the campaign say.
“Talking to people who have lived in the area for a long time, this theater … it’s seen as a big turning point in the neighborhood,” said Richmond. The Barrymore will close down for a few months during the summer during the renovations. Summer performances are scheduled at the Barrymore through June 8. A show by Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues on Aug. 30 will be the grand reopening of the Barrymore, said Richmond.
The Milwaukee Symphony acquired the GRAND WARNER 13-story building in December to convert it into its new rehearsal and performance space and planning to finance the project in part with $17 million in federal and state tax credits, says a recent Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. report. MSO has also secured $21 million in private contributions with $48.7 million in private contributions pending. So far, $93.5 million has been raised for the $120 million restoration campaign for the project and for an endowment for the symphony. Plans also call for expansion to the north to provide space for dressing rooms, loading docks and other uses. For this, the MSO plans to buy part of 215 W. Wells St. and 735 N. 2nd St. from MVP Milwaukee Wells, LLC, a Nevada-based parking lot operator. That sale has been approved by the Redevelopment Authority and will be considered by the Common Council in May. The grand reopening of the GRAND WARNER (to be called the Milwaukee Symphony Center) is expected for the fall of 2020.
The ORIENTAL Theatre will close for about three weeks this summer as part of a $10 million re-do between July 1 and July 23, reopening for private screenings on July 23 and to the public in August.
In June of 2017, Milwaukee Film, organizers of the city’s annual film festival, signed a 31-year lease to operate and revitalize the theatre, currently operated by Los Angeles-based Landmark Theatres. IFM Farwell LLC is the fully-owned subsidiary of Milwaukee Film that will run the theater and will assume operations on July 1. Dave Cowen is director of cinema and technology for Milwaukee Film.
During phase one of the project, a women’s bathroom suite will be added to the first floor to provide more amenities than the single unisex bathroom currently offered on the first floor. Cowen said many women prefer to use the second floor bathroom, but with the addition “No one will have to travel upstairs.”
Digital projection equipment will be installed in all three auditoriums, but film projection will remain in the main auditorium.
There’ll be new popcorn makers, and Cowen said Milwaukee Film is working with local breweries to eventually serve a selection of craft beer at the ORIENTAL.
A full rehab of the main auditorium will likely start in 2019, funded by Milwaukee Film’s fundraising efforts and a capital campaign.
The popular Kimball theatre organ played its final show in the iconic Milwaukee movie palace last weekend. The Kimball Theatre Organ Society owned and maintained the organ since 1979 and moved it into the Oriental in 1991, but last year the KTOS unanimously decided it would transfer ownership of the Kimball organ into new hands. Months later a new owner took over and in July 2017, the KTOS has been removing the Kimball organ from the Oriental Theatre for safe storage while the new, unnamed owner determines its next destination. Simon Gledhill is a UK-based representative for the new owner and was a KTOS member himself and a semi-professional organist who performed three times over the years on the Oriental’s Kimball organ.
The Kimball was first installed in the former Warner Grand Theatre for the venue’s opening in 1931. In 1973, when the Warner was twinned, the Kimball was donated to the Milwaukee Trade & Technical High School (now Bradley Tech) Auditorium but was too large for the space, so KTOS was formed to protect and restore the instrument. After its installation within the Oriental, it almost doubled in size with vintage Kimball parts in a sensitive manner to which the manufacturer would not have objected.
Sources say the new owner is searching for a new organ to take the Kimball’s place. When the Oriental first opened in 1927, it used a Barton organ, which was removed in 1959. (Milwaukee theatres once had more Barton organs than any other make.)
(Racine Journal News, May 1, 1928) Majestic Theater Opens at 2:00 P. M. Tomorrow – J Ernst Klinkert, Owner, Praised for Supplying Needed Playhouse. Frank E. Wolcott, Lessee, is Managing Director, and B. Wade Denham the Building Engineer success much as he did the old the- views of the interior, the artist de ater which filled, for many years, picting truthfully the grandeur of the amusement need for that thriving section of the city.
When the doors of the new Majestic in “Uptown—the Heart of Racine” swing open tomorrow afternoon there will he revealed one of the most beautiful of sights. Artists and artisans have for weeks worked on this most gorgeous place of amusement, bruin ideas and effects which were woven into t: Most complete will be the realization of Ernst Klinkert, owner, a man to elevate the tone of moving pictures in ti us has invested a large amount of rn *nev ii v project, one which will stand as a memorial to his spiriting enterprise, but he can sit back and view with just pride his most worthy accomplishment.
Active in the life of “Uptown—the Heart of Racine,” and directly connected with the history of the old Majestic theater, is Frank K. Wolcott, veteran amusement house man of this city and section of the state. No man is better fitted to continue in the conduct of “Uptown’s” theater than is Mr. Wolcott. For many years he has had his finger on the public’s requisite for a theater. They endeavor to show their appreciation tomorrow by attending the opening performance and in various other ways as shown in this special edition. As as the tenths and years pass in procession they will continue in that role and consider the interest of builder and lessee of the new theater as their personal interest, ever ready to do their share in the still greater development of “Uptown-the Heart of Racine".
Unqualified charm of design embellished by exquisite decorative treatment which accentuates its architectural features, elevates the new Majestic from the ordinary theaters. Done in pure Gothic style with daring employment of detail, the creation might well be epitomized in the words of William Jenning Bryan when he characterized a “frozen music the beauties encountered on a tour of the fine old European examples of this enchanting type of construction.“ The treatment of the entrance is unusually fine. Three columns carrying Gothic arches give access to the permanent open vestibule. There is a deep ceiling in gold and bronze, curved down in an interesting way to rest upon a beading of grotesque Gothic heads. The 82 foot long lobby is in English Gothic overspread with a delicately hued blue ceiling into which a series of arches have been groined.
(May 1, 1928) – ART WORK – The three mural windows at the head of the grand stairs in the new Majestic, which depict comedy, tragedy and music, were furnished by the Industrial Art Service. The 150 tons of cast stone used in the exterior construction of the Majestic, aa well as in the finish of the lobby are of what is known as “Granitex" trim. This product was supplied by the Chrlstoffel Art Stone company of Milwaukee. The texture used is white with black. It is composed of white medusa cement with pulverized marble granite aggregate which gives it life and strength. A weather proofing of about two per cent is also used to prevent water absorption. The material is used for all exterior work. Including entrances window and door sills, coping; the roof, general ornamental trim, brackets, urns and lamps. The firm operates one of the largest stone factories in the state and is in a position to give service because of the fact that it has all moulds on hand thereby saving time ordinarily consumed in making.
The Majestic theater, the one which did service for many years at “Uptown—the Heart of Racine,” led the way for the new playhouse which now adorns the same site. It grew into popularity with the years, surrounded by the most prosperous business institutions of which Racine can boast. The new Majestic, its successor, starts out under far more encouraging conditions than did its predecessor, however. This wonderful theater will follow the policy laid down by Manager Frank Walcott when he took charge of the old playhouse. The same type of entertainment which made the old house popular will not be discarded but adhere to it even more closely.
LARGE ORGAN BIG FEATURE – Expert Voicers Produced Instrument Heard in Majestic – Of the equipment provided in the new Majestic for the entertainment of the theater going public, the Marr and Colton organ is an outstanding feature. It is a 10-stop, three-manual organ and possesses all of the equipment necessary for theatrical musical reproduction. Its installation was personally supervised by Mr. Colton, a member of the firm who was greatly interested in the opportunity given his firm by the theater management to demonstrate its organ whenever it wished to do so. The Marr and Colton organ is built at Wausau, and is the product of a company organized by two expert organ voicers who were dissatisfied with the restrictions placed upon them by the company for which they formerly employed their skill. In order to voice an organ as they wished to, they founded the firm which bears their names and when they launched their first product, have become rationally known. Their organs ore among the finest manufactured in America and have special tonal qualities peculiar to the artists who conceived and built them. Matching in with the general scheme of things in the new Majestic theater is the comfortable and conveniently arranged furniture which is to be found in the foyers, lobby men’s smoker and women’s rest room. All of this, together with that in the theater offices was furnished by the Junction Furniture company. Mr. Wolcott, the manager of the playhouse, relied very much upon the judgment of the company’s personnel in making selections for the furnishing of the theater. The furniture is all in good taste and adds muoh to the comforts provided for the patrons.
TICKET BOOTH – An exquisite bit of craftsmanship is portrayed by the mahogany and marble ticket booth which commands the entrance to the Majestic, a gem of creative workmanship. possessing a quiet elegance. (Racine Journal)
(Motion Picture World, 1915): H. C. Luedtke, former owner of the Star theater, Waukegan, Ill., purchased the Columbia theater in Kenosha, Wis. about a month ago from Charles Staehle. The Columbia seats 550 people and charges 5 and 10 cents admission for programs of four and six reels of Mutual service. Mr. Luedtke stated that he is running “The Diamond from the Sky” to very good business. “The Christian” was shown recently for 10 cents to capacity houses. Mr. Luedtke is figuring on installing a balcony soon.
A labor dispute closed the KENOSHA Theatre from March 25 to April 15, 1932, when differences were settled at a day and night conference in Milwaukee. The employees agreed to another cut of 43%.
Duke Ellington and his orchestra played the KENOSHA on May 8, 1941.
At the intersection of Lawrence, Racine and Broadway in Uptown, the massive, once-grand Uptown Theatre, a shuttered movie palace that has awaited restoration for nearly 40 years, is slowly deteriorating. Its reopening—an expensive proposition that would require public and private funds—is key to the neighborhood’s vitality and could make it a premier destination for live entertainment.
Mayor Rahm Emanuel agreed. Shortly after his first election victory, in 2011, Emanuel spoke publicly, on WXRT and elsewhere, of wanting to create an Uptown music district anchored by the Riviera Theatre, the Aragon Ballroom, the Green Mill lounge and the Uptown. His Chicago Infrastructure Trust, a nonprofit he founded to create public-private infrastructure projects for the city, made the Uptown one of its priority projects.
And that’s the last anyone heard about it. Until now.
Documents recently obtained by Crain’s show that in 2015, a deal to make the theater a multipurpose entertainment complex was brokered by CIT but eventually fell apart.
According to internal CIT documents, the organization arranged a purchasing agreement in January 2015 to buy the Uptown from owner Jam Productions for $5.6 million and turn the theater into a nonprofit, making it easier to secure city, state and federal funding. The $120 million restoration would uphold its historic elements but transform it into a multipurpose entertainment complex offering concerts, movies, dining and more. With tenants identified and a financing model in place, it was the closest the Uptown, once one of the largest movie palaces in the world, had ever come to a genuine resurrection.
The deal’s closing, however, was dependent on CIT board approval and financing. That became impossible when that summer, Emanuel replaced the entire CIT staff and the plan was sacked. “I went through a state of depression. I was very disappointed,” says Ald. James Cappleman, 46th, who has advocated for the Uptown’s reopening since taking office in 2011.
Preservationists say that because of its decrepitude, something needs to happen fast to save the theater from permanent ruin. “If this isn’t resolved soon, this building will continue to deteriorate,” says Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago.
A reopened Uptown would, at 4,500 seats, have the largest theater capacity north of downtown (the Auditorium in the Loop has nearly 4,000). Mark Kelly, commissioner of the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, shares Emanuel’s vision that the Uptown would solidify the intersection of Lawrence, Racine and Broadway as a destination for live entertainment. “What would be most desirable is we get a mix of these awesome performance venues at a very high level to accommodate a lot of people,” Kelly says. “Then it’s a real entertainment district.”
So far, Cappleman has been heading an effort to beautify the area with the expectation that if you build it, they will come. A $6 million streetscape project kicked off in August with new sidewalks, lighting, crosswalks and a pedestrian plaza in front of the Riviera, all set for completion next summer. The second phase of the street renovations has started along Broadway; a $203 million renovation of the Wilson el station is complete.
In 2019 the city will start a five-year project to rebuild the nearby Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr Red Line stations and adjacent support structures so they’ll feature what riders now see at Wilson—wider platforms, better lighting—plus a new track and new bridges and viaducts. Next to the Lawrence stop, steps from the Uptown, the city is studying the potential for an upscale hotel, says Deputy Planning Commissioner Eleanor Gorski.
Cappleman considers the Uptown’s comeback his personal passion. “We’re doing this, not just for the Uptown community, but for the nation. It is going to attract people from all over the world,” he says. Cappleman says he has been working with Emanuel and Uptown Theatre co-owner Jerry Mickelson for years to create a viable path to get the doors open, which includes pushing for a business plan to court investors. A mix of private and public money is the only way it will happen, Cappleman says. “It’s going to be expensive, but it is doable.”
A COMEBACK LIKE KINGS?
The 92-year-old theater’s saga involves multiple owners, court battles, malfeasance, political infighting and more. Designed by Rapp & Rapp, its size and many flourishes—a grand staircase and lobby, 140-foot ceiling, 70-foot-wide stage, lounges, vestibules, balconies and even a nursery—made it thrilling. The theater transported people from their everyday lives through movies, a live orchestra, vaudeville shows and, tailored for sizzling Chicago summers, air conditioning.
The costs of maintaining such grandeur, however, were a burden. “We soon found out that was a really expensive idea to maintain,” says Preservation Chicago’s Miller.
The neglect dates to the 1970s, when the Uptown was used primarily for closed-circuit boxing matches and rock concerts by acts including the Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen. Accelerating its demise was co-owner Lou Wolf, a notorious Chicago slumlord and felon who purchased the theater in 1980 and shuttered it the following year. Unoccupied and uncared for for more than three decades, the building suffered water damage after the heat was turned off. In 1982, 6 inches of ice covered the grand stairway and 4 feet of water rose in the basement. Broken windows, animal infestation, vandalism and plaster-killing summer humidity followed, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid property taxes.
But despite its unlucky history, reviving the Uptown is possible. The Kings Theatre in New York offers up a model.
The Kings was another architectural fever dream of Rapp & Rapp. Opening in 1929, it entertained Brooklynites along Flatbush Avenue for decades until it, too, fell into decline, closing its doors in 1977. In late 2011, Neil Heyman found 3-foot piles of fallen plaster; water leeched into the walls; mold; ornamental pieces and bronze handrails plundered by vandals; rusted steel support elements; and a large section of the roof blown away courtesy of Superstorm Sandy. “When people put eyes on it, they all said, ‘This is an incomprehensible task to overcome,’ ” says Heyman, vice president of Gilbane Building in New York, which provided construction management services.
But what made the Kings' rebirth feasible was political will. In 2008, the New York City Economic Development Corp. and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz requested proposals for the site, and in 2010 the city selected Houston-based theater developer Ace Theatrical Group to take charge of the restoration and then operate it under a 55-year lease. The $95 million needed to get the job done came from the state, city and private stakeholders.
Accounting for $50 million of the total, the city of New York was the largest investor in the Kings because it saw the theater as the linchpin to rebuild Brooklyn. “It took the city years to get the right developer with the right vision and the right economic program in place to make this all work, but it did,” Heyman says. The Kings opened in 2015. It is now the third-largest theater in the New York City area and hosts 200 to 250 live performances a year. The Kings helped revive Flatbush as a destination with major retailers like Nike and Gap opening outlets nearby and, as the New York Times has reported, a seven-story, 69-room boutique hotel set to open soon.
SHOW UPTOWN THE MONEY. OR NOT.
But Chicago is not New York. For one, state funding is zero. The Illinois Legislature passed a bill in 2015 allocating a $10 million grant for the Uptown restoration, but that money went away under Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Second, the Uptown is under private ownership, unlike the Kings, which New York City purchased in 1983 after it became a tax-delinquent property. The city of Chicago had the same opportunity with the Uptown at that time. It did allocate more than $1.4 million in tax-increment financing to stabilize the building in 2008, which included removing, tagging and storing the building’s terra cotta for its protection.
Which brings us to Mickelson and Chicago-based Jam Productions, one of the nation’s largest concert promoters. Through UTA II, a separate company, Mickelson and partner Arny Granat purchased the Uptown in 2008 for $3.2 million at a court-ordered foreclosure sale. (Neither Mickelson nor Granat would comment for this story.) Two years later, the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, released a report saying the Uptown would be the “crown jewel” to a potential entertainment district.
Behind closed doors, CIT vigorously pursued Emanuel’s wish to bring back the Uptown. According to internal documents, a two-year planning process involved more than $1 million in pro bono work from dozens of leading architecture, real estate and legal firms. The result was an ambitious plan that called for a major film chain as a tenant that would present world premieres, Imax films and specialty programming for children in what the documents describe as “the world’s largest movie theater.” Jam was chosen to exclusively book concerts, and an unspecified restaurant group was to offer premium food service. The plan also called for simulcasts of sporting events from around the world on the big screen. Documents show CIT’s historic restoration part of the plan earned preliminary support from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the Chicago Landmarks Commission and the National Park Service.
The documents also show CIT sold the project as a public-private partnership that would drive traffic to Uptown and create more than 600 jobs. Buying the property from Jam and turning it into a nonprofit would make it a public works project and eligible for public money, namely a $10 million state grant and $20 million in TIF funds. CIT estimated that, after operating expenses, the Uptown would generate $4.1 million for the city in its first year.
To get the ball rolling, CIT asked for an immediate $500,000 upfront and then $3 million to secure tenant leases and produce schematic drawings. The organization had secured interest from Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal Cinemas, Austin, Texas-based Alamo Draft House and other chains. Documents called for leases to go out the third quarter of 2015 and to be signed by late that year. Construction was set to start in 2017. Using the Kings as a model, the plan started to look feasible. Cappleman says he was ready to make an announcement in August 2014. “I was very, very excited about it. It was a dream come true,” he says.
But unlike in Brooklyn, the plan died on arrival. Emanuel asked CIT CEO Stephen Beitler to resign in July 2015, along with the staff who worked on the project. They were replaced with a staff headed by Leslie Darling, a city lawyer. Under Darling, CIT changed its mission. Darling said its new goal was to reduce reliance on city funding and replace it with state, federal and philanthropic grants, which deviated from Emanuel’s original plan to have corporate investments fuel projects.
The mayor was unwilling to free up money for the Uptown out of fear it would come back to haunt him if the plan failed, according to a source familiar with the project who asked to remain anonymous. Emanuel had already taken heat for using TIF money to acquire land for a hotel and a DePaul University basketball arena in the South Loop amid criticism the public money was not being used for schools and neighborhoods. Walking away from the plan “was political risk aversion,” says the source.
Emanuel spokesman Grant Klinzman says the proposal “didn’t work or even fit into CIT’s mission” because the trust’s vision “has always been to work on public infrastructure. The development of a private property was not contemplated as part of CIT’s mission. This was an exploratory project that ultimately did not pan out for the CIT.”
A source at City Hall who does not want to be named says the project failed because CIT didn’t name a tenant. “The key financing element was finding a major movie exhibitor who would sign a lease, and then you could finance against that lease. But it turned out (CIT) couldn’t find a movie exhibitor who was willing.”
But another person familiar with the CIT project disputes that account. “The notion that this wasn’t in line with the vision and mission of the trust is false on its merits. The whole point of the (CIT) was to pursue transformative infrastructure projects using public and private partnerships.” He adds that long-term leases were not yet signed because they were dependent on the mayor’s approval of the plan.
Cappleman concedes that the amount of public money required “was a big, tough ask. I couldn’t argue that was not the case. Given our budget crisis, it would ask a lot of my colleagues to support me while there are a lot of demanding issues in their wards,” he says.
WILL THE CURTAIN EVER RISE?
Klinzman says opening the Uptown “is still a priority for the city.” Mickelson is pursuing other development partners, says Gorski, the city’s deputy planning commissioner. Gorski says the city has not required Mickelson to submit a timetable, but she says “he is in very close discussions” with a partner. Cappleman says Mickelson turned in a business plan in April 2016. It, too, will depend on TIF funding, but it won’t be as high as the $20 million requested in the CIT plan. “This one is scaled back quite a bit in terms of scope,” Cappleman says. It awaits approval by the city finance committee.
In the meantime, there are hazards in keeping the building intact, though in 2016 the Uptown Square District, which includes the theater, was given landmark status, ensuring that none of the buildings within it can be demolished. The CIT documents describe the Uptown as “a blight and safety hazard” and says that as of 2015, Mickelson owed more than “$3 million in liens to the city and has no viable plan."
In 2014, six years after UTA II purchased the Uptown, the company turned off the building’s heat in the thick of winter, which caused a 30-foot-tall, 3-foot-wide icicle to grow in the basement, according to the Chicago Tribune. Mickelson told the Tribune the water was turned off except in one bathroom on the main floor. He disputed the size of the icicle, which he said was only 5 inches. His attorney, current Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, 11th, says UTA II shut off the heat because it was in the midst of converting the system from oil to natural gas.
Next year will be the 10th that the Uptown has been in new hands and the 37th it has remained dark.
Cappleman acknowledges that "there have been a lot of false promises given to the public” over the years. But he says that one day the mighty Uptown Theatre will rise. “It is not a guarantee. It’s going to take a lot of hard work, but we’re going to make it happen.”
(Elgin Daily Herald, 1998) – CROCKER DEVELOPER HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS By Brad Hahn Daily Herald Staff Writer
Five months after unveiling his plan to transform Elgin’s Crocker Theater into a thriving downtown mecca, a Chicago-area developer is having second thoughts. Jeff Maher said he’s frustrated by the lack of progress in turning the abandoned landmark into a discount movie house. A tentative agreement to purchase the Crocker expires today, and the developer said he’s unsure if he’ll continue pursuing the building. “I don’t know if I’ll accept or not,” said Maher of an opportunity to extend the agreement. “I don’t know if anyone wants to play ball.“ Specifically, Maher is looking for a response to a preliminary plan he submitted to the Elgin Chamber of Commerce months ago. In that proposal, the developer said it would cost between $2 million and $2.4 million to rehabilitate the gutted auditorium. But to be successful, Maher said, he needed the city’s help. Exactly how much Elgin would have to pitch in was not specified. That detail was left out on purpose, said the developer, who made a success of a similar project in Kenosha, Wis. “Nothing was engraved in stone for price,” he said. “I wanted to see what they’re willing to do and go from there.” But the omission has caused the project to stall, said Jim McConoughey, vice president for economic development at the chamber. After a series of meetings with Maher, McConoughey reviewed the preliminary report and asked for more specifics. Serving as a conduit between developers and the government, McConoughey said he wants to make sure any plan submitted is complete and practical. “A project scope has to come from the developer with details of what his project would be and what the city’s role would be,” McConoughey said. Underlying the discussion is Maher’s tentative pledge to buy the Crocker from current owner Dominic Buttita for $800,000. Some officials at city hall believe the price is too high, given Buttita paid about half that amount for the building two years ago. They’re wary of taxpayer money being used for the owner to make a profit. But Buttita said improvements to the building — including a new roof — bring his investment to more than $1 million. “I think they think I’m making money on this deal and I’m not — I’m going to be losing money,” he said. If Maher can work out financing, a discount movie theater is in line with the city’s plan for downtown, McConoughey said. The question now — as it was months ago — is whether the city and developer can reach a consensus. “I think it would be something people would go to,” McConoughey said. “It would bring folks downtown that historically have not gone downtown.”
RAZE ORDER LIKELY FOR ORPHEUM By Dave Backmann, Staff Writer
Fed up with an eyesore and magnet for vandalism, city officials have started the process to raze the 70-year-old Orpheum Theater in downtown Kenosha. A city ordinance states that a raze order can be issued if the cost of bringing a structure into compliance with municipal building codes exceeds 50 percent of the equalized value of the property. James M. Schultz, director of the city Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development, estimated necessary repairs to the Orpheum at “well over” $100,000. The Kenosha County Assessor’s office lists the 1991 value of the property at $57,000. “Issue of orders to raze are pending,” Schultz said. “The owner is aware of the possibility it could be razed. That building has been a sore spot for the downtown for many years now. Downtown retailers and property owners have registered many complaints with my office. The matter of razing it is being reviewed by the city attorney’s office at this time. I imagine it’s something we’re going to proceed on in the very near future.” Schultz said his office brought a recommendation for demolition to the city attorney after inspectors determined within the last year that the building needs substantial repairs to meet code requirements. City Attorney James Conway said, “I believe it’s (a raze order) going to go forward.” Schultz said he has met with building owner Bernard W. Chulew, Milwaukee, several times. Chulew took action to keep vandals from entering, but has not proposed steps to rehabilitate the building, Schultz said. “We’d rather see the building rehabilitated and rescued, but no proposals are pending,” Schultz said.
Chulew said he will fight a raze order. “I think I’m being singled out,” he said. “There are a lot of buildings downtown in worse shape than mine. My building is not falling down.” Chulew said he pays $800 monthly for a mortgage and real estate taxes on the building. An empty space created by the demolition will lead to more crime problems than a standing, vacant building, he said. The four-story, 16,184-square-foot building has been totally vacant for approximately two years. Chulew bought the property at 5819-5831 Sixth Ave. from the original owner, 20th Century Fox Studios, about 16 years ago. In September 1990, the city hired a contractor to remove the exterior overhead marquee to make the building a less inviting target for vandalism.
Schultz said the building has no future. “There is no market for a theater. “If you divided it up for offices, you would need major structural improvements. It is not structurally unsound. But the exterior needs quite a bit of work to be used again, like painting and tuck-pointing and you’d have to modify the entrance. There are quite a few problems with the mechanical systems, too.” Schultz said he hasn’t determined the cost of razing and cleanup. Chulew could ask a judge for a temporary injunction to block the demolition, said Assistant City Attorney Ed Antaramian. A judge’s options include ordering repairs to bring the building into compliance with city codes or allowing the demolition to proceed. The owner has the option to pay outright for the demolition. lf the city has to hire a demolition contractor, the cost would be added to the owner’s property taxes. Since October when the city began a systematic inspection of building exteriors downtown, 62 properties have been checked and code compliance orders have been written on all 62. “Mostly orders have been written for minor things like peeling paint on doors and windows,” said James M. Schultz, director of the city Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development. “People by and large are cooperating with the inspector’s orders to bring the buildings up to code.” While the exterior maintenance code for commercial properties has been part of city ordinances for years, the Lakeshore Business Improvement District last year complained of lax enforcement, resulting in blighted conditions. At a BID meeting in October, 50 businessmen/property owners from the district welcomed the hiring of another city inspector to concentrate on the downtown. Mike Lorberter said this week he has inspected 62 of the approximately 200 properties in the district. Lorberter has worked by first issuing complimentary cleanup orders which give a property owner 30 days to respond to him on how code violations will be corrected. If a property owner doesn’t respond during that period, a formal order is issued which states violations must be corrected in 30 days or a meeting arranged with Lorberter on how to correct the problems. “A formal order is to get your attention,” he said. “It usually works.” Schultz said a recommended order to raze the Orpheum Theater building is not related directly to Lorberter’s work, but is part of an overall attempt by the city to upgrade the appearance of the district. He said the Orpheum has been an eyesore and target of vandals for years.
In movies 52 years, Ernst Nicolazzo pictures career as projectionist
It was almost exactly 52 years ago when Ernst Nicolazzo walked into the Majestic Theater on Main St. in downtown Kenosha to repair 10 fans which didn’t work. The theater manager, surprised at Nicolazzo’s mechanical ability, asked him if he knew how to run a projection machine. Nick said he did. That affirmative answer started Italian-born Nick on a lifelong career. With but two major interruptions, he’s been a movie grinder ever since. Ernst Nicolazzo is the only surviving charter member of Local 361 of the projection operators' union. The union’s name is longer than most three movies put together — International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada. Whew!
After being in on the formation of the local in 1913, Nick helped charter it in 1914. Recently, he was guest of honor at a dinner honoring his 50 years in the local. Nick wears a ring given to him for his 50 years of service. Nicolazzo worked at the Majestic Theater in Kenosha until 1918 when he enlisted in the Army. After a year’s duty, he returned here to work as a projectionist in the Butterfly Theater until 1923, then back to the Majestic for five more years. For 27 years, from 1923 until 1955, Nick worked at the Kenosha Theater. Then a bout with tuberculosis kept him away from theaters for 18 months. He came through this ordeal (“but did lose four ribs and a lung”, he said) and wanted to get back into the projection business. His physician recommended he not climb the 76 steps to the projection booth of the Kenosha Theater every day, so in August of 1957 Nicolazzo took a job as projectionist at the Mid City Outdoor Theater.
How long does he hope to continue in the projection business? As long as he’s able to do the job. he said. “Right now, I feel like I could go till I’m 100”, he said. “I can remember when movies cost a nickel,” Nick said. "Later the price went up to 18 cents, but a bag of popcorn was thrown in with the admission price,” he added. “People in the old days were more cost-conscious about admission prices than they are now,” Nick continued. "If the price went up, people were more likely not to come inside,” he said. Projection techniques are different today than years back, too, Nick said. "Before we had ‘talkies’, if the crowd was too big, we’d just grind the movie through a little faster. Now the movies feed through the projector at an even 90 feet per minute,” he added. Whereas breaks in film and splices were big problems for the projectionist years back, today he must worry more about electrical and sound difficulties.
There are fewer members in Local 361 today than there were back in 1914. The 25 members of 50 years ago has shrunk to about half that number today. “There used to be two projectionists for every theater, but now there’s only one,” Nick explained. Then too, such ‘homes’ for actors as the Rhode Opera House have long since disappeared.
Nicolazzo, who never married, lives with the Harvey Ewings at Paddock Lake. He drives into town twice a day, works five hours a day at his job at Mid City. One of these five hours each day is spent getting the film ready for showing. Nicolazzo likes children, and the way he treats them, it’s little wonder the opposite is true, too. He takes them to the show, buys them ice cream or other goodies, and invites them to spend weekends with him at Paddock Lake. His principal hobby is his garden. “I grow everything people say you can’t grow,” he said. Nick says his specialty is tomatoes, but he doesn’t do too bad with corn, either. “Back in 1962. my corn was 10 feet tall. I got lost in it,“ Nick said with a grin. Nick admits his interest in mechanics dates far back. He’s certainly expanded on that interest since he went to fix those fans 52 years ago.
Uptown Theatre will be restored: $75 million plan unveiled for grand palace on North Side. (Chris Jones, Contact Reporter, Chicago Tribune)
After 35 years of stuttering starts, empty promises, a court-ordered sale and oft-reckless neglect, the 4,381-seat, 46,000-square-foot Uptown Theatre — once the gilded crown jewel of the Balaban & Katz theater chain, and among the most opulent and gorgeous movie palaces ever built in America — is finally to be restored to its 1925 glory.
In other words, what long has seemed impossible to dogged, devoted preservationists, nostalgists and the tireless volunteer group known as the Friends of the Uptown is finally happening on Chicago’s North Side. And an eye-popping $75 million has been pieced together and set aside for the restoration of a dangerously decayed and decrepit theater that was boarded up after a J. Geils Band concert on Dec. 19, 1981, leaving aging Chicagoans only with their memories of once seeing Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Prince or the Grateful Dead inside its historic bones.
This is not just another plan for the 4816 N. Broadway flagship of the Uptown neighborhood, insists Mayor Rahm Emanuel. This time it’s for real. Assuming the plan passes the City Council and other regulatory hurdles, the restoration and redevelopment project is slated to begin this fall. Within two years, the boards should be off the windows, the venue open for business and a curious public careening once again down the grand lobby staircase.
“This is the fulfillment of a promise,” said Emanuel in an interview Thursday. “When I was still mayor-elect, I talked about creating an entertainment district in Uptown. Our investments in culture are one of our best drivers of economic growth and job creation in our neighborhoods.”
The new Uptown will be a joint and equal venture between the Chicago-based promoter Jam Productions (which gained ownership of the landmarked Uptown for $3.2 million in 2008) and Farpoint Development. A new partnership entity will be formed.
Relatively new to the Uptown party, Farpoint Development is led by Scott Goodman, who co-founded Sterling Bay and helped build that firm into one of Chicago’s biggest and best-known commercial real estate developers, with projects including McDonald’s headquarters’ move to the former site of Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Studios and Google’s Midwest headquarters in a former cold-storage warehouse. Goodman and three other longtime Sterling Bay executives left the company in 2016 to start Farpoint.
“The Uptown is an amazing asset in an amazing neighborhood,” Goodman said. “This was the rare opportunity to do something really cool.”
Goodman said the architect for the project has yet to be selected.
Jam’s specialty is concert promotion, but the plan is for the Uptown to feature a variety of live events.
“Concerts. Comedy. Dance. Special events. A whole multitude of things,” said Arny Granat, the co-founder and co-owner, with Jerry Mickelson, of Jam Productions. “This is a game changer for the city. It’s not just about concerts, it’s about the economic development that now will occur in the Uptown neighborhood”
Granat also said that, for some events, main-floor seats will be removed, allowing for an audience capacity as high as 5,800. Even with all-seated events, the Uptown’s size eclipses all other theaters in the city, including the 3,901-seat Auditorium Theatre and the 3,600-seat Chicago Theatre, both of which are about to experience some formidable new competition.
The mayor’s office said the piecemeal financing for the Uptown Theatre comes from an array of public and private sources: $14 million in financing through the State of Illinois’ Property Assessed Clean Energy Act; $13 million in tax-increment financing; $10 million in Build Illinois bond funding; $8.7 million in federal tax credits; and $3.7 million in the City of Chicago’s Adopt-a-Landmark funds. Jam and Farpoint are kicking in the remaining $26 million in a yet-to-be-determined mix of debt and equity. The restoration scheme also includes $6 million in streetscape improvements to portions of North Broadway, and Lawrence and Wilson avenues and Argyle Street, including a new pedestrian plaza and public stage, located just south of Lawrence and Broadway.
The byzantine road to restoration — and the campaigns to avoid the wrecking ball — have been as melodramatic as one of the movies the Uptown showcased in the 1920s.
Back in 2002, politicians and arts supporters, including Ivar Albert Goodman, held a news conference announcing an impending restoration. But the nonprofit group calling itself the Uptown Theatre and Center for the Arts did not have the money to acquire the building. And Goodman’s $1 million donation quickly was spent with nothing concrete to show. In a civil complaint, the Illinois attorney general’s office alleged the money had been spent on purchases at luxury hotels, restaurants and clothing stores.
“This theater,” said then-Ald. Mary Ann Smith, 48th, to the Tribune, “tends to attract people with stars in their eyes.”
Indeed it did. All kinds of people with all kinds of fantasies.
But as early as 2000, a report by the Urban Land Institute of Washington, D.C., had laid out the essential, irrefutable argument for the Uptown: “Future generations will not forgive those who do not attend to this obligation.”
For Chicago politicians, the Uptown has been a major quandary for decades. Restoration was jaw-droppingly expensive and thus beyond the reach of most private owners, especially since success in the highly competitive entertainment business was far from assured. But what mayor or alderman would want to be associated for life with the demolition of such a treasured and unique beauty?
Designed by the famed team of C.W. and Geo. L. Rapp (known as Rapp and Rapp) and touted on opening as containing “an acre of seats in a magic city” behind its Spanish Baroque facade, the huge six-story lobbies and extra-wide staircases of the Uptown could get 4,300 people out the doors, and another 4,300 inside, all within 16 minutes. In its first five years of operation in the 1920s, more than 20 million Chicagoans went through its portals into a fantastical world apart, one that Rapp and Rapp had wanted to resemble such creations as the Palace of Versailles.
There were floating “clouds,” tiny twinkling lights in the ceiling and even a perfuming system under the seats.
It was a far cry from Al Capone’s Chicago.
Had the Uptown Theatre been in the Loop, it likely would have been restored long ago, alongside the busy, historic theaters now owned or operated by Broadway in Chicago and Madison Square Garden Entertainment. But the Uptown’s massive size — too big for many concerts and most Broadway musicals — and its location in a neighborhood with significant economic challenges presented the dilemma of how to attract suburban and tourist audiences to an address that’s about 8 miles from the corner of State and Madison streets. Especially given the relative lack of parking and the large number of competing venues in the city.
By 2002, the alarmed Friends of the Uptown group was calling reporters with stories of falling plaster and pooling rainwater. Some in the group suspected that the endangered theater was being intentionally allowed to rot and soon would be condemned for good (or, their minds, bad). Others were pushing for the city to acquire the building through eminent domain. By the summer of 2008, there had been a court-ordered foreclosure sale and competing bids, leading to Jam Productions taking control of the building through a spinoff company, UTA II, controlled by Mickelson and Granat.
Jam’s winning bid was widely seen at the time as a defensive move to counter the incursions into the city by such rivals as Live Nation and MSG Entertainment. But taking control and reopening were two very different things. The Uptown could not just be reopened to the public: At the time, Jam argued that no restoration would be possible without public money, which was not then forthcoming. And thus, although Jam invested in and stabilized the Uptown, and averted the building’s worst problems, the theater remained on the endangered lists.
Watch the video for Regina Spektor’s “Black and White.” A few reporters, documentarians and artists found their way inside. In Chicago’s 2012 Cultural Plan, the Uptown Theatre got a hopeful mention. And in 2017, a music video was made by Regina Spektor inside the ghostly but atmospheric building, revealing to a new, younger generation what was hidden behind the barriers to entry.
But those who have fought for — and reported on — the theater have grown old while the Uptown has languished, its keepers fearing every severe storm.
So what changed? The construction boom in the city has certainly been a factor, as has the revival of urban entertainment venues and the urban economic momentum in general, often coming at the expense of the suburbs.
Farpoint is among the developers looking to capitalize on the nationwide urbanization trend. Its largest initiative is the proposed redevelopment of the 49-acre former Michael Reese Hospital site and other land south of McCormick Place into residential and commercial buildings. The project, called the Burnham Lakefront, was one of five Chicago sites that Amazon visited in March as the e-commerce giant scouted sites for its planned second headquarters.
This isn’t Farpoint’s first foray into cultural development: Goodman recently was involved with an unsuccessful attempt to build a new home for the Northlight Theatre in downtown Evanston. But that was potential new construction with vociferous local opposition. The Uptown is a fulfillment of a neighborhood’s dream.
“This is not unlike asking kids if they want another Christmas, or Chicagoans if they want another World Championship,” said Andy Pierce, the co-founder of the Friends of the Uptown, an organization with a 20-year history of campaigns and agitation, and now with results to show. “You just don’t meet anyone who doesn’t want the Uptown saved.”
Tribune reporter Ryan Ori contributed to this story.
Chris Jones is a Tribune critic.
Congress Theater getting $69.2M renovation, including $9.6M city subsidy (Fran Spielman, Sun-Times)
The Congress Theater, in the 2100 block of North Milwaukee Avenue, has been shuttered since 2013. Owners of Logan Square’s shuttered but historic Congress Theater got the go-ahead Tuesday for a $69.2 million renovation that will restore live music to a nearly century-old building where Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis once played.
With help from a $9.6 million city subsidy, developer Michael Moyer hopes to host up to 125 live music shows-a-year at the renovated, 4,900-seat theater.
That would happen after his investment group completes a redevelopment plan at the venue, 2135 N. Milwaukee, that includes a 30-room boutique hotel, 16,000 square-feet of ground floor retail and restoration of 14 now-vacant apartments that will remain affordable after the renovation.
The project also includes a 100-unit residential building adjacent to the Congress Theater with at least 30 percent of the units earmarked for affordable housing.
The plan unanimously approved by the Community Development Commission calls for the long-awaited project to be financed, in part, by a $9.6 million subsidy generated by the surrounding Fullerton-Milwaukee tax-increment-financing (TIF) district. Another $800,000 TIF subsidy will be earmarked for the residential building.
The Congress was built in 1926 — in the Classical Revival and Italian Renaissance style — and originally operated as an ornate movie theater.
Moyer served as managing member of PalMet Venture LLC, which was established to redevelop the $120 million historic mixed-use block adjacent to City Hall that included the renovation of the Cadillac Palace theater and the Hotel Allegro.
Tuesday’s vote marked a major turnaround for the Logan Square theater where Berry and Lewis once strutted their stuff.
Built during the 1920’s, the Congress was designated in 2002 as a Chicago landmark and more recently earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.
In April 2013, the city threw the book at the Congress Theater after the latest in a string of failed inspections.
The city’s lengthy motion detailed 26 violations at the theater, including a faulty electrical system, bare electrical cable wires strewn throughout the basement and defective lights.
“Based on the dangerous and hazardous nature of the building code violations, it is clear that the Congress Theater is a public nuisance and the continued operation of the business poses a continued harm to the occupants and the public,” the city’s motion said.
The theater’s ventilation system and a fire curtain tailor-made to prevent a fire from spreading were City Hall’s biggest concerns, but subsequently passed a city inspection.
That prompted a court order reducing occupancy on the theater’s first floor from 4,500 to 3000, and requiring then-owner Eddie Carranza to staff each event with two fire guards to help with overcrowding and guide concertgoers in case of a fire.
Concertgoers were further ordered to remain on the first floor of the theater because the second floor remained closed while staff worked to fix a backup generator.
The theater also agreed to have two fire guards and one stage fire guard at all shows to ensure safety and to guide concertgoers in case of an emergency, according to the order.
Five weeks later, the embattled Congress Theater was stripped of its liquor and business licenses.
It happened after a city hearing officer found the theater violated city codes “because within 12 consecutive months 5 separate incidents occurred on the licensed premises while the establishment was open for business involving acts that violated a state law regulating narcotics or controlled substances.”
In four disciplinary hearings, the city detailed alleged drug-related incidents and other alleged violations at the popular music venue in Logan Square.
They included allegations that staffers failed to call 911 to report a large fight during a Chief Keef rap concert in April 2012 and didn’t cooperate with police when seven underage concertgoers were let into a concert.
Carranza promised to appeal, but told the Chicago Sun-Times in a text message, “I don’t have the resources and money the city has to keep going on with court hearings.”
“We built a very strong music brand and revived a forgotten theater building. There will be plenty of buyers and operators interested in [taking] over our business,” Carranza wrote.
Carranza suggested then that he was being forced to sell. “The liquor commissioner sent a clear message he has some personal issue with me operating my theater,” he wrote.
The theater closed later that year and has been shuttered ever since.
The ALMA Theatre at 121 South Main Street has reopened as the 80-seat BIG RIVER Theatre with cinema and live performances. www.bigrivertheatre.com
(AP) Owners say the future of a central South Dakota movie theater is uncertain after lightning struck the facility.
A digital projector, server and some computer components were damaged last month at the Lyric Theatre in Faulkton.
Owner Dave Huss says he found an electrical surge through the theater equipment in April. He says a technician determined the damage to be the result of a lightning strike sending current through ground wires into the back end of the system.
The community movie theater reopening depends on the outcome of a $45,000 insurance claim.
Huss says the theater is a small operation. He says he’d be forced to close the theater if the damage isn’t covered by insurance. Huss' parents built the Lyric Theatre in 1950.
(Information from Aberdeen American)
This is not the STATE Theatre at left, it’s the RKO MAINSTREET Theatre.
At left is the RKO MAINSTREET Theatre.
Still there in 2018 as the Divino Gelato Café. The balcony is still intact; see photo.
The RIDGE CINEMA in New Berlin is among 21 Marcus locations that will feature DreamLounger reclining leather seats in all their non-IMAX auditoriums. The seats offer more width than a standard seat and can automatically adjust to fully recline. Ridge Cinema will also be renovated by May to feature two SuperScreen DLX auditoriums with an oversized screen, optionally heated DreamLounger seating and Dolby Atmos sound. Ridge joins 14 other locations that will feature one or more new PLF (premium large format) auditoriums. “Customer response to these amenities has been outstanding, leading many moviegoers to purchase their tickets well in advance,’” said Rolando Rodriguez, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Marcus Theatres. “They are eager to reserve their seats in our theaters that offer premier screens, seating, and terrific food and beverage.” The project has been underway for the past year and will be finished in upcoming months.
The BistroPlex at Southridge Mall in Greenfield includes two SuperScreen DLX theatres with heated leather recliners.
The Barrymore Theatre is in the middle of a capital-raising campaign to finance a makeover of its interior this summer. The venue launched the public charity campaign last month to help pay for the renovations, which will encompass new flooring, a fresh coat of paint and new chairs in the 87-year-old theatre. The goal of the “Chair-ity Appeal” is to raise $200,000. Last week, house co-manager Ginny Jenkins said the public campaign had raised $10,000, enough to cover the replacement of about 50 chairs. Both Jenkins and the Barrymore’s other house manager Zach Richmond said the decision to renovate comes after years of hearing extensive community feedback particularly about the state of its 755 turquoise chairs, which are over 50 years old. “Some of the padding is definitely faded,” said Richmond. “Some of the integrity of the chairs, we’re constantly maintaining and fixing them.” Jenkins added “There’s been so much beer and who knows what else spilled on them.“ Jeff Kunkle, a bassist with a local bluegrass band, has performed in the theater for years as part of an annual United Way fundraiser. He said that the building is a gorgeous one. “You walk in, and it’s such a unique place … but it is feeling a little threadbare in places. It could use a facelift,” said Jeff Kunkle. The renovations are to some extent a move to stay competitive as a performance space, said Allen Arntsen, a board member of the Atwood Barrymore Corporation, the nonprofit that owns the theater. “People have (other) places where they’re going to put their shows,” Arntsen said. “We try to operate on a shoestring, but you’ve got to provide a good experience for your event-goers.” General manager Steve Sperling said “There’s a very strong feeling on the board about keeping the theater local and locally owned. We’re trying to do things that will further that.” The Barrymore is a beloved neighborhood institution that has served as an anchor of community development, those involved in the campaign say. “Talking to people who have lived in the area for a long time, this theater … it’s seen as a big turning point in the neighborhood,” said Richmond. The Barrymore will close down for a few months during the summer during the renovations. Summer performances are scheduled at the Barrymore through June 8. A show by Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues on Aug. 30 will be the grand reopening of the Barrymore, said Richmond.
The Milwaukee Symphony acquired the GRAND WARNER 13-story building in December to convert it into its new rehearsal and performance space and planning to finance the project in part with $17 million in federal and state tax credits, says a recent Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. report. MSO has also secured $21 million in private contributions with $48.7 million in private contributions pending. So far, $93.5 million has been raised for the $120 million restoration campaign for the project and for an endowment for the symphony. Plans also call for expansion to the north to provide space for dressing rooms, loading docks and other uses. For this, the MSO plans to buy part of 215 W. Wells St. and 735 N. 2nd St. from MVP Milwaukee Wells, LLC, a Nevada-based parking lot operator. That sale has been approved by the Redevelopment Authority and will be considered by the Common Council in May. The grand reopening of the GRAND WARNER (to be called the Milwaukee Symphony Center) is expected for the fall of 2020.
The ORIENTAL Theatre will close for about three weeks this summer as part of a $10 million re-do between July 1 and July 23, reopening for private screenings on July 23 and to the public in August. In June of 2017, Milwaukee Film, organizers of the city’s annual film festival, signed a 31-year lease to operate and revitalize the theatre, currently operated by Los Angeles-based Landmark Theatres. IFM Farwell LLC is the fully-owned subsidiary of Milwaukee Film that will run the theater and will assume operations on July 1. Dave Cowen is director of cinema and technology for Milwaukee Film. During phase one of the project, a women’s bathroom suite will be added to the first floor to provide more amenities than the single unisex bathroom currently offered on the first floor. Cowen said many women prefer to use the second floor bathroom, but with the addition “No one will have to travel upstairs.” Digital projection equipment will be installed in all three auditoriums, but film projection will remain in the main auditorium. There’ll be new popcorn makers, and Cowen said Milwaukee Film is working with local breweries to eventually serve a selection of craft beer at the ORIENTAL. A full rehab of the main auditorium will likely start in 2019, funded by Milwaukee Film’s fundraising efforts and a capital campaign.
The popular Kimball theatre organ played its final show in the iconic Milwaukee movie palace last weekend. The Kimball Theatre Organ Society owned and maintained the organ since 1979 and moved it into the Oriental in 1991, but last year the KTOS unanimously decided it would transfer ownership of the Kimball organ into new hands. Months later a new owner took over and in July 2017, the KTOS has been removing the Kimball organ from the Oriental Theatre for safe storage while the new, unnamed owner determines its next destination. Simon Gledhill is a UK-based representative for the new owner and was a KTOS member himself and a semi-professional organist who performed three times over the years on the Oriental’s Kimball organ.
The Kimball was first installed in the former Warner Grand Theatre for the venue’s opening in 1931. In 1973, when the Warner was twinned, the Kimball was donated to the Milwaukee Trade & Technical High School (now Bradley Tech) Auditorium but was too large for the space, so KTOS was formed to protect and restore the instrument. After its installation within the Oriental, it almost doubled in size with vintage Kimball parts in a sensitive manner to which the manufacturer would not have objected.
Sources say the new owner is searching for a new organ to take the Kimball’s place. When the Oriental first opened in 1927, it used a Barton organ, which was removed in 1959. (Milwaukee theatres once had more Barton organs than any other make.)
2018 view.
(Racine Journal News, May 1, 1928) Majestic Theater Opens at 2:00 P. M. Tomorrow – J Ernst Klinkert, Owner, Praised for Supplying Needed Playhouse. Frank E. Wolcott, Lessee, is Managing Director, and B. Wade Denham the Building Engineer success much as he did the old the- views of the interior, the artist de ater which filled, for many years, picting truthfully the grandeur of the amusement need for that thriving section of the city.
When the doors of the new Majestic in “Uptown—the Heart of Racine” swing open tomorrow afternoon there will he revealed one of the most beautiful of sights. Artists and artisans have for weeks worked on this most gorgeous place of amusement, bruin ideas and effects which were woven into t: Most complete will be the realization of Ernst Klinkert, owner, a man to elevate the tone of moving pictures in ti us has invested a large amount of rn *nev ii v project, one which will stand as a memorial to his spiriting enterprise, but he can sit back and view with just pride his most worthy accomplishment.
Active in the life of “Uptown—the Heart of Racine,” and directly connected with the history of the old Majestic theater, is Frank K. Wolcott, veteran amusement house man of this city and section of the state. No man is better fitted to continue in the conduct of “Uptown’s” theater than is Mr. Wolcott. For many years he has had his finger on the public’s requisite for a theater. They endeavor to show their appreciation tomorrow by attending the opening performance and in various other ways as shown in this special edition. As as the tenths and years pass in procession they will continue in that role and consider the interest of builder and lessee of the new theater as their personal interest, ever ready to do their share in the still greater development of “Uptown-the Heart of Racine".
Unqualified charm of design embellished by exquisite decorative treatment which accentuates its architectural features, elevates the new Majestic from the ordinary theaters. Done in pure Gothic style with daring employment of detail, the creation might well be epitomized in the words of William Jenning Bryan when he characterized a “frozen music the beauties encountered on a tour of the fine old European examples of this enchanting type of construction.“ The treatment of the entrance is unusually fine. Three columns carrying Gothic arches give access to the permanent open vestibule. There is a deep ceiling in gold and bronze, curved down in an interesting way to rest upon a beading of grotesque Gothic heads. The 82 foot long lobby is in English Gothic overspread with a delicately hued blue ceiling into which a series of arches have been groined.
(May 1, 1928) – ART WORK – The three mural windows at the head of the grand stairs in the new Majestic, which depict comedy, tragedy and music, were furnished by the Industrial Art Service. The 150 tons of cast stone used in the exterior construction of the Majestic, aa well as in the finish of the lobby are of what is known as “Granitex" trim. This product was supplied by the Chrlstoffel Art Stone company of Milwaukee. The texture used is white with black. It is composed of white medusa cement with pulverized marble granite aggregate which gives it life and strength. A weather proofing of about two per cent is also used to prevent water absorption. The material is used for all exterior work. Including entrances window and door sills, coping; the roof, general ornamental trim, brackets, urns and lamps. The firm operates one of the largest stone factories in the state and is in a position to give service because of the fact that it has all moulds on hand thereby saving time ordinarily consumed in making.
The Majestic theater, the one which did service for many years at “Uptown—the Heart of Racine,” led the way for the new playhouse which now adorns the same site. It grew into popularity with the years, surrounded by the most prosperous business institutions of which Racine can boast. The new Majestic, its successor, starts out under far more encouraging conditions than did its predecessor, however. This wonderful theater will follow the policy laid down by Manager Frank Walcott when he took charge of the old playhouse. The same type of entertainment which made the old house popular will not be discarded but adhere to it even more closely.
LARGE ORGAN BIG FEATURE – Expert Voicers Produced Instrument Heard in Majestic – Of the equipment provided in the new Majestic for the entertainment of the theater going public, the Marr and Colton organ is an outstanding feature. It is a 10-stop, three-manual organ and possesses all of the equipment necessary for theatrical musical reproduction. Its installation was personally supervised by Mr. Colton, a member of the firm who was greatly interested in the opportunity given his firm by the theater management to demonstrate its organ whenever it wished to do so. The Marr and Colton organ is built at Wausau, and is the product of a company organized by two expert organ voicers who were dissatisfied with the restrictions placed upon them by the company for which they formerly employed their skill. In order to voice an organ as they wished to, they founded the firm which bears their names and when they launched their first product, have become rationally known. Their organs ore among the finest manufactured in America and have special tonal qualities peculiar to the artists who conceived and built them. Matching in with the general scheme of things in the new Majestic theater is the comfortable and conveniently arranged furniture which is to be found in the foyers, lobby men’s smoker and women’s rest room. All of this, together with that in the theater offices was furnished by the Junction Furniture company. Mr. Wolcott, the manager of the playhouse, relied very much upon the judgment of the company’s personnel in making selections for the furnishing of the theater. The furniture is all in good taste and adds muoh to the comforts provided for the patrons.
TICKET BOOTH – An exquisite bit of craftsmanship is portrayed by the mahogany and marble ticket booth which commands the entrance to the Majestic, a gem of creative workmanship. possessing a quiet elegance. (Racine Journal)
This photo is reportedly from its final night in 2010.
Thank you for your suggestion, JamesD, but we’ve lost too much rare information over the years because of links that went inactive without warning.
(Motion Picture World, 1915): H. C. Luedtke, former owner of the Star theater, Waukegan, Ill., purchased the Columbia theater in Kenosha, Wis. about a month ago from Charles Staehle. The Columbia seats 550 people and charges 5 and 10 cents admission for programs of four and six reels of Mutual service. Mr. Luedtke stated that he is running “The Diamond from the Sky” to very good business. “The Christian” was shown recently for 10 cents to capacity houses. Mr. Luedtke is figuring on installing a balcony soon.
A labor dispute closed the KENOSHA Theatre from March 25 to April 15, 1932, when differences were settled at a day and night conference in Milwaukee. The employees agreed to another cut of 43%. Duke Ellington and his orchestra played the KENOSHA on May 8, 1941.
At the intersection of Lawrence, Racine and Broadway in Uptown, the massive, once-grand Uptown Theatre, a shuttered movie palace that has awaited restoration for nearly 40 years, is slowly deteriorating. Its reopening—an expensive proposition that would require public and private funds—is key to the neighborhood’s vitality and could make it a premier destination for live entertainment. Mayor Rahm Emanuel agreed. Shortly after his first election victory, in 2011, Emanuel spoke publicly, on WXRT and elsewhere, of wanting to create an Uptown music district anchored by the Riviera Theatre, the Aragon Ballroom, the Green Mill lounge and the Uptown. His Chicago Infrastructure Trust, a nonprofit he founded to create public-private infrastructure projects for the city, made the Uptown one of its priority projects. And that’s the last anyone heard about it. Until now. Documents recently obtained by Crain’s show that in 2015, a deal to make the theater a multipurpose entertainment complex was brokered by CIT but eventually fell apart. According to internal CIT documents, the organization arranged a purchasing agreement in January 2015 to buy the Uptown from owner Jam Productions for $5.6 million and turn the theater into a nonprofit, making it easier to secure city, state and federal funding. The $120 million restoration would uphold its historic elements but transform it into a multipurpose entertainment complex offering concerts, movies, dining and more. With tenants identified and a financing model in place, it was the closest the Uptown, once one of the largest movie palaces in the world, had ever come to a genuine resurrection. The deal’s closing, however, was dependent on CIT board approval and financing. That became impossible when that summer, Emanuel replaced the entire CIT staff and the plan was sacked. “I went through a state of depression. I was very disappointed,” says Ald. James Cappleman, 46th, who has advocated for the Uptown’s reopening since taking office in 2011. Preservationists say that because of its decrepitude, something needs to happen fast to save the theater from permanent ruin. “If this isn’t resolved soon, this building will continue to deteriorate,” says Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago. A reopened Uptown would, at 4,500 seats, have the largest theater capacity north of downtown (the Auditorium in the Loop has nearly 4,000). Mark Kelly, commissioner of the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events, shares Emanuel’s vision that the Uptown would solidify the intersection of Lawrence, Racine and Broadway as a destination for live entertainment. “What would be most desirable is we get a mix of these awesome performance venues at a very high level to accommodate a lot of people,” Kelly says. “Then it’s a real entertainment district.” So far, Cappleman has been heading an effort to beautify the area with the expectation that if you build it, they will come. A $6 million streetscape project kicked off in August with new sidewalks, lighting, crosswalks and a pedestrian plaza in front of the Riviera, all set for completion next summer. The second phase of the street renovations has started along Broadway; a $203 million renovation of the Wilson el station is complete. In 2019 the city will start a five-year project to rebuild the nearby Lawrence, Argyle, Berwyn and Bryn Mawr Red Line stations and adjacent support structures so they’ll feature what riders now see at Wilson—wider platforms, better lighting—plus a new track and new bridges and viaducts. Next to the Lawrence stop, steps from the Uptown, the city is studying the potential for an upscale hotel, says Deputy Planning Commissioner Eleanor Gorski. Cappleman considers the Uptown’s comeback his personal passion. “We’re doing this, not just for the Uptown community, but for the nation. It is going to attract people from all over the world,” he says. Cappleman says he has been working with Emanuel and Uptown Theatre co-owner Jerry Mickelson for years to create a viable path to get the doors open, which includes pushing for a business plan to court investors. A mix of private and public money is the only way it will happen, Cappleman says. “It’s going to be expensive, but it is doable.” A COMEBACK LIKE KINGS? The 92-year-old theater’s saga involves multiple owners, court battles, malfeasance, political infighting and more. Designed by Rapp & Rapp, its size and many flourishes—a grand staircase and lobby, 140-foot ceiling, 70-foot-wide stage, lounges, vestibules, balconies and even a nursery—made it thrilling. The theater transported people from their everyday lives through movies, a live orchestra, vaudeville shows and, tailored for sizzling Chicago summers, air conditioning. The costs of maintaining such grandeur, however, were a burden. “We soon found out that was a really expensive idea to maintain,” says Preservation Chicago’s Miller. The neglect dates to the 1970s, when the Uptown was used primarily for closed-circuit boxing matches and rock concerts by acts including the Grateful Dead and Bruce Springsteen. Accelerating its demise was co-owner Lou Wolf, a notorious Chicago slumlord and felon who purchased the theater in 1980 and shuttered it the following year. Unoccupied and uncared for for more than three decades, the building suffered water damage after the heat was turned off. In 1982, 6 inches of ice covered the grand stairway and 4 feet of water rose in the basement. Broken windows, animal infestation, vandalism and plaster-killing summer humidity followed, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid property taxes. But despite its unlucky history, reviving the Uptown is possible. The Kings Theatre in New York offers up a model. The Kings was another architectural fever dream of Rapp & Rapp. Opening in 1929, it entertained Brooklynites along Flatbush Avenue for decades until it, too, fell into decline, closing its doors in 1977. In late 2011, Neil Heyman found 3-foot piles of fallen plaster; water leeched into the walls; mold; ornamental pieces and bronze handrails plundered by vandals; rusted steel support elements; and a large section of the roof blown away courtesy of Superstorm Sandy. “When people put eyes on it, they all said, ‘This is an incomprehensible task to overcome,’ ” says Heyman, vice president of Gilbane Building in New York, which provided construction management services. But what made the Kings' rebirth feasible was political will. In 2008, the New York City Economic Development Corp. and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz requested proposals for the site, and in 2010 the city selected Houston-based theater developer Ace Theatrical Group to take charge of the restoration and then operate it under a 55-year lease. The $95 million needed to get the job done came from the state, city and private stakeholders. Accounting for $50 million of the total, the city of New York was the largest investor in the Kings because it saw the theater as the linchpin to rebuild Brooklyn. “It took the city years to get the right developer with the right vision and the right economic program in place to make this all work, but it did,” Heyman says. The Kings opened in 2015. It is now the third-largest theater in the New York City area and hosts 200 to 250 live performances a year. The Kings helped revive Flatbush as a destination with major retailers like Nike and Gap opening outlets nearby and, as the New York Times has reported, a seven-story, 69-room boutique hotel set to open soon. SHOW UPTOWN THE MONEY. OR NOT. But Chicago is not New York. For one, state funding is zero. The Illinois Legislature passed a bill in 2015 allocating a $10 million grant for the Uptown restoration, but that money went away under Gov. Bruce Rauner. Second, the Uptown is under private ownership, unlike the Kings, which New York City purchased in 1983 after it became a tax-delinquent property. The city of Chicago had the same opportunity with the Uptown at that time. It did allocate more than $1.4 million in tax-increment financing to stabilize the building in 2008, which included removing, tagging and storing the building’s terra cotta for its protection. Which brings us to Mickelson and Chicago-based Jam Productions, one of the nation’s largest concert promoters. Through UTA II, a separate company, Mickelson and partner Arny Granat purchased the Uptown in 2008 for $3.2 million at a court-ordered foreclosure sale. (Neither Mickelson nor Granat would comment for this story.) Two years later, the Urban Land Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Washington, released a report saying the Uptown would be the “crown jewel” to a potential entertainment district. Behind closed doors, CIT vigorously pursued Emanuel’s wish to bring back the Uptown. According to internal documents, a two-year planning process involved more than $1 million in pro bono work from dozens of leading architecture, real estate and legal firms. The result was an ambitious plan that called for a major film chain as a tenant that would present world premieres, Imax films and specialty programming for children in what the documents describe as “the world’s largest movie theater.” Jam was chosen to exclusively book concerts, and an unspecified restaurant group was to offer premium food service. The plan also called for simulcasts of sporting events from around the world on the big screen. Documents show CIT’s historic restoration part of the plan earned preliminary support from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the Chicago Landmarks Commission and the National Park Service. The documents also show CIT sold the project as a public-private partnership that would drive traffic to Uptown and create more than 600 jobs. Buying the property from Jam and turning it into a nonprofit would make it a public works project and eligible for public money, namely a $10 million state grant and $20 million in TIF funds. CIT estimated that, after operating expenses, the Uptown would generate $4.1 million for the city in its first year. To get the ball rolling, CIT asked for an immediate $500,000 upfront and then $3 million to secure tenant leases and produce schematic drawings. The organization had secured interest from Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal Cinemas, Austin, Texas-based Alamo Draft House and other chains. Documents called for leases to go out the third quarter of 2015 and to be signed by late that year. Construction was set to start in 2017. Using the Kings as a model, the plan started to look feasible. Cappleman says he was ready to make an announcement in August 2014. “I was very, very excited about it. It was a dream come true,” he says. But unlike in Brooklyn, the plan died on arrival. Emanuel asked CIT CEO Stephen Beitler to resign in July 2015, along with the staff who worked on the project. They were replaced with a staff headed by Leslie Darling, a city lawyer. Under Darling, CIT changed its mission. Darling said its new goal was to reduce reliance on city funding and replace it with state, federal and philanthropic grants, which deviated from Emanuel’s original plan to have corporate investments fuel projects. The mayor was unwilling to free up money for the Uptown out of fear it would come back to haunt him if the plan failed, according to a source familiar with the project who asked to remain anonymous. Emanuel had already taken heat for using TIF money to acquire land for a hotel and a DePaul University basketball arena in the South Loop amid criticism the public money was not being used for schools and neighborhoods. Walking away from the plan “was political risk aversion,” says the source. Emanuel spokesman Grant Klinzman says the proposal “didn’t work or even fit into CIT’s mission” because the trust’s vision “has always been to work on public infrastructure. The development of a private property was not contemplated as part of CIT’s mission. This was an exploratory project that ultimately did not pan out for the CIT.” A source at City Hall who does not want to be named says the project failed because CIT didn’t name a tenant. “The key financing element was finding a major movie exhibitor who would sign a lease, and then you could finance against that lease. But it turned out (CIT) couldn’t find a movie exhibitor who was willing.” But another person familiar with the CIT project disputes that account. “The notion that this wasn’t in line with the vision and mission of the trust is false on its merits. The whole point of the (CIT) was to pursue transformative infrastructure projects using public and private partnerships.” He adds that long-term leases were not yet signed because they were dependent on the mayor’s approval of the plan. Cappleman concedes that the amount of public money required “was a big, tough ask. I couldn’t argue that was not the case. Given our budget crisis, it would ask a lot of my colleagues to support me while there are a lot of demanding issues in their wards,” he says. WILL THE CURTAIN EVER RISE? Klinzman says opening the Uptown “is still a priority for the city.” Mickelson is pursuing other development partners, says Gorski, the city’s deputy planning commissioner. Gorski says the city has not required Mickelson to submit a timetable, but she says “he is in very close discussions” with a partner. Cappleman says Mickelson turned in a business plan in April 2016. It, too, will depend on TIF funding, but it won’t be as high as the $20 million requested in the CIT plan. “This one is scaled back quite a bit in terms of scope,” Cappleman says. It awaits approval by the city finance committee. In the meantime, there are hazards in keeping the building intact, though in 2016 the Uptown Square District, which includes the theater, was given landmark status, ensuring that none of the buildings within it can be demolished. The CIT documents describe the Uptown as “a blight and safety hazard” and says that as of 2015, Mickelson owed more than “$3 million in liens to the city and has no viable plan." In 2014, six years after UTA II purchased the Uptown, the company turned off the building’s heat in the thick of winter, which caused a 30-foot-tall, 3-foot-wide icicle to grow in the basement, according to the Chicago Tribune. Mickelson told the Tribune the water was turned off except in one bathroom on the main floor. He disputed the size of the icicle, which he said was only 5 inches. His attorney, current Ald. Patrick Daley Thompson, 11th, says UTA II shut off the heat because it was in the midst of converting the system from oil to natural gas. Next year will be the 10th that the Uptown has been in new hands and the 37th it has remained dark. Cappleman acknowledges that "there have been a lot of false promises given to the public” over the years. But he says that one day the mighty Uptown Theatre will rise. “It is not a guarantee. It’s going to take a lot of hard work, but we’re going to make it happen.”
(Elgin Daily Herald, 1998) – CROCKER DEVELOPER HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS By Brad Hahn Daily Herald Staff Writer
Five months after unveiling his plan to transform Elgin’s Crocker Theater into a thriving downtown mecca, a Chicago-area developer is having second thoughts. Jeff Maher said he’s frustrated by the lack of progress in turning the abandoned landmark into a discount movie house. A tentative agreement to purchase the Crocker expires today, and the developer said he’s unsure if he’ll continue pursuing the building. “I don’t know if I’ll accept or not,” said Maher of an opportunity to extend the agreement. “I don’t know if anyone wants to play ball.“ Specifically, Maher is looking for a response to a preliminary plan he submitted to the Elgin Chamber of Commerce months ago. In that proposal, the developer said it would cost between $2 million and $2.4 million to rehabilitate the gutted auditorium. But to be successful, Maher said, he needed the city’s help. Exactly how much Elgin would have to pitch in was not specified. That detail was left out on purpose, said the developer, who made a success of a similar project in Kenosha, Wis. “Nothing was engraved in stone for price,” he said. “I wanted to see what they’re willing to do and go from there.” But the omission has caused the project to stall, said Jim McConoughey, vice president for economic development at the chamber. After a series of meetings with Maher, McConoughey reviewed the preliminary report and asked for more specifics. Serving as a conduit between developers and the government, McConoughey said he wants to make sure any plan submitted is complete and practical. “A project scope has to come from the developer with details of what his project would be and what the city’s role would be,” McConoughey said. Underlying the discussion is Maher’s tentative pledge to buy the Crocker from current owner Dominic Buttita for $800,000. Some officials at city hall believe the price is too high, given Buttita paid about half that amount for the building two years ago. They’re wary of taxpayer money being used for the owner to make a profit. But Buttita said improvements to the building — including a new roof — bring his investment to more than $1 million. “I think they think I’m making money on this deal and I’m not — I’m going to be losing money,” he said. If Maher can work out financing, a discount movie theater is in line with the city’s plan for downtown, McConoughey said. The question now — as it was months ago — is whether the city and developer can reach a consensus. “I think it would be something people would go to,” McConoughey said. “It would bring folks downtown that historically have not gone downtown.”
March 21, 1992. See text on overview page.
(Kenosha News, Saturday, March 21, 1992)
RAZE ORDER LIKELY FOR ORPHEUM By Dave Backmann, Staff Writer
Fed up with an eyesore and magnet for vandalism, city officials have started the process to raze the 70-year-old Orpheum Theater in downtown Kenosha. A city ordinance states that a raze order can be issued if the cost of bringing a structure into compliance with municipal building codes exceeds 50 percent of the equalized value of the property. James M. Schultz, director of the city Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development, estimated necessary repairs to the Orpheum at “well over” $100,000. The Kenosha County Assessor’s office lists the 1991 value of the property at $57,000. “Issue of orders to raze are pending,” Schultz said. “The owner is aware of the possibility it could be razed. That building has been a sore spot for the downtown for many years now. Downtown retailers and property owners have registered many complaints with my office. The matter of razing it is being reviewed by the city attorney’s office at this time. I imagine it’s something we’re going to proceed on in the very near future.” Schultz said his office brought a recommendation for demolition to the city attorney after inspectors determined within the last year that the building needs substantial repairs to meet code requirements. City Attorney James Conway said, “I believe it’s (a raze order) going to go forward.” Schultz said he has met with building owner Bernard W. Chulew, Milwaukee, several times. Chulew took action to keep vandals from entering, but has not proposed steps to rehabilitate the building, Schultz said. “We’d rather see the building rehabilitated and rescued, but no proposals are pending,” Schultz said.
Chulew said he will fight a raze order. “I think I’m being singled out,” he said. “There are a lot of buildings downtown in worse shape than mine. My building is not falling down.” Chulew said he pays $800 monthly for a mortgage and real estate taxes on the building. An empty space created by the demolition will lead to more crime problems than a standing, vacant building, he said. The four-story, 16,184-square-foot building has been totally vacant for approximately two years. Chulew bought the property at 5819-5831 Sixth Ave. from the original owner, 20th Century Fox Studios, about 16 years ago. In September 1990, the city hired a contractor to remove the exterior overhead marquee to make the building a less inviting target for vandalism.
Schultz said the building has no future. “There is no market for a theater. “If you divided it up for offices, you would need major structural improvements. It is not structurally unsound. But the exterior needs quite a bit of work to be used again, like painting and tuck-pointing and you’d have to modify the entrance. There are quite a few problems with the mechanical systems, too.” Schultz said he hasn’t determined the cost of razing and cleanup. Chulew could ask a judge for a temporary injunction to block the demolition, said Assistant City Attorney Ed Antaramian. A judge’s options include ordering repairs to bring the building into compliance with city codes or allowing the demolition to proceed. The owner has the option to pay outright for the demolition. lf the city has to hire a demolition contractor, the cost would be added to the owner’s property taxes. Since October when the city began a systematic inspection of building exteriors downtown, 62 properties have been checked and code compliance orders have been written on all 62. “Mostly orders have been written for minor things like peeling paint on doors and windows,” said James M. Schultz, director of the city Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development. “People by and large are cooperating with the inspector’s orders to bring the buildings up to code.” While the exterior maintenance code for commercial properties has been part of city ordinances for years, the Lakeshore Business Improvement District last year complained of lax enforcement, resulting in blighted conditions. At a BID meeting in October, 50 businessmen/property owners from the district welcomed the hiring of another city inspector to concentrate on the downtown. Mike Lorberter said this week he has inspected 62 of the approximately 200 properties in the district. Lorberter has worked by first issuing complimentary cleanup orders which give a property owner 30 days to respond to him on how code violations will be corrected. If a property owner doesn’t respond during that period, a formal order is issued which states violations must be corrected in 30 days or a meeting arranged with Lorberter on how to correct the problems. “A formal order is to get your attention,” he said. “It usually works.” Schultz said a recommended order to raze the Orpheum Theater building is not related directly to Lorberter’s work, but is part of an overall attempt by the city to upgrade the appearance of the district. He said the Orpheum has been an eyesore and target of vandals for years.
(Kenosha News, September 14, 1964)
In movies 52 years, Ernst Nicolazzo pictures career as projectionist
It was almost exactly 52 years ago when Ernst Nicolazzo walked into the Majestic Theater on Main St. in downtown Kenosha to repair 10 fans which didn’t work. The theater manager, surprised at Nicolazzo’s mechanical ability, asked him if he knew how to run a projection machine. Nick said he did. That affirmative answer started Italian-born Nick on a lifelong career. With but two major interruptions, he’s been a movie grinder ever since. Ernst Nicolazzo is the only surviving charter member of Local 361 of the projection operators' union. The union’s name is longer than most three movies put together — International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes and Moving Picture Machine Operators of the United States and Canada. Whew!
After being in on the formation of the local in 1913, Nick helped charter it in 1914. Recently, he was guest of honor at a dinner honoring his 50 years in the local. Nick wears a ring given to him for his 50 years of service. Nicolazzo worked at the Majestic Theater in Kenosha until 1918 when he enlisted in the Army. After a year’s duty, he returned here to work as a projectionist in the Butterfly Theater until 1923, then back to the Majestic for five more years. For 27 years, from 1923 until 1955, Nick worked at the Kenosha Theater. Then a bout with tuberculosis kept him away from theaters for 18 months. He came through this ordeal (“but did lose four ribs and a lung”, he said) and wanted to get back into the projection business. His physician recommended he not climb the 76 steps to the projection booth of the Kenosha Theater every day, so in August of 1957 Nicolazzo took a job as projectionist at the Mid City Outdoor Theater.
How long does he hope to continue in the projection business? As long as he’s able to do the job. he said. “Right now, I feel like I could go till I’m 100”, he said. “I can remember when movies cost a nickel,” Nick said. "Later the price went up to 18 cents, but a bag of popcorn was thrown in with the admission price,” he added. “People in the old days were more cost-conscious about admission prices than they are now,” Nick continued. "If the price went up, people were more likely not to come inside,” he said. Projection techniques are different today than years back, too, Nick said. "Before we had ‘talkies’, if the crowd was too big, we’d just grind the movie through a little faster. Now the movies feed through the projector at an even 90 feet per minute,” he added. Whereas breaks in film and splices were big problems for the projectionist years back, today he must worry more about electrical and sound difficulties.
There are fewer members in Local 361 today than there were back in 1914. The 25 members of 50 years ago has shrunk to about half that number today. “There used to be two projectionists for every theater, but now there’s only one,” Nick explained. Then too, such ‘homes’ for actors as the Rhode Opera House have long since disappeared.
Nicolazzo, who never married, lives with the Harvey Ewings at Paddock Lake. He drives into town twice a day, works five hours a day at his job at Mid City. One of these five hours each day is spent getting the film ready for showing. Nicolazzo likes children, and the way he treats them, it’s little wonder the opposite is true, too. He takes them to the show, buys them ice cream or other goodies, and invites them to spend weekends with him at Paddock Lake. His principal hobby is his garden. “I grow everything people say you can’t grow,” he said. Nick says his specialty is tomatoes, but he doesn’t do too bad with corn, either. “Back in 1962. my corn was 10 feet tall. I got lost in it,“ Nick said with a grin. Nick admits his interest in mechanics dates far back. He’s certainly expanded on that interest since he went to fix those fans 52 years ago.