McClurg Court Cinemas
330 E. Ohio Street,
Chicago,
IL
60611
330 E. Ohio Street,
Chicago,
IL
60611
22 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 155 comments
timoneill –
FIDDLER ON THE ROOF was shown at the McClurg Court in 70mm (Panavision Blow Up). It began on either 1/3 or 11/10/71 and played for 57 weeks.
The McClurg Court project (two giant towers and associated structures) as a whole was designed by the firm of Solomon, Cordwell, Buenz, & Associates, though I’ve been unable to find any source specifically attributing the theater to that firm. The structure itself had to be of their design, though the theater interior might have been done by someone else. Cinema Treasures currently attributes the ICE 62nd and Western Theatre to Solomon, Cordwell, Buenz, & Associates.
Tim – I honestly don’t know for sure but I would guess they did as the theater was equipped for it.
You’re right, JRS40. Some people have indicated that it opened in 1972, which is incorrect. Do you happen to know if they played FIDDLER ON THE ROOF in 70mm?
If you look at the booking list I printed above it confirms that the theater opened on 11/10/71 with FIDDLER.
You’re right, Joe. I have photcopies of movie ads from November, 1971 and there are ads hyping the opening of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. The McClurg Court was taken over by Cineplex Odeon in the fall of 1986 and in September, 1987 the theatre temporarily closed so it can be tripled. It re-opened as the McClurg Court Cinemas in December, 1987. It’s opening attraction in the main auditorium was BARFLY with Mickey Rourke. The theatre closed permanently in August, 2003. It got River Easted out of business.
Various issues of Boxoffice from late 1971 show the McClurg Court in operation by that time. The December 20 issue, for example, reported that “Fiddler On the Roof” had done good business in its fourth week at the McClurg Court. The house had to have been open by November, 1971.
CinemarkFan, I admire your ambition. I only wish a lot of these theatre chain executives would have the same drive. I work for a chain and I tried to get them to have some 70mm screenings here and there (since there was already 70mm equipment in the booth) but they weren’t interested. Theatre executives are obsessed with digital projection. Why not give moviegoers a little bit of everything? I get the impression that you want to run a mult-purpose movie house. That’s great. Let us not forget authentic 3-D dual-strip 35mm; three-projector Cinerama; 4-track mag stereo 35mm; and let us never overlook—-Sensurround! Please keep hope alive. Keep us all posted on your goals.
Here’s a listing of films that would’ve played here if I reopened it. This listing is for auditorium #1. 2 and 3 would be playing art films or similar fare like #1. Originally sat 760+ during the CO years, seating would be reduced to 680-700 for installation of leather rocker chairs.
3/31/06 â€" THANK YOU FOR SMOKING
4/28/06 â€" THE LOST CITY
5/12/06 â€" 70MM FILM FESTIVAL (5/12 â€" 5/14)
5/19/06 â€" THE DA VINCI CODE
6/16/06 â€" AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
7/7/06 â€" PIRATES 2: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
8/18/06 â€" THE ILLUSIONIST
10/6/06 â€" THE DEPARTED
11/3/06 â€" BABEL
11/17/06 â€" CASINO ROYALE
12/8/06 â€" VOLVER
12/29/06 â€" PAN’S LABYRINTH
2/16/07 â€" THE LIVES OF OTHERS
3/9/07 â€" 300
4/13/07 â€" BLACK BOOK
5/4/07 â€" SPIDER-MAN 3
6/1/07 – ONCE
6/8/07 â€" OCEAN’S 13
6/27/07 â€" LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD (DH 2 and 3 played at McClurg)
7/20/07 â€" SUNSHINE
8/3/07 â€" THE BOURNE ULTIMATIUM
9/7/07 â€" 3:10 TO YUMA
10/5/07 â€" MICHAEL CLAYTON
11/2/07 â€" BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD
11/9/07 â€" NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN
12/7/07 â€" ATONEMENT
¼/08 â€" THERE WILL BE BLOOD
2/8/08 â€" IN BRUGES
2/29/08 â€" NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (returning after winning best picture oscar)
3/7/08 â€" THE BANK JOB
4/11/08 â€" STREET KINGS
4/25/08 â€" THE VISITOR
5/2/08 â€" IRON MAN
5/30/08 â€" SEX AND THE CITY
6/20/08 â€" MONGOL
7/4/08 â€" 70MM FILM FESTIVAL 2 (7/4 â€" 7/6)
7/11/08 â€" TELL NO ONE
7/18/08 â€" THE DARK KNIGHT
9/12/08 â€" BURN AFTER READING
10/10/08 â€" RACHEL GETTING MARRIED
10/24/08 â€" CHANGELING
11/21/08 â€" SLUMDOG MILLIONARE
1/16/09 â€" CHE â€" ROADSHOW VERSION
1/30/09 â€" TAKEN
3/6/09 â€" WATCHMEN
3/20/09 â€" SUNSHINE CLEANING
4/10/09 â€" SIN NOMBRE
4/24/09 â€" OBSESSED
5/8/09 â€" STAR TREK
6/19/09 â€" MOON
7/1/09 â€" PUBLIC ENEMIES
7/17/09 â€" 500 DAYS OF SUMMER
7/31/09 â€" 70MM FILM FESTIVAL 3 (7/31 â€" 8/2)
8/14/09 â€" DISTRICT 9
This gives you an idea of how I would run it in terms of movies. Here’s hoping it becomes a reality.
Thanks for the suggestions David. You can bet I will do my research into that field. The only thing I really know about all this is getting deals in advance. And that in some large metropolitan locations, studios will look for the best, top-flight locations for their important productions. Because it’s just River East and 600 North now, most (all) blockbusters are booked at both.
Back in the day when you had the five theaters that Tim Elliott mentioned, you could always tell that a special effects film will be at McClurg. An art house, Miramax-type production would be at Esquire or Water Tower. Some suspense thrillers would be Esquire or 900 North, and the comedies at WT. Ah, those were the days.
Your plans do sound great CinemarkFan. Here’s some extra food for though.
One of the problems I’ve heard/read of in the past, was that some studios and/or distributors were dictating where and what theaters their mainstream films would be released to, to play.
Particularly presumed blockbusters like say “Dark Knight”. If you don’t have the deals in place in advance, it’s possible you wouldn’t be able to secure copies and show certain films, even when or if they are NOT at other theaters nearby.
Best to do some research with other theater owners, as to how they are able to request films in advance. Both mainstream and arthouse films.
The Music Box folks might be able to steer you in the right direction. They premiered “The Break Up”, and then went back to their usual fare of art films.
As well intentioned and as welcome your plans are, there will be unforseen roadblocks that defy logic in some instances. I’m not quite sure lack of attendance was any factor in the closing of McClurg. It certainly seemed very viable up to the end.
That sounds like a wonderful plan CinemarkFan! When I was in Chicago last year, I was shocked that the only screens left in all of “downtown” were the River East 21 and the 600 North Michigan. Especially since the Loop used to have all those movie palaces (which amazingly NONE were ever divided in to multi screens) and the north of river area used to have the 600 North Michigan 9, McClurg Court 3, 900 North Michigan twin, Watertower 7 and the Esquire 6…
I dunno, the Ziegfeld in New York is still going strong dispite the AMC 25 and Regal E-Walk 13 being nearby. This may be due to it being New York, where there is always mega crowds. Chicago is slowly but surely becoming that way. More and more people will continue to move into the mag mile/streeterville neighborhoods. I assume that the screens at 600 North Michigan might be gone by this time (I may be wrong though) And if that’s the case, the seating capacity at the River East alone won’t be enough to handle the volume of people who go see movies. The art house fare believe it or not, plays to near sellouts, especially if it’s the right movie like say “Slumdog Millionare”, “Tell No One” (ran at the Landmark Century for a while), or “Moon”, which is still doing well at the Pipers Alley dispite being inferior to McClurg. Anyway, let me hurry to my next points
If River East becomes the sole theater in the area, you can best bet that those 21 screens will be for the mainstream fare. People who want to see movies with character and plot (and there’s lots of these, myself included) will be left out because RE’s got the summer blockbusters playing on 3-4 screens each. And holdover films will be shafted into the DVD-like screening rooms with 71-121 seats. Sure they’ll play some (key word) art fare during oscar time, but it’ll be scarce. What’s an alternative moviegoer to do? Well, this is where McClurg Court comes into play.
McClurg’s auditorium #1 if done right, won’t be hard to fill up. from 1987-2003 it sat about 760. If I were to get it and fix it up, the new capacity might be at about 680-700 because of my proposed leather recliner seats. The upstairs screens would be about 170-190 because of the new seats. Now it wouldn’t be just an art house, some main stream fare and a 2nd run from time-to time would be booked. A mainstream movie would usually be reserved for one screen (two if it’s The Dark Knight). Of course, RE 21’s got all the mainstream fare. This is true. But it won’t hurt them in anyway if the same movie is playing at another (my) theater. It’s like New York. You’ve got some explosion fest at the single screen, 1,125 seat Ziegfeld, and the same movie on five or six screens at the AMC 25. Both are doing great business. Or take Seattle, you’ve got a movie at the single screen Cinerama, and the same movie at one of the nearby megaplexes. The movie is doing great business at both locations. Again, those cities are larger in terms of people that here in Chicago. But we’re headed that way.
And it wouldn’t have to be 1st run/art films alone. #1 could host Chicago’s 70mm film festival similar to the one coming up in Denmark. #1 could also become an attraction to moviegoers, and tourists who stop in the area. Complete with curtain tabs, ushers, gourmet concessions, and an art gallery of sorts that explains the history of the McClurg Court theater and apartment complex. The smaller screens could hold festivals once and a while for student films. Heck, maybe some kind of performing arts could be held there too. I’m just throwing ideas around, but I and a lot of other people just don’t see a resurrected McClurg Court as being a failure. With new ownership, new ideas, an environment not geared towards teens on cellphones with a sworn oath to showmanship, you can’t go wrong.
Before it closed, I visited the main screen. Though I understand the affection for the large modern screens of yesteryear, this one wouldn’t be deemed legally historic. It isn’t going to be reopened for movies because of mainstream movie competition & because its huge auditorium is inconsistent with arthouse economics.
I wish you well in your pursuit CinemarkFan.
It couldn’t hurt to bounce your ideas off of the newer 42nd Ward Alderman Brendon Reilly. He’s a younger guy, and much more in tune with the wants & needs of the neighborhood than his long time predecessor.
He was recently instrumental in the landmarking of the Village Theatre on Clark Street.
It’s been vancant for 6 years. Looks like it will be staying that way for a while.
I wish the current owners can just give up, so I can try and pitch my art house ideas again. I really do believe if done right, it can be a winner. Granted, River East 21 is nearby and does great business, but art films are few and far in between. And 600 North Michigan almost always show RE films, and it’s very empty most of the time. In fact, if it closes soon, it won’t be a suprise. McClurg Court has the upper hand. Besides being in possession of the largest non-IMAX screen in Chicago, it is located across the street from the Streeter rental complex which will be completed soon. And it’s in walking distance from the Lake Point Towers. I wonder though, if one could buy the space next door and create screens out of that space, then take former 2-3 and return it to a balcony? I dunno, I thought I might throw some more ideas around.
Still sitting there. I’ve heard the Lake Shore Athletic club is also set to close soon. It’s possible the owners have plans in the works for the combined space, although it is hard to imagine anyone undertaking a new real estate project under these market conditions.
Reactivate Notification Status.
CinemarkFan… I posted just such a list last year over on my Fans of Showmanship website.
The new list is superior, in my opinion, to the list posted on this page back in April ‘07 because of improved layout/formatting and the inclusion of duration and presentation data.
Actually, all I posted was info for the 1970s; I never got around to completing the project. If you wish to see the list completed, email me to discuss in further detail…
Michael Coate,
If you read this, I would like to team up with you to write a list of films shown in it’s main auditorium from it’s 1971 opening ‘til it’s 2003 closing. JRS40 has provided the listing from 1971-1980. I will start from 1981 to it’s brief closing in '87 when CO walled in the balcony for two screens. After it’s triplexing, #1 was indentified via the movie presented in THX or in some cases, 70mm THX.
Before the triplexing, #1 held 1271 (including balcony). After 12/18/87, #1 held about 760. The two screens in the former balcony held about 230-240 each.
Aek316 and Paul Fortini,
This was the color of the curtains on each of the 3 screens at McClurg. The cinema in the photo was also a remodel by Cineplex Odeon.
CinemarkFan,
I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Your plans for Mcclurg sound great!I am glad that Baum’s retail plans are failing. This is too unique a theater to turn into same blah retail. I don’t know near enough about real estate, but you’d think they’d at least entertain offers to reopen the space as a cinema! However as I said before, better it remain vacant and largely untouched then the alternative…Best of luck!
I work in a screening faciiltiy which does quite a bit of work for Steven Soderbergh, and we’ve been screening “Che” from early versions to the current roadshow version that is being released in some cities this week. It would indeed be ideal at the McClurg. The first half is in Scope, and the 2nd half after intermission is “Flat” or 1.85 aspect ratio. Both halves are preceeded by an Overture with maps on the screen highlighting locations in the respective half. There is also exit music for both halves. Their office is releasing a cue sheet with the picture that will include pictures taken from our screen showing the relationship of the subtitles to the frame. There are no plans to release the roadshow version on film, and all screenings will be done digitally, but it’s definitely the sort of thing the McClurg large house would have done.
Has anyone heard of the roadshow style release of “Che”? If McClurg were open, it would be the ideal place for it.
Aek316, I still hope to purchase it someday. I know Baum Realty has no plans to reopen it as a cinema, but stranger things have happened. Their plans to turn it into retail have apparently fallen on their heads quite a few times. But with the bad economy, maybe Baum will give up the property. If that happens, I’m back in business. IMO, I would add 2 to 3 screens by buying adjoining retail space. This way, you can show more art films while getting a regular first run booking in #1 (downstairs) and #2 (upstairs). And I would add bathrooms and a snack bar upstairs.
When it was triplexed in 1987, #1 sat nearly 760, and 2-3 were around 230-250.
Cinemark Fan,
I can kinda picture it now. Makes me even more upset that I never saw a movie here! No theaters around here have screens that big! That would give anyone interested in reopening it a leg up! I can’t believe that the Mcclurg has sat vacant for 5 years now and no one has done anything with it. Whenever I go downtown, I try to go by the site and you can barely tell a theater was there since they covered the windows and took down the marquee. Is there even any hope that anyone could purchase the space if they could?