Carnegie Theatre
1026 N. Rush Street,
Chicago,
IL
60611
1026 N. Rush Street,
Chicago,
IL
60611
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Note to CT administrators: The opening theatre description by Bryan Krefft needs to have the year of the fire changed from 1996 to 1966.
Great picture Ken Mc. What was the source for it?
The picture is pre-1966, as that is the Carnegie that burned down.
We lived in the building just East,(to the left), of the corner building with the turret style wrapaound bay windows, in the lower left hand corner.
That building housed Gus' & the first incarnation of Jay Emerick’s many taverns.
Jay still has a place called Jay’s Amore in the West Loop. He also was involved in Face’s in the `70’s.
The Singapore Room was indeed a restaurant. That giant marquee had neon monkeys on timers that ran up the sides.
This photo shows Rush Street in the fifties or sixties. There’s no Singapore theater in Chicago, although there does appear to be a marquee in the photo, on the left. Perhaps it was a restaurant.
The Carnegie is across the street.
http://tinyurl.com/c4qhuk
P.S. To the left of the jeweler is a gangway that still goes straight through under the building to State St. & the parking entrance for 2 E. Oak.
There is also a side glass lobby door (locked) to Oak Bank just inside the gangway.
Oak Bank is the first floor tenant of the high rise condos, formerly rentals. I passed out flyers when Oak Bank opened in 1970.
Wow, thanks Life! That is the best picture I’ve ever seen to date too.
The small storefront to the left of the poster box & entrance, was a place called Garrett Jewelers. He later moved to State St. just North of Elm St. (In a classic older rental building recently cleared out for proposed demolition itself).
Sweetwater night club whose sign can be seen at the corner, followed Mister Kelly’s exodus & preceded Gibson’s Steak House which is there now.
That round window is where Mister Kelly’s would post 8x10’s of their upcoming acts. Morey Amsterdam, Tim & Tom (Reid & Dreesen), Mort Sahl, Prof. Irwin Corey & countless other musical acts. Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich etc.
By 1983, you can see that Rush St. was already changed to One Way Northbound.
Though two way traffic was quite the side show well into the `70’s.
Next to the marquee where those large vents are for the garage, is where Hugo’s Frog Bar built out their small balconies & second story dining. As I posted earlier, Hugo’s utilized the Carnegie blade support for their own signage.
Thanks for posting the image.
I’ve never seen a good picture of the Carnegie before:
View link
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FYI. If you go to www.Barbra-Archives.com click on “Live” & under 1963-Mister Kelly’s, at the bottom of the page there is a B&W photo of Barbra Streisand near the old Carnegie Theatre blade.
This photo would have been 3 years prior to the 1966 fire that consumed the entire block.
The old blade was situated towards the very front of the marquee at Rush Street.
The new blade on the reconstructed theatre was situated much tighter to the building.
And is the same structure that today supports the Hugo’s Frog Bar vertical sign.
I just remembered humorist writer & sometimes actor Bruce Vilanch, mentioning the Carnegie Theatre and his other neighborhood haunts in an interview once. He was apparently a regular at Punchinello’s on Rush St. during the `60’s.
In defense of the Rush Street area, not all was “seedy”. Notorious for a constant “Night Life” might be a better characterization.
Rush Street was actually an eclectic night life mix, with the seedy being an accepted part of it. As open and accepted as say in the tourist parts of New Orleans.
In the
60's &70’s a block South of the Carnegie was Punchinello’s, Figaro’s & the Athenian Room restaurant which became Faces Disco. Tavern’s and restaurant’s that were main streamish.But right next door was the Cabaret & Bourbon Street, which featured female dancers. The seedy was like an either/or choice for night time visitors. What made the specific strip joint’s seem seedy from the outside was basically the hawkers out front.
(Inside of course was sometimes a different story, depending which one you entered.)
A block further South beyond the Maryland Hotel which was quite nice, was another cluster of actual strip joints. The Candy Store, etc. But next to that was La Margarita. An established Mexican restaurant with several locations. Art galleries, jewelers, shops and other “upscale eclectic eating establishments”, rounded out the rest of Rush Street even back then.
So really it was a neighborhood, that took on a lively, different persona after dark. The Carnegie & Esquire were both a part of it.
Just caught DavidH’s December
07 post about the Sonja Heine montage of skating films being run at the Carnegie. This is entirely plausible. Another famous olympian skater also lived a block away from the Carnegie. She may have been instrumental in arranging the series. We met her more than 10 years ago with some out of town guest from her native country. In talking with her we learned she'd likely lived on the same block when we did in the60’s.As all the previous posts indicate, the Carnegie was truly great at promotions and fanfare.
I was just thinking back on how special things were at The Carnegie in the`70’s.
The animated signage I mentioned in a previous post, were actually ornately themed pieces constructed partially over the illuminated portions of the Carnegie’s existing marquee.
For instance during the Chaplin festival’s first film, a giant Chaplin “tramp” character was constructed with electrically moving hips from side to side. Additional spot lights were added to illuminate whatever portions there were made of painted plywood, that didn’t benefit from the existing lighting.
As the film’s changed out, so did the signage designs. Small mobile spotlight trucks seemed almost the norm at times. Making every showing seem as a special event. The oldest advertising gig in the book: Motion turns heads.
The modern glass ticket booth was offset all the way to the left of the entrance, but angled to face slightly Northeast. There was a small office behind it. If I remember correctly, the concession stand was behind the interior side of the ticket booth and accessed by the same office.
Inside the lobby was modern with an orangish decor & possibly brown carpeting. Just inside towards the back of the lobby, there was a sunken lounge area beyond a railing with couches, chairs & lamps. The restrooms were on the North & South sides of that lounge.
The auditorium itself was also sunken to even lower than the lounge level, accessed by long downward ramps at both ends of the lobby as well.
This design allowed it to accomodate the height it needed for one large screen & the audience seating to run upward. Even though the parking garage was directly above, and appeared only one or two short stories up itself from street level out front. The previously mentioned organ was to the left of the screen.
Next door Mister Kelly’s shared facade had round brick windows that housed pictures of the upcoming entertainers. Morey Amsterdam, Mort Sahl, Tim & Tom (Reid & Dreesen), drummer Buddy Rich, other bands, singers etc.
Across Rush street going South from the Bellevue Corner was the original Jay’s, another small bar downstairs in the back, Henry’s florist, the Waterfront restaurant, and the Singapore Room. With a giant vertical sign adorned with climbing, flashing neon monkeys.
This sign could briefly be seen during the open of WGN’s NightBeat newscasts with Marty McNeely, then Jack Taylor.
Then a small parking lot, which seemingly handled a lot more “business” than parking cars. Then was Pat Haran’s (now Jilly’s), the Backroom club (still there), a retail store and of course Rush & Oak corner tenant Burgerville. Which other than “Banquet On A Bun” up the street, was one of the original cheap, late night grease fixes.
At a time when Division Street’s Five Faces was still just an ice cream store.
P.S. Bill Freidkin and William Peterson’s Chicago roots are well documented. So it’s great that they would come back to screen some of their Hollywood projects here first. Hopefully the fairly recent premiere of “The Break Up” here, will reignite that trend.
The Carnegie was also the first theater to hold a public sneak preview of THE DEER HUNTER back in late 1978 (it opened in March of 79 I believe). I still have the ad which trumpets Robert DeNiro and also warns that the film is not for anyone under the age of 17. I remember reading later that Michael Cimino was at the preview and no doubt gauged the audience reaction persoanlly to base any cuts he might make to the film.
On 8/17/85, the Carnegie hosted an 8pm studio preview of Billy Friedkin’s To Live and Die in LA. General release didn’t start until 11/1/85. How cool is that?
David: The way this would be treated on CT would be for the status to change to “Closed” and function to “Restaurant”. I too was under the impression that it had been wholly demolished until your correction.
Here is a picture of the marquee that has since been removed: http://www.hugosfrogbar.com/media/hugosfront.jpg
The vertical for Frog Bar:
View link
And a more recent photo of the modified facade:
View link
Hello Cinema Treasurers. BWChicago is chronologically correct. The “old” Carnegie Theatre was indeed demolished after the 1966 fire.
What I disputed was the “status” as closed/demolished, after the final closing in 1986.
In 1986 it was actually renovated, but not back into a theatre.
The space that is currently occupied by Hugo’s Frog Bar, is actually the completely renovated space that previously housed the theatre. Same structure, because it’s eternally connected to the high rise, and located directly beneath the buildings parking structure. The term “demolished not long after” in the Carnegie’s lead paragraph, I think implies the theatre building itself was completely torn down, which was not the case.
Also the term “a restaurant has since been built on the site”, should probably read “in the site”.
Since there is no real alternate status term for such a scenario in the Cinema Treasures glossary, I guess demolished as a theatre is what matters.
I make the distinction only because a good portion of the theatres have/had unique freestanding structures of their own. And some were indeed demolished after they ultimately closed. The Carnegies exterior facade was relatively modern, and really just consisted of the marquee and glass doors. Hugo’s Frog Bar actually uses the upper framework that previously supported the Carnegie’s old diagonal sign, for it’s own signage. The old marquee overhang at street level, was removed and replaced by a smaller overhang for the sidewalk cafe. I believe balconies have since been installed above the overhang.
Additionally, the Carnegie previously had name & movie title signage on the State Street side of the building as well. That has since been replaced with several old fashioned single bulb fixtures by Hugo’s. Windows on the same elevation were added so diners could presumably view State Street. Or to brighten up the back dining room. These windows would be where the backstage of the Carnegie’s movie screen would have been. dave
Interesting. The theater was indeed demolished after the 1966 fire, but not as a direct consequence. It had suffered little damage, but was demolished in July so that new foundations for the high rise could be laid with parking above. Brotman was annoyed with the building’s owners, as he wanted to reopen immediately after rather tha wait for it to be rebuilt. It closed with 479 seats and reopened with 530-599 on October 11, 1967.
I breifly knew one of the managers at the Carnegie in the 1970’s. He doubled as the house organ player as well. The organ was to the left of the stage, an a welcome novelty to such a newer theatre.
I ran into him several years ago, and we reminisced about the various promotions they did for the films during his time there. He called it “the genious of Oscar Brotman”, the theatre’s owner.
During the Chaplin festival, huge animated signage was constructed over the theatre’s existing marquee. Artistically changed out with each Chaplin film.
During a film’s run called “Blue Water, White Death”, they had a large, cylindrical tank built on the sidewalk. With a wetsuited diver inside.
It was a showing of the Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” however, that put them over the top. In addition to a giant Jagger lips logo, they’d lined the stage with additional PA speakers to replicate the concert experience. This could be heard a block away. And in the then, rental apartments above. Now condos.
They often had ushers dressed to coincide with any given film’s theme. I distinctly remember an in-house “greaser”, for “The Lords of Flatbush”. The nearby Playboy Theatre occasionally did the same, but not to the same degree. The on street promotions were an added bonus to Rush St. revelers. Next door was the famous niteclub “Mister Kelly’s”, later restaurant Sweetwater, and now Gibson’s Steakhouse. Hugo’s Frog Bar is now “in” the old Carnegie site. The building was not “torn down” as previously mentioned. As the Carnegie was part of an apartment/bank complex including Mister Kelly’s, when it was all rebuilt after a fire in the late 1960’s at corner tenant Steinway Drugs. That was the previous building that was demolished to make way for what was the built including the “new” Carnegie Theatre. As I remember, it never went to a multiple screen format before it closed. I could be wrong. The nearby Esquire had though, and survived until just a few years ago as a result.
Per Catherine’s comment above, I wonder why an “art house” would not be successful in the Gold Coast neighborhood. It would seem like the right area for it. The 900 North, the Carnegie, the Cinema, the Esquire, and the Water Tower all tried their hands at it at one time or another.
I would add this thought if I may. Someone told me that on “Poppy Day” (Memorial Day) in May 1964 a group of women, with spouses or escorts who were members of the American Legion Post near Rush St., it being known as the Rush St. Post (and a club of its own), sold poppies for a couple of hours in the evening along Rush St., stopping at all the businesses including the nightclubs, as a fundraiser. Many of the persons who patronized the businesses, and who ran them then, were veterans. They said it was a lot of fun and an experience, and they did that there because there were many thriving businesses, and it was a well lit street then; not “seedy.”
I am a little surprised in the contributed introductory summary that Rush St. is first described as once being notorious for “seedy nightclubs.” True, but it had a history before that. Before they were “seedy,” Rush St. was notable in America for first rate night clubs; what became the flagship (albeit by default) was the Chez Paree, where many headliners performed up and through the ‘50s and, if I remember, into the '60s. Comedian Danny Thomas made it a point to always mention the Chez Paree itself in his act and his television series, giving it publicity. Comedians tended to perform there toward the end of its heyday, while musicians performed in other clubs. The history of “Rush Street” per se began earlier, and encompassed an earlier notable night club period.
Per Cinemark Fan’s comment, “Looking at the area(rush near Walton) now, it would be ripe for an art-house theater.”:
Cinemark Fan, the Esquire in its final years WAS showing films like that. During the brief time that AMC operated it, that policy fell by the wayside.
The above is incorrect; the theater actually opened October 28, 1949 as the Telenews, the first new theater in Chicago in 9 years. Little more than a month later on December 3, 1949, it changed over from the Telenews to the Carnegie and dropped the newsreel policy, perhaps because newsreel theaters were usually located in central business districts, which Rush street was not. In March, 1950, the Telenews on State Street followed suit, becoming the Loop Theater, although it later reverted to Telenews and back again in 1960.
On opening, the Tribune described it this way:
“ Among all the flashy facades and neon signs on busy Rush st., the frontage of the new house looks tiny. Within its doors, however, are several spacious rooms and a small gem of a theater. The lobby is handsomely decorated, featuring soft shades of green, with a bleached wood trim, thick carpeting and comfortable lounge chairs in an emerald shade. An adjoining room is restful with walls of sage green, seven clocks showing the current time in various sections of the world, plus a colorful map of the two hemispheres, bordered by small sketches of the noted buildings in each important country, such as the White House, the Taj Mahal, and the Eiffel Tower.
The auditorium is small and compact, seating just under 500 people, with the comfortable push-back seats in rust color, a clock on the wall for those who just drop in between appointments. The entire main floor is devoted to the amusements of patrons, including a large and handsomely decorated radio television salon — they didn’t call it a lounge because every cocktail dispensary in the neighborhood uses that label — which includes two soundproof booths for the use of disk jockeys [ed. note: WMOR-FM], announcers, guest stars or any other performers who may seem suitable. This spacious room is also provided with several television sets for the use of patrons.
The entire house is a demonstration of quiet good taste, plus efficiency. The ladies' powder room is carpeted in pale pink, with pink and silver walls. The box-office adjoins the manager’s office, thus obviating the necessity of locking doors, and running back and forth with change and safe deposits.
The patrons' comfort is assured on the first floor, the employees' on the second. Here is a spacious projection room, with the most modern equipment and ample room for television if the future provides it. There are also spick and span dressing and washrooms for the usherettes, completely air-conditioned, as is the entire theater.
The house will be open from 1:45 p. m. to midnight. The latest in newsreels, shorts such as the "This Is America” series, and some cartoons will be featured.
The management, which owns and operates 14 theaters spotted thruout the country, finds that women are its best patrons, and that business follows the trend of big news. When newspaper headlines are startling or important, their business picks up; a lull in the press is followed by a drop-off in newsreel fans.“ – Chicago Tribune, Oct 30, 1949
1949-1954: Not sure, but likely operated by Telenews under a 5 year lease
1954-1963: Sylvan Goldfinger (also the Loop theater, itself formerly also the Telenews)
1963-1981: Oscar Brotman, Brotman & Sherman Theaters
1981-close: Plitt, Cineplex Odeon
Wondering if someone might know of an individual who would of been in charge of this paticualr theaters theatrical movie bills here in Chicago?
David – That is possible. The listings I have are only for its main attractions. No sneak previews or midnight shows.
Didn’t the Carnegie once show a montage of Sonja Heine’s skating numbers from her films? The presentation was late at night, possibly at midnight.