I was only in the Davis a few times in the late `80’s. “Look Who’s Talking” is all I remember though. Maybe “976-Evil” too. I love that they’ve maintained their huge vertical signage.
I wish them continued success.
We saw a few things at the Lakeshore. Animated stuff like “Wizards” by Ralph Bashki, possibly along with “Fritz The Cat”. This would have been 1977 or so.
Next door was a long time 24 hour restaurant called Rickeys. Where the Chipotle is now. Chock full of neighborhood characters just like down on Rush St. This area was then called Newtown. Across from Rickeys & The Lakeshore Theatre on the S/W corner of Belmont & Broadway, was a Golden Nugget Pancake House. Where the KFC was in the `80’s, maybe now a bank. Not sure.
There was also an oddly placed mini-McDonald’s next to that, recessed into the building just South of Golden Nugget. On the N/E corner where the Walgreen’s is now, was of course Evergreen Foods. There was also a Dominicks on Broadway that burned about 3 years ago.,whose lot was next to Friar Tucks. Which has been there as far back as I can remember.
Across from that was a bar called The Fat Black Pussy Cat, where Monsignor Murphys is now. It had a small outdoor porch you could drink on overlooking Broadway. In 1977, B'way was cruise city for cars. It was routinely bumper to bumper on Friday & Saturday nights.
Most congested from Diversey to Belmont.
Broadway like Rush St. was full of eclectic stores that stayed open late most of the time.
As I recall, the Annoyance Theatre’s first home may have also been on Broadway right on the alley, across from where Briar starts Westbound.
I think that was where “The Real Live Brady Bunch” play was at. Either next door to Pleasure Chest or very close.
In the late `80’s, the one time sign for an old club called The Phoenix, sat propped up in the doorway of the shuttered Belmont Theatre.
The Phoenix was a giant bar/club on Broadway between Diversey & Surf. Where Marshall’s and all that is now.
It was a deviously large building once you were indoors. It had bars that connected to other bars in endless rooms. And an even larger auditorium like room in the very back. They had different bands in different rooms.
Often Reggae was a standard in one of them. I was there as late as 1982 as I recall. If anyone knows if this was possibly originally a theatre itself, please pass it along. It was on the West side of Broadway, next to a gas station at Surf & Broadway. Across from Round Records, Ranatti’s & once a Ponderosa where the Walgreens is at Diversey & Broadway.(I remember that all burned in the winter of 1976. Years before the film “Backdraft”, the fire dept. hoses encased a VW in ice, that was illegally parked in front of the hydrant)
There was also a bar called Gaffers on the East side of Broadway, that had windows that opened to the street. They were one of the first bars to utilize sodium vapor lights on their own facade. So it was a visible bright orange from a block away. The city had only then recently converted to SV lamps for the city street lamps. From the old white-ish/green-ish ones. Critics claimed the new SV street lamps caused the trees to continuously grow even at night.
I drove by the Lincoln-Belmont Theatre building today. On the Ashland Ave. side there is scaffolding spanning most of the elevation. Must be maintainence or brick work or something. The balconies are unique on the Ashland Ave. elevation, as they are actually recessed into the building. In between columns so they do not hang over the sidewalk. They hang over their own property. Essentially protected from downward elements. This also could have once saved money for developers. As the city’s “air rights” over the sidewalk may have been averted.
The Lincoln Ave. elevation has long had a “Lincoln Theatre Lofts” for sale or rent sign attached to it. There was also a Walgreen’s tucked inside on the Lincoln Ave. side, in late 1989.
For the record, and unrelated to Lincoln Theatre, the City of Chicago has had a “Critical Inspection” mandate since about the year 2000. When terra cotta started falling off of a major building downtown, and they apparently had to chase down the owners.
Essentially this then meant any building over aprox. 80 feet, must undergo a costly, independent critical inspection of/on it’s facade. The cost of this inspection & the firms that do it, are on the backs of any given condo associations for the residential ones. Potentially financially crippling to some smaller buildings with fewer units, but yet tall enough to qualify.
Part of this inspection apparently includes randomly drilling into brickwork. One would think the inspection itself would undermine structural integrity. But then again how else is it gonna get done.
I’m sure the city is just being thorough.
I always wondered why the Lincoln-Belmont Theatre was called that, and not the Lincoln-Ashland Theatre.
Cause technically only the North triangular point of the building, faces Belmont. Where as the building is actually ON the other two streets.
With even a small traffic island in between the Northbound point & Belmont, the building is clearly not on Belmont. But Belmont Ave. has the elevated CTA train station, so that could be why.
I saw only a few things at The Evanston, “Alien” & “Ghostbusters” for sure. Down the street to the East at the smaller theatres, I saw the first “City Slickers” & few others.
I’m not sure how the neighboring smaller theatres are listed on Cinema Treasures, but they & the Evanston were separated by about 3 store fronts. And had their own address. Even after the larger Evanston was a multi-screen, the smaller Evanston Cinemas down the street stayed open.
Wow, thanks for posting the movies list from the Playboy. I’d truly forgotten how many features I’d seen there in the `70’s. I think I may have even seen “Georgy Girl” there with my parents before that. Many memories there, especially the midnight double features. Which though they are not listed as such, often included some of the main features that are, in those double bills.
Maybe they had good turnouts for the films initially, and brought back the popular ones for inclusion in the midnight sets. Some 2nd run films as well. For instance I don’t see the 3 & 4 Musketeers listed, but know they played as a midnight double bill shortly after the 2nd one came out.
The Playboy must have done their Chaplin Festival after the long success the Carnegie had with theirs.
I’m not sure if The Chelex maintained any midnight showings after it was no longer the Playboy.
The sad part is given the never ending nightlife nearby, I’d bet a tiny theatre would still fly there. The constant foot traffic was always better at Dearborn & Division, than around the Village Theatre.
My mother recently told me when she was a child near Armitage & Clybourn, her mother would take her & her younger brothers to the Gold Coast(Village) Theatre. However The Gold Coast would often not admit children, regardless of what was playing.
So they’d take the street car over a few blocks to the Lane Court Theatre(Park West).
When her & her brothers would go out on their own, they’d get one dollar to split 3 ways. 33 cents each, with the extra penny going towards candy they could share. The dollar included street car fare 3-cents each, and the movies for a nickel each. Their mother hadn’t known the youngest brother rode for free when with his siblings. So they spent his car fare on more candy.
The Germania Club next door used to host the Santa Claus Anonymous singles parties in the 1970’s.
In addition to seeing the original Longest Yard at the Village, I’d seen Jurassic Park, Waynes World 2, the Oceans 11 remake and various others before that in the 70's &80’S.
Doh!,stupid me. “Skatetown” U.S.A. played the Woods almost a year before Xanadu was released. 10/79 vs. 8/80.
So the imdb page must have meant “rushed into production”, as to not be hurt by “Xanadu”. Still, really? Like anything with Ron Palillo, Maureen McCormick & Patrick Swayze had a worry about ONJ?
Great pictures. The first is indeed early 80's or very late70’s. The cab doing the lane stradling on the left is a post`78 Ford LTD or Mercury Crown Vic.
You can also see the back of the once smoking Winston billboard over the Walgreens. It had a control room built onto the back.
The second photo is also early 80’s. Though “Skatetown U.S.A.” was made in 1979, according to imdb.com it’s release date was held up as to not be hurt by Xanadu. Imagine that ever being a fear. Scott Baio actually had top billing, but the Woods apparently chose to blaze Flip Wilson’s name in lights.
I’d forgotten how unique the Woods additional upper marquee was. Individual sculpted letters made up of different colored bulbs. Wouldn’t have risked the dogs at Shmendl’s by that time.
There was an Orange Julius nearby though, I think next to the State-Lake.
I liked the Woods a lot. Clean, well run with seemingly a lot of ushers.
We saw “Diamonds Are Forever” there, and “The Spy Who Loved Me” with a group of about 6-7 people.
I remember the crowds at “Diamonds Are Forever”, and the ushers doing their best to maintain order. Red velvet ropes were used to contain those in line until the previous performance had cleared completely. We were 11 years old going on about 14. But there would be no sneeking a second viewing that time around.
I thought that since it was in and of the building above it, that it would somehow be saved by default. Who knew Loop values would go so wild, after years of a ghost town atmosphere at night.
Nearby or maybe next to The Oriental was a restaurant/bar that had a giant offset swing, that a girl swung out over Randolph on. She was 2 stories up, and it looked dangerous as all get out.
It wasn’t the Red Garter Revue though, as that facade is way too small.
This place with giant swing was German I think. I think it was next to Ronnie’s Steak House.
Near the Woods also was a basement bar that ABC’s Joel Daly’s Sundowners band used to play at a lot.
There was also a Red Garter Saloon on Pearson between State & Wabash. Where Loyola’s Law School is now. They had live, New Orleans style entertainment.
I remember seeing “Carrie” at The Coronet. My friend who’d already seen it, grabbed my arm at film’s end(SpoilerAlert), when Amy Irving has a dream sequence. I nearly lept into the 80's.
I also saw "Rocky" there as I recall.
When it tried to become a concert venue in the90’s, I remember reading that the proprietors met nothing but community resistance. Particulary from the then Alderman, possibly not even from that ward.
It involved the sale of liquor. And a dispute about patrons being allowed to only drink in the lobby, and not carry the drinks into the auditorium. A technicality apparently in the proposed license process.
I think even spotters were snuck in to catch any possible “wrongdoing” in the act.
A mindset that was probably part of why Evanston was dry until 1975. Though the Coronet’s previous porno incarnation couldn’t have helped.
In the building known as The Main next door was Amazing Grace. Another venue that featured folk music, etc. Along with a barber shop, restaurant called the Main, and some other shops. I drove by there last week. The entire corner is gone. Aross on the S/W corner is the famous Main Street New Stand. The original neon sign adorning a newer structure.
I remember seeing “Little Big Man” with Dustin Hoffman at the Howard Theatre. It was around Christmas maybe 1971 or `72. When we went in it was sunny. When we came out, it was already dark and snowing profusely. After leaving the Howard we visited the then Rogers Park home of Chicago Artist Tom Skomski.
He was working on an exhibition that included plastic replicas of human arms.
After having just seen Custer’s massacre during the movie, my nightmares would now be complete.
P.S. I notcied on the film list above, that in it’s final years the Cinema Theatre must have bounced back & forth from Art films to 1st or 2nd run films to bolster viewership. Kramer Vs. Kramer, Blue Lagoon, & Private Benjiman were all released in the years they are listed as showing. Only the Great Santini appears it was a 2nd run.
Thank you CinemaMary for generously donating the Cinema marquee to the Chicago Historical Society, now History Museum. I’m sure it is a long story. For even storing an item of such size must have been costly.
I have seen it and it is beautiful. Brought back many memories.
Along with the “Gas For Less” sign that adorned Lincoln Ave. a block South of Hutchinson St. for decades.
Thanks for the clarification. I must have thought Water Tower Place opened in 1979, but maybe that was the year some marble slabs started falling off.
I remember the gigantic Pearson Hotel being torn down in order to build Water Tower Place, and I was still on a bike. Which would have been like 73 or74. So it must have been completed a few years later. The interior of the mall was the showcase at the time.
In a perfect world, a replacement Cinema Theatre could maybe have been built into the same space it occupied once that new building was done.
But multi-plexs and video rental stores were definately on the rise at that time. And who’s to say the land owners were ever big movie fans to begin with.
It’s nice the actual vintage Water Tower annex building across from both, has been outfitted with at least live theatre space.
The Granada was indeed a beautiful place. I remember seeing the `60’s cartoon “The Aristocats”, Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” & “Taxi Driver” all at the Granada. After OHMSS, we went to a carnival set up on Loyola’s then track field. Behind and to the East.
It was a shame the Granada couldn’t be saved. Loyola also tore down their own vintage dark brick athletic building just North & behind the tracks.
The one that long had their 1963 Basketball Championship signage on it. Visible from the “L”.
I drove by when the Granada was being torn down. I’m sure Loyola had their own plans in mind long before it all happened. Just as they did on Pearson Street, down on the Near North Side. Quigley beware.
They also took over what was called Mundelien College, East on Devon near the lakefront. Fully incorporating it all into their campus.
I didn’t know that there was a different, classic marquee originallyon the Granada. I can’t wait for Mr. Kuecker’s new website.
For the record, Broadway was originally called Evanston Avenue. Probably because it led to where else, Evanston.
Years back, there was a church that burned & was torn down about 3 blocks North of Belmont on Broadway. When it was being razed, the exposed corner stone said “Evanston Avenue Church”. Northbound Broadway turns into Sheridan at Devon.
North of the Granada on Sheridan in the 70's &80’s, were Loyola bar Ramblers, Minstrels, & Hueys. Hueys was a bar with live bands that you had to go up a long stairwell to enter. The bouncers knew the advantage of their stairwell quite well. They’d stage guys at the top & street level. Trouble was oddly beaten UP the stairs, to avoid whatever scene was caused.
Across the street was a breakfast joint called The New Old Place. It was 24 hours for a while. They did great biz after the bars closed. Loyola then took it over as their Fine Arts studios. But it still retained it’s restaurant, Tudor style roofline & huge parking lot until it was all torn down. It had one large peak over the entrance, and smaller peaks over the rest.
I wish I’d known Harry Chapin was at the Granada. I wasn’t far from there then, and would have made the effort.
I wonder if any program/handbills still exist from the Granada when it briefly ventured into concerts. I’m also curious what year the giant, vertical Granada sign was removed, and if it coincided with the newer marquee.
P.S. I just did a Google search on Sally’s Stage, and the first wiki/answers.com page that came up, had a brief but thorough history of it.
It mentons the Barton theater organ, but didn’t name the Nortown. It did however mention the organist from the Hinsdale Theatre played it at Sallys.
The owner Joe Bortz also owned the two Dr. Jazz Ice Cream stores. One on Montrose & one in Evanston.(Down the street from the Coronet Theatre)
Maybe the CT administrator can put up the link here and/or on the Nortown page.
I was at the Genesee about 3 years ago to see Olivia Newton John. The theatre had been beautifully restored. One of the employees describing the original theatre said there was a tunnel underneath that brought cool water directly over from the lake, which operated as air conditioning back in the day. (And Genesee recently paid what for HVAC?)
He also said I think Jack Benny had his own special office somewhere in the building. One he could sleep in overnight if need be.
Pay for a hotel? Pleeze.
That extra lobby foyer under the marquee seemed to have been added at a later date. It’s where they staged the ticket holders prior to entry. Unfortunately the table that sold all the ONJ stuff was just inside as well. Causing a bigger back up than already happening.
Our seats were underneath the balcony wings on the left. The further back the seats were under these wings, the less you saw of the top of the stage. In ONJ’s case, she had a ever changing video montage running up & behind her during the show. This was a little difficult to see fully, but was workable.
The only real problem was, they have small speakers mounted on the underside ceilings of these wings. Presumably to increase the performer’s sound to those not directly in front of the stage. However, the overall volume even with these additional speakers, was drastically inadequate.
So much so that more than a few people kept yelling back to turn it up. To no avail. When I kindly mentioned this deficeincy to the sound engineer on the way out, he snapped as if every single person in the house had already told him the same. And boldly stated that “that is how it is”.
He also was rather rudely telling fans that “she was already long gone from the building”.
Elvis couldn’t have left that fast.
Out front was one non descript bus. So we instinctively went around back to find a much nicer bus with Oregon plates. Idling away and giving a contact diesel high to the few who were waiting by the two swinging stage doors.
I will never in my life forget, the stunned face of the poor dude who came out first to a storm of flashbulbs.
Carrying two small, metal water bowls for ONJ’s dogs.
The Skokie Theatre has had a virtually non-stop schedule in recent months. Singers, musicians & even plays such as Hizzoner.
Within the last year, The Village of Skokie has been working towards a plan to build a new CTA/Skokie Swift platform at Oakton Street & Skokie Blvd. Basically on the site where the was one originally. They were last trying to appropiate the land of an existing truck rental firm, to clear and create enough room for a Kiss & Ride stop as part of the new platform. In addition to helping the revitalization of downtown Skokie, this should help the Skokie Theatre as well.
Last year I believe they ran Charlie Chaplin films at the Skokie Theatre as part of the village’s Backlot Bash.
So some provisions must exist for it to again be able to show movies.
Wow, thanks Ron. That’s exactly the kind of conversion I was trying to describe. That’s great that it’s already been done within a vintage theatre elsewhere.
Maybe the new owners will hopefully read Cinema Treasures, and contact those involved who budgeted for and made the Paramount in Seattle happen.
I wonder what The Paramount’s parking scenario is.
Also, to Jayne1955, I reread some of the past posts. I seem to remember now that Sally’s Stage near Devon & Western was the restaurant the Nortown Theatre’s organ was taken to. It was directly across the street. And it’s showbiz theme would have been a natural. I think the organ was on the North wall of Sally’s Stage. I was there in the late `70’s. And they had banjo players and all kinds of stuff going on.
Kind of like Ed Debevics or Dick’s Last Resort. Thankfully without the attitude though.
Greetings. I too would love to see the Uptown restored to it’s original state first. As a theatre for films, stage plays & concerts you could sit at.
I was just speculating on how it would/could be profitable or even able to break even, with just nightly shows again. Other than big name entertainers, what could they do to keep it an active place and paying for itself on a daily basis.
I was trying to throw out generic examples of how to adapt the space so it could be used as often as possible.
Barring running matinee & evening performances of virtually everything, it might take a long time to reach the break even point. Especially if $35 million is spent before ever opening the doors. And that presumably being partially borrowed with it’s own interest, etc.
Some accounting firm will figure that one out. They’d probably start with something like: If it sold out every existing seat with 4300 people paying $100 a ticket, there’s $430,000 on a given night. Somebody please check my math, I failed everything past the 8th grade.
Now say they removed just the first floor seats(grrrr), and squeezed in more bodies for a concert, lets round it out to earning $500,000 per sold out show.
Including or excluding expensive VIP box seats or freebies or whatever, let’s just use the $500K as a super-generous nightly pull-in.
If they pay Sting, Cher or whoever $200,000 of that, or whatever the going rock star rate is, they’re left with $300K, which has to pay everyone else, the utilities, unions, and whatever’s left of that $35 million dollar renovation bill.
Since it’s not realistic that they could consistently have Sting’s or Cher’s on a nightly basis, or not always have sell outs with others, the intake would probably be erratic from show to show. And likely half or less than all of the above. So the down time would be critical.
Plus the United Center would be saying “Hey Cher, we can get you 35,000 more ticket buyers and parking for them.” So all the internal marketing would be new ground for promoters to convince or overpay name entertainers, to play the Uptown instead.
Though some veteran entertainers I would like to think would be willing to play for free or limited pay. Just to get the whole thing off the ground on the right note and for sentimental reasons.
Since regular nightly shows is more of ironically a Broadway thing, stage shows & musicals would be the next likely entertainment to consider on a part time basis. Shows that can maybe profit better after limited or lengthy runs. That’s assuming the seats are left in or removable at will. Pulling “Broadway In Chicago” into the mix might be an advantage.
Who knows? The accountants sure will have there hands full, and hopefully be able to pull it all off with flying colors.
P.S. There used to be a cool restaurant across from the Nortown called Sally’s Stage. It had an a very animated waitstaff on skates or something with a stage show during dinner. Big fun.
Theme conventions is a great example of mixed-use. Hypothetically, take something like the Rocky Horror convention, Comic-Con, Sci-Fi or whatever else. Those organizers would likely gladly pay dearly, to host their conventions in such a classic setting. But it wouldn’t have to be limited to the lobby.
Maybe when they restore the auditorium portion, depending on how drastic the pitch of the floor/seats is down to the stage, they could incorporate some type of removable floor sections just inside the auditorium from the lobby.
This would allow larger conventions
that require table space, to span out of the lobby and into the granduer of the auditorium. Then replace the floor sections & rear seats as the entertainment dictates from show to show. I always wondered why the Park West never ventured into this on a smaller scale. With their perfectly flat floor in front of the stage.
Or maybe the vacant furniture store to the North of the Uptown, could be outfitted as convention space. With the main entertainment of any given convention taking place in the theatre.
Then make a super sized Shake, Rattle & Read the anchor tenant, expanding all of his media to the soon to be added diverse foot traffic.
I hope all of the Uptown’s community embraces whatever plans & renovations are proposed. Fully understanding that it could mean upwards of an additional 5000 people to the neighborhood on a more regular basis.
This would be a huge boon to the area economy, and anything is worth the sacrifice to end decades of the Uptown’s non use. After all, it is obviously the area’s largest namesake landmark. And should be a proud achievement once it’s completed.
Thanks to you all. My querys on the Alameda/Biltmore, Palacio/Sheridan & Sunset Drive In were all answered in record time. And thanks to BWChicago, I now fully understand the advanced search fields. It was clearly me, and not my archaic WebTV.
As long as I’m here, I’ll post my little tidbits of the Uptown. It was here I’m sure I saw ELO for the first time. Had to be 1973 or `74 because they’d opened for someone else. Possibly Zappa, and not yet themselves headliners. Though I’d think I would remember the latter.
The Uptown was an inspirational place, especially for the progressive rock folks. It gave “Roll Over Beethoven” a surreal quality in such opulant surroundings.
There was a multi-story, possibly city run, customer pay parking structure, just East of the “L” tracks behind the Firestone dealer. It entered & exited onto Broadway using long concrete ramps. This would have been a great asset now with JAM’s involvement, if it had not been torn down years ago. Maybe it could be rebuilt if still vacant. The parking of the various show’s semis, is an excellent point.
And really should be the first thing JAM looks at as far as what they can do on the same nights at both the Riv & Uptown. Never take a community for granted. And trucks belching smoke out 24/7, and the rolling of Anvil cases will get old quick. Even the Riv has used both sides of Lawrence in the past. The side street behind the Uptown would likely need to be reconfigured somehow. Part of the backstage converted to loading dock or something, a previous post suggested.
Maybe the vacant furniture store portion to the North, could be hollowed out as stage access. I worked at Fanning Cadillac at Foster & Broadway. The trucks that delivered our new cars came right down Broadway.
The price JAM & their partners reportedly paid seems like a both a bargain and a blessing.
Since JAM is an established Chicago entertainment company willing to take it on, maybe great things are ahead. The Riviera’s existing interior cosmetics are of slight concern, if that’s some kind of base line. But maybe there’s a bigger plan down the road.
Of course none of these places started out weathered, they just ended up that way. We were warned of the evils of Rock & Roll.
Surely any future work done at the Uptown would be gone over with a magnifying glass. I’m not implying that anyone would cut a corner. Just that it probably wouldn’t be possible.
And in theory, when it starts out looking nice again, like the Chicago Theatre, it will stay that way.
From a business point of view, owning such a massive piece of land 4-5 blocks from the lake and near transportation, is never a wrong move.
Saving as much of the original Uptown both as asthetically & as is fiscally possible, given asbestos and everything else they’ll encounter will be a monumental task.
The biggest culprits will likely be the roof, and years of limited or no heat during those many winters. It’s a given all plumbing & electrical will need replacing, even if you were to restore to it’s original use.
They’ll be heros no matter waht they try, after 27 years of dormancy.
Any conversion though that could possibly end up paying for itself over time, would likely have to include creating a multi-use venue with year round usability. Sadly that would likely mean somehow dividing the auditorium and it’s once touted “acre of seats”.
The massive span of the interior space can’t be financially profitable to do only nightly shows for one audience anymore. It why places like the Uptown closed in the first place.
It would likely take round the clock, United Center level performers like Elton John every day, to merely break even.
And that’s after all the renovation costs. More would have to be going on in a mixed use building on a daily basis just to pay the utilities in any economy.
Since JAM has been doing it so long, and knows the numbers their neighboring venues can pull in, they were probably the only realistic hope the Uptown had left. Barring a Trump like guy who just wants to see it happen. No group can stave off the city forever. And JAM at least has a working relationship with them.
And since it would be closer to no longer being an eyesore, or complained about to the city, they’d be receptive and workable on anything positive happening as we are.
One can only hope it can all be done realistically, tastefully and incorporate the rich Uptown area history. Green Mill, Uptown Bank building, etc.
Maybe they’ll be open to or solicit suggestions once there’s an outline of what’s realistic or not.
It took me a while to track this one down. I saw Clint in “The Enforcer” here when it came out. Or whatever the one with Tyne Daly was. Being an action film, the crowd went out in a haze of gravel when departing.
I had a `56 Plymouth Savoy. It was a minor attraction at the show given it’s age.
But they never checked my trunk.
Thanks BWChicago for pointing me in the right direction. I never noticed the “previous names” search field.
The Sheridan’s incarnation as The Palacio is what I remember. Across from The Palacio on the N/E corner of Irving & Sheridan was a giant club called Berlitz or something. It had a huge vertical sign and was open well into the 70's or early80’s as a bar with bands.
I think it was originally a dance/social hall on a much less fancy level than the Aragon Ballroom.
Or Brawlroom, for those who ever made it to some of it’s `70’s concerts.
I also didn’t know the Festival was formerly the Mode. We went there in 1978 or`79, when a friend of mine had a thing for a redheaded, X-rated actress. Lisa De-something. Again, I had the car. Was I to argue??
The Festival was really pretty beat by this time, so much so that even the actress looked a little uncomfortable being there. And you’d think nothing would phase her in her profession.
I think the Festival was briefly converted into an small grocery store before it was finally torn down. (your comment here)
This would have been years before the Admiral got a significant makeover, uh, so I heard.
The diner across from Biasettis/Cordiss Bros., was just called “Diner”, when another friend of mine worked there 18 years ago. It was reportedly originally an Evanston train car. It was owned by the DeMars family who had restaurants scattered about the city. Including Arnold’s at Irving & Broadway.
The diner was home of the Slinger. Whose ingredients included eggs, burgers, chili, hash browns, etc. As the sign said. “Don’t ask, just eat it”.
A hit with the after 2am crowd.
I was only in the Davis a few times in the late `80’s. “Look Who’s Talking” is all I remember though. Maybe “976-Evil” too. I love that they’ve maintained their huge vertical signage.
I wish them continued success.
We saw a few things at the Lakeshore. Animated stuff like “Wizards” by Ralph Bashki, possibly along with “Fritz The Cat”. This would have been 1977 or so.
Next door was a long time 24 hour restaurant called Rickeys. Where the Chipotle is now. Chock full of neighborhood characters just like down on Rush St. This area was then called Newtown. Across from Rickeys & The Lakeshore Theatre on the S/W corner of Belmont & Broadway, was a Golden Nugget Pancake House. Where the KFC was in the `80’s, maybe now a bank. Not sure.
There was also an oddly placed mini-McDonald’s next to that, recessed into the building just South of Golden Nugget. On the N/E corner where the Walgreen’s is now, was of course Evergreen Foods. There was also a Dominicks on Broadway that burned about 3 years ago.,whose lot was next to Friar Tucks. Which has been there as far back as I can remember.
Across from that was a bar called The Fat Black Pussy Cat, where Monsignor Murphys is now. It had a small outdoor porch you could drink on overlooking Broadway. In 1977, B'way was cruise city for cars. It was routinely bumper to bumper on Friday & Saturday nights.
Most congested from Diversey to Belmont.
Broadway like Rush St. was full of eclectic stores that stayed open late most of the time.
As I recall, the Annoyance Theatre’s first home may have also been on Broadway right on the alley, across from where Briar starts Westbound.
I think that was where “The Real Live Brady Bunch” play was at. Either next door to Pleasure Chest or very close.
In the late `80’s, the one time sign for an old club called The Phoenix, sat propped up in the doorway of the shuttered Belmont Theatre.
The Phoenix was a giant bar/club on Broadway between Diversey & Surf. Where Marshall’s and all that is now.
It was a deviously large building once you were indoors. It had bars that connected to other bars in endless rooms. And an even larger auditorium like room in the very back. They had different bands in different rooms.
Often Reggae was a standard in one of them. I was there as late as 1982 as I recall. If anyone knows if this was possibly originally a theatre itself, please pass it along. It was on the West side of Broadway, next to a gas station at Surf & Broadway. Across from Round Records, Ranatti’s & once a Ponderosa where the Walgreens is at Diversey & Broadway.(I remember that all burned in the winter of 1976. Years before the film “Backdraft”, the fire dept. hoses encased a VW in ice, that was illegally parked in front of the hydrant)
There was also a bar called Gaffers on the East side of Broadway, that had windows that opened to the street. They were one of the first bars to utilize sodium vapor lights on their own facade. So it was a visible bright orange from a block away. The city had only then recently converted to SV lamps for the city street lamps. From the old white-ish/green-ish ones. Critics claimed the new SV street lamps caused the trees to continuously grow even at night.
I drove by the Lincoln-Belmont Theatre building today. On the Ashland Ave. side there is scaffolding spanning most of the elevation. Must be maintainence or brick work or something. The balconies are unique on the Ashland Ave. elevation, as they are actually recessed into the building. In between columns so they do not hang over the sidewalk. They hang over their own property. Essentially protected from downward elements. This also could have once saved money for developers. As the city’s “air rights” over the sidewalk may have been averted.
The Lincoln Ave. elevation has long had a “Lincoln Theatre Lofts” for sale or rent sign attached to it. There was also a Walgreen’s tucked inside on the Lincoln Ave. side, in late 1989.
For the record, and unrelated to Lincoln Theatre, the City of Chicago has had a “Critical Inspection” mandate since about the year 2000. When terra cotta started falling off of a major building downtown, and they apparently had to chase down the owners.
Essentially this then meant any building over aprox. 80 feet, must undergo a costly, independent critical inspection of/on it’s facade. The cost of this inspection & the firms that do it, are on the backs of any given condo associations for the residential ones. Potentially financially crippling to some smaller buildings with fewer units, but yet tall enough to qualify.
Part of this inspection apparently includes randomly drilling into brickwork. One would think the inspection itself would undermine structural integrity. But then again how else is it gonna get done.
I’m sure the city is just being thorough.
I always wondered why the Lincoln-Belmont Theatre was called that, and not the Lincoln-Ashland Theatre.
Cause technically only the North triangular point of the building, faces Belmont. Where as the building is actually ON the other two streets.
With even a small traffic island in between the Northbound point & Belmont, the building is clearly not on Belmont. But Belmont Ave. has the elevated CTA train station, so that could be why.
I saw only a few things at The Evanston, “Alien” & “Ghostbusters” for sure. Down the street to the East at the smaller theatres, I saw the first “City Slickers” & few others.
I’m not sure how the neighboring smaller theatres are listed on Cinema Treasures, but they & the Evanston were separated by about 3 store fronts. And had their own address. Even after the larger Evanston was a multi-screen, the smaller Evanston Cinemas down the street stayed open.
Wow, thanks for posting the movies list from the Playboy. I’d truly forgotten how many features I’d seen there in the `70’s. I think I may have even seen “Georgy Girl” there with my parents before that. Many memories there, especially the midnight double features. Which though they are not listed as such, often included some of the main features that are, in those double bills.
Maybe they had good turnouts for the films initially, and brought back the popular ones for inclusion in the midnight sets. Some 2nd run films as well. For instance I don’t see the 3 & 4 Musketeers listed, but know they played as a midnight double bill shortly after the 2nd one came out.
The Playboy must have done their Chaplin Festival after the long success the Carnegie had with theirs.
I’m not sure if The Chelex maintained any midnight showings after it was no longer the Playboy.
The sad part is given the never ending nightlife nearby, I’d bet a tiny theatre would still fly there. The constant foot traffic was always better at Dearborn & Division, than around the Village Theatre.
My mother recently told me when she was a child near Armitage & Clybourn, her mother would take her & her younger brothers to the Gold Coast(Village) Theatre. However The Gold Coast would often not admit children, regardless of what was playing.
So they’d take the street car over a few blocks to the Lane Court Theatre(Park West).
When her & her brothers would go out on their own, they’d get one dollar to split 3 ways. 33 cents each, with the extra penny going towards candy they could share. The dollar included street car fare 3-cents each, and the movies for a nickel each. Their mother hadn’t known the youngest brother rode for free when with his siblings. So they spent his car fare on more candy.
The Germania Club next door used to host the Santa Claus Anonymous singles parties in the 1970’s.
In addition to seeing the original Longest Yard at the Village, I’d seen Jurassic Park, Waynes World 2, the Oceans 11 remake and various others before that in the
70's &80’S.Doh!,stupid me. “Skatetown” U.S.A. played the Woods almost a year before Xanadu was released. 10/79 vs. 8/80.
So the imdb page must have meant “rushed into production”, as to not be hurt by “Xanadu”. Still, really? Like anything with Ron Palillo, Maureen McCormick & Patrick Swayze had a worry about ONJ?
Great pictures. The first is indeed early
80's or very late70’s. The cab doing the lane stradling on the left is a post`78 Ford LTD or Mercury Crown Vic.You can also see the back of the once smoking Winston billboard over the Walgreens. It had a control room built onto the back.
The second photo is also early 80’s. Though “Skatetown U.S.A.” was made in 1979, according to imdb.com it’s release date was held up as to not be hurt by Xanadu. Imagine that ever being a fear. Scott Baio actually had top billing, but the Woods apparently chose to blaze Flip Wilson’s name in lights.
I’d forgotten how unique the Woods additional upper marquee was. Individual sculpted letters made up of different colored bulbs. Wouldn’t have risked the dogs at Shmendl’s by that time.
There was an Orange Julius nearby though, I think next to the State-Lake.
Greetings. Different Evanston. Doris Day was born in Evanston, Ohio. Near Cincinatti. The Coronet was in Evanston Illinois.
I liked the Woods a lot. Clean, well run with seemingly a lot of ushers.
We saw “Diamonds Are Forever” there, and “The Spy Who Loved Me” with a group of about 6-7 people.
I remember the crowds at “Diamonds Are Forever”, and the ushers doing their best to maintain order. Red velvet ropes were used to contain those in line until the previous performance had cleared completely. We were 11 years old going on about 14. But there would be no sneeking a second viewing that time around.
I thought that since it was in and of the building above it, that it would somehow be saved by default. Who knew Loop values would go so wild, after years of a ghost town atmosphere at night.
Nearby or maybe next to The Oriental was a restaurant/bar that had a giant offset swing, that a girl swung out over Randolph on. She was 2 stories up, and it looked dangerous as all get out.
It wasn’t the Red Garter Revue though, as that facade is way too small.
This place with giant swing was German I think. I think it was next to Ronnie’s Steak House.
Near the Woods also was a basement bar that ABC’s Joel Daly’s Sundowners band used to play at a lot.
There was also a Red Garter Saloon on Pearson between State & Wabash. Where Loyola’s Law School is now. They had live, New Orleans style entertainment.
I remember seeing “Carrie” at The Coronet. My friend who’d already seen it, grabbed my arm at film’s end(SpoilerAlert), when Amy Irving has a dream sequence. I nearly lept into the
80's. I also saw "Rocky" there as I recall. When it tried to become a concert venue in the90’s, I remember reading that the proprietors met nothing but community resistance. Particulary from the then Alderman, possibly not even from that ward.It involved the sale of liquor. And a dispute about patrons being allowed to only drink in the lobby, and not carry the drinks into the auditorium. A technicality apparently in the proposed license process.
I think even spotters were snuck in to catch any possible “wrongdoing” in the act.
A mindset that was probably part of why Evanston was dry until 1975. Though the Coronet’s previous porno incarnation couldn’t have helped.
In the building known as The Main next door was Amazing Grace. Another venue that featured folk music, etc. Along with a barber shop, restaurant called the Main, and some other shops. I drove by there last week. The entire corner is gone. Aross on the S/W corner is the famous Main Street New Stand. The original neon sign adorning a newer structure.
I remember seeing “Little Big Man” with Dustin Hoffman at the Howard Theatre. It was around Christmas maybe 1971 or `72. When we went in it was sunny. When we came out, it was already dark and snowing profusely. After leaving the Howard we visited the then Rogers Park home of Chicago Artist Tom Skomski.
He was working on an exhibition that included plastic replicas of human arms.
After having just seen Custer’s massacre during the movie, my nightmares would now be complete.
P.S. I notcied on the film list above, that in it’s final years the Cinema Theatre must have bounced back & forth from Art films to 1st or 2nd run films to bolster viewership. Kramer Vs. Kramer, Blue Lagoon, & Private Benjiman were all released in the years they are listed as showing. Only the Great Santini appears it was a 2nd run.
Thank you CinemaMary for generously donating the Cinema marquee to the Chicago Historical Society, now History Museum. I’m sure it is a long story. For even storing an item of such size must have been costly.
I have seen it and it is beautiful. Brought back many memories.
Along with the “Gas For Less” sign that adorned Lincoln Ave. a block South of Hutchinson St. for decades.
Thanks for the clarification. I must have thought Water Tower Place opened in 1979, but maybe that was the year some marble slabs started falling off.
I remember the gigantic Pearson Hotel being torn down in order to build Water Tower Place, and I was still on a bike. Which would have been like
73 or74. So it must have been completed a few years later. The interior of the mall was the showcase at the time.In a perfect world, a replacement Cinema Theatre could maybe have been built into the same space it occupied once that new building was done.
But multi-plexs and video rental stores were definately on the rise at that time. And who’s to say the land owners were ever big movie fans to begin with.
It’s nice the actual vintage Water Tower annex building across from both, has been outfitted with at least live theatre space.
The Granada was indeed a beautiful place. I remember seeing the `60’s cartoon “The Aristocats”, Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” & “Taxi Driver” all at the Granada. After OHMSS, we went to a carnival set up on Loyola’s then track field. Behind and to the East.
It was a shame the Granada couldn’t be saved. Loyola also tore down their own vintage dark brick athletic building just North & behind the tracks.
The one that long had their 1963 Basketball Championship signage on it. Visible from the “L”.
I drove by when the Granada was being torn down. I’m sure Loyola had their own plans in mind long before it all happened. Just as they did on Pearson Street, down on the Near North Side. Quigley beware.
They also took over what was called Mundelien College, East on Devon near the lakefront. Fully incorporating it all into their campus.
I didn’t know that there was a different, classic marquee originallyon the Granada. I can’t wait for Mr. Kuecker’s new website.
For the record, Broadway was originally called Evanston Avenue. Probably because it led to where else, Evanston.
Years back, there was a church that burned & was torn down about 3 blocks North of Belmont on Broadway. When it was being razed, the exposed corner stone said “Evanston Avenue Church”. Northbound Broadway turns into Sheridan at Devon.
North of the Granada on Sheridan in the
70's &80’s, were Loyola bar Ramblers, Minstrels, & Hueys. Hueys was a bar with live bands that you had to go up a long stairwell to enter. The bouncers knew the advantage of their stairwell quite well. They’d stage guys at the top & street level. Trouble was oddly beaten UP the stairs, to avoid whatever scene was caused.Across the street was a breakfast joint called The New Old Place. It was 24 hours for a while. They did great biz after the bars closed. Loyola then took it over as their Fine Arts studios. But it still retained it’s restaurant, Tudor style roofline & huge parking lot until it was all torn down. It had one large peak over the entrance, and smaller peaks over the rest.
I wish I’d known Harry Chapin was at the Granada. I wasn’t far from there then, and would have made the effort.
I wonder if any program/handbills still exist from the Granada when it briefly ventured into concerts. I’m also curious what year the giant, vertical Granada sign was removed, and if it coincided with the newer marquee.
P.S. I just did a Google search on Sally’s Stage, and the first wiki/answers.com page that came up, had a brief but thorough history of it.
It mentons the Barton theater organ, but didn’t name the Nortown. It did however mention the organist from the Hinsdale Theatre played it at Sallys.
The owner Joe Bortz also owned the two Dr. Jazz Ice Cream stores. One on Montrose & one in Evanston.(Down the street from the Coronet Theatre)
Maybe the CT administrator can put up the link here and/or on the Nortown page.
I was at the Genesee about 3 years ago to see Olivia Newton John. The theatre had been beautifully restored. One of the employees describing the original theatre said there was a tunnel underneath that brought cool water directly over from the lake, which operated as air conditioning back in the day. (And Genesee recently paid what for HVAC?)
He also said I think Jack Benny had his own special office somewhere in the building. One he could sleep in overnight if need be.
Pay for a hotel? Pleeze.
That extra lobby foyer under the marquee seemed to have been added at a later date. It’s where they staged the ticket holders prior to entry. Unfortunately the table that sold all the ONJ stuff was just inside as well. Causing a bigger back up than already happening.
Our seats were underneath the balcony wings on the left. The further back the seats were under these wings, the less you saw of the top of the stage. In ONJ’s case, she had a ever changing video montage running up & behind her during the show. This was a little difficult to see fully, but was workable.
The only real problem was, they have small speakers mounted on the underside ceilings of these wings. Presumably to increase the performer’s sound to those not directly in front of the stage. However, the overall volume even with these additional speakers, was drastically inadequate.
So much so that more than a few people kept yelling back to turn it up. To no avail. When I kindly mentioned this deficeincy to the sound engineer on the way out, he snapped as if every single person in the house had already told him the same. And boldly stated that “that is how it is”.
He also was rather rudely telling fans that “she was already long gone from the building”.
Elvis couldn’t have left that fast.
Out front was one non descript bus. So we instinctively went around back to find a much nicer bus with Oregon plates. Idling away and giving a contact diesel high to the few who were waiting by the two swinging stage doors.
I will never in my life forget, the stunned face of the poor dude who came out first to a storm of flashbulbs.
Carrying two small, metal water bowls for ONJ’s dogs.
The Skokie Theatre has had a virtually non-stop schedule in recent months. Singers, musicians & even plays such as Hizzoner.
Within the last year, The Village of Skokie has been working towards a plan to build a new CTA/Skokie Swift platform at Oakton Street & Skokie Blvd. Basically on the site where the was one originally. They were last trying to appropiate the land of an existing truck rental firm, to clear and create enough room for a Kiss & Ride stop as part of the new platform. In addition to helping the revitalization of downtown Skokie, this should help the Skokie Theatre as well.
Last year I believe they ran Charlie Chaplin films at the Skokie Theatre as part of the village’s Backlot Bash.
So some provisions must exist for it to again be able to show movies.
Wow, thanks Ron. That’s exactly the kind of conversion I was trying to describe. That’s great that it’s already been done within a vintage theatre elsewhere.
Maybe the new owners will hopefully read Cinema Treasures, and contact those involved who budgeted for and made the Paramount in Seattle happen.
I wonder what The Paramount’s parking scenario is.
Also, to Jayne1955, I reread some of the past posts. I seem to remember now that Sally’s Stage near Devon & Western was the restaurant the Nortown Theatre’s organ was taken to. It was directly across the street. And it’s showbiz theme would have been a natural. I think the organ was on the North wall of Sally’s Stage. I was there in the late `70’s. And they had banjo players and all kinds of stuff going on.
Kind of like Ed Debevics or Dick’s Last Resort. Thankfully without the attitude though.
Greetings. I too would love to see the Uptown restored to it’s original state first. As a theatre for films, stage plays & concerts you could sit at.
I was just speculating on how it would/could be profitable or even able to break even, with just nightly shows again. Other than big name entertainers, what could they do to keep it an active place and paying for itself on a daily basis.
I was trying to throw out generic examples of how to adapt the space so it could be used as often as possible.
Barring running matinee & evening performances of virtually everything, it might take a long time to reach the break even point. Especially if $35 million is spent before ever opening the doors. And that presumably being partially borrowed with it’s own interest, etc.
Some accounting firm will figure that one out. They’d probably start with something like: If it sold out every existing seat with 4300 people paying $100 a ticket, there’s $430,000 on a given night. Somebody please check my math, I failed everything past the 8th grade.
Now say they removed just the first floor seats(grrrr), and squeezed in more bodies for a concert, lets round it out to earning $500,000 per sold out show.
Including or excluding expensive VIP box seats or freebies or whatever, let’s just use the $500K as a super-generous nightly pull-in.
If they pay Sting, Cher or whoever $200,000 of that, or whatever the going rock star rate is, they’re left with $300K, which has to pay everyone else, the utilities, unions, and whatever’s left of that $35 million dollar renovation bill.
Since it’s not realistic that they could consistently have Sting’s or Cher’s on a nightly basis, or not always have sell outs with others, the intake would probably be erratic from show to show. And likely half or less than all of the above. So the down time would be critical.
Plus the United Center would be saying “Hey Cher, we can get you 35,000 more ticket buyers and parking for them.” So all the internal marketing would be new ground for promoters to convince or overpay name entertainers, to play the Uptown instead.
Though some veteran entertainers I would like to think would be willing to play for free or limited pay. Just to get the whole thing off the ground on the right note and for sentimental reasons.
Since regular nightly shows is more of ironically a Broadway thing, stage shows & musicals would be the next likely entertainment to consider on a part time basis. Shows that can maybe profit better after limited or lengthy runs. That’s assuming the seats are left in or removable at will. Pulling “Broadway In Chicago” into the mix might be an advantage.
Who knows? The accountants sure will have there hands full, and hopefully be able to pull it all off with flying colors.
P.S. There used to be a cool restaurant across from the Nortown called Sally’s Stage. It had an a very animated waitstaff on skates or something with a stage show during dinner. Big fun.
Theme conventions is a great example of mixed-use. Hypothetically, take something like the Rocky Horror convention, Comic-Con, Sci-Fi or whatever else. Those organizers would likely gladly pay dearly, to host their conventions in such a classic setting. But it wouldn’t have to be limited to the lobby.
Maybe when they restore the auditorium portion, depending on how drastic the pitch of the floor/seats is down to the stage, they could incorporate some type of removable floor sections just inside the auditorium from the lobby.
This would allow larger conventions
that require table space, to span out of the lobby and into the granduer of the auditorium. Then replace the floor sections & rear seats as the entertainment dictates from show to show. I always wondered why the Park West never ventured into this on a smaller scale. With their perfectly flat floor in front of the stage.
Or maybe the vacant furniture store to the North of the Uptown, could be outfitted as convention space. With the main entertainment of any given convention taking place in the theatre.
Then make a super sized Shake, Rattle & Read the anchor tenant, expanding all of his media to the soon to be added diverse foot traffic.
I hope all of the Uptown’s community embraces whatever plans & renovations are proposed. Fully understanding that it could mean upwards of an additional 5000 people to the neighborhood on a more regular basis.
This would be a huge boon to the area economy, and anything is worth the sacrifice to end decades of the Uptown’s non use. After all, it is obviously the area’s largest namesake landmark. And should be a proud achievement once it’s completed.
Thanks to you all. My querys on the Alameda/Biltmore, Palacio/Sheridan & Sunset Drive In were all answered in record time. And thanks to BWChicago, I now fully understand the advanced search fields. It was clearly me, and not my archaic WebTV.
As long as I’m here, I’ll post my little tidbits of the Uptown. It was here I’m sure I saw ELO for the first time. Had to be 1973 or `74 because they’d opened for someone else. Possibly Zappa, and not yet themselves headliners. Though I’d think I would remember the latter.
The Uptown was an inspirational place, especially for the progressive rock folks. It gave “Roll Over Beethoven” a surreal quality in such opulant surroundings.
There was a multi-story, possibly city run, customer pay parking structure, just East of the “L” tracks behind the Firestone dealer. It entered & exited onto Broadway using long concrete ramps. This would have been a great asset now with JAM’s involvement, if it had not been torn down years ago. Maybe it could be rebuilt if still vacant. The parking of the various show’s semis, is an excellent point.
And really should be the first thing JAM looks at as far as what they can do on the same nights at both the Riv & Uptown. Never take a community for granted. And trucks belching smoke out 24/7, and the rolling of Anvil cases will get old quick. Even the Riv has used both sides of Lawrence in the past. The side street behind the Uptown would likely need to be reconfigured somehow. Part of the backstage converted to loading dock or something, a previous post suggested.
Maybe the vacant furniture store portion to the North, could be hollowed out as stage access. I worked at Fanning Cadillac at Foster & Broadway. The trucks that delivered our new cars came right down Broadway.
The price JAM & their partners reportedly paid seems like a both a bargain and a blessing.
Since JAM is an established Chicago entertainment company willing to take it on, maybe great things are ahead. The Riviera’s existing interior cosmetics are of slight concern, if that’s some kind of base line. But maybe there’s a bigger plan down the road.
Of course none of these places started out weathered, they just ended up that way. We were warned of the evils of Rock & Roll.
Surely any future work done at the Uptown would be gone over with a magnifying glass. I’m not implying that anyone would cut a corner. Just that it probably wouldn’t be possible.
And in theory, when it starts out looking nice again, like the Chicago Theatre, it will stay that way.
From a business point of view, owning such a massive piece of land 4-5 blocks from the lake and near transportation, is never a wrong move.
Saving as much of the original Uptown both as asthetically & as is fiscally possible, given asbestos and everything else they’ll encounter will be a monumental task.
The biggest culprits will likely be the roof, and years of limited or no heat during those many winters. It’s a given all plumbing & electrical will need replacing, even if you were to restore to it’s original use.
They’ll be heros no matter waht they try, after 27 years of dormancy.
Any conversion though that could possibly end up paying for itself over time, would likely have to include creating a multi-use venue with year round usability. Sadly that would likely mean somehow dividing the auditorium and it’s once touted “acre of seats”.
The massive span of the interior space can’t be financially profitable to do only nightly shows for one audience anymore. It why places like the Uptown closed in the first place.
It would likely take round the clock, United Center level performers like Elton John every day, to merely break even.
And that’s after all the renovation costs. More would have to be going on in a mixed use building on a daily basis just to pay the utilities in any economy.
Since JAM has been doing it so long, and knows the numbers their neighboring venues can pull in, they were probably the only realistic hope the Uptown had left. Barring a Trump like guy who just wants to see it happen. No group can stave off the city forever. And JAM at least has a working relationship with them.
And since it would be closer to no longer being an eyesore, or complained about to the city, they’d be receptive and workable on anything positive happening as we are.
One can only hope it can all be done realistically, tastefully and incorporate the rich Uptown area history. Green Mill, Uptown Bank building, etc.
Maybe they’ll be open to or solicit suggestions once there’s an outline of what’s realistic or not.
It took me a while to track this one down. I saw Clint in “The Enforcer” here when it came out. Or whatever the one with Tyne Daly was. Being an action film, the crowd went out in a haze of gravel when departing.
I had a `56 Plymouth Savoy. It was a minor attraction at the show given it’s age.
But they never checked my trunk.
Thanks BWChicago for pointing me in the right direction. I never noticed the “previous names” search field.
The Sheridan’s incarnation as The Palacio is what I remember. Across from The Palacio on the N/E corner of Irving & Sheridan was a giant club called Berlitz or something. It had a huge vertical sign and was open well into the
70's or early80’s as a bar with bands.I think it was originally a dance/social hall on a much less fancy level than the Aragon Ballroom.
Or Brawlroom, for those who ever made it to some of it’s `70’s concerts.
I also didn’t know the Festival was formerly the Mode. We went there in 1978 or`79, when a friend of mine had a thing for a redheaded, X-rated actress. Lisa De-something. Again, I had the car. Was I to argue??
The Festival was really pretty beat by this time, so much so that even the actress looked a little uncomfortable being there. And you’d think nothing would phase her in her profession.
I think the Festival was briefly converted into an small grocery store before it was finally torn down. (your comment here)
This would have been years before the Admiral got a significant makeover, uh, so I heard.
The diner across from Biasettis/Cordiss Bros., was just called “Diner”, when another friend of mine worked there 18 years ago. It was reportedly originally an Evanston train car. It was owned by the DeMars family who had restaurants scattered about the city. Including Arnold’s at Irving & Broadway.
The diner was home of the Slinger. Whose ingredients included eggs, burgers, chili, hash browns, etc. As the sign said. “Don’t ask, just eat it”.
A hit with the after 2am crowd.