Copernicus Center

Here’s an interesting message from a friend of mine who lives in Portage Park. Dennis worked at the Copernicus Gateway some years ago. Don’t know what he’s up to now, or if this project has anything to do with the Copernicus Center.

>My neighborhood paper’s got a front-page article
>saying major renovation work is currently under way at
>the Portage Theater, and that they hope to be open by
>the end of the year or not long thereafter. The
>article includes a photo of the auditorium, but I
>can’t tell if it’s current or an old stock photo.
>
>The guy they mention as the manager is Dennis
>Wolkowicz. Know anything about him?

I rode past this theatre recently on METRA’s Union Pacific NW Line. Workmen were up on the roof and it looked like they were doing a major tuckpointing project. So I’m holding out hope that this place can survive and not be demolished for condos (I know, I know, I could have such a nice view of the Kennedy).

If they MUST claim an old theatre for a condo project, then take the Portage Park. At least that’s in deplorable shape (although it could probably be used for concerts)! The Gateway is in good shape and should be saved.

So, has this condo plan ever been verified? Because it certainly looks like they’re putting money into the building from their october newsletter. Also their theater page mentions “The Copernicus Foundation is in he midst of a fund raising effort to build a new theatrical stage and renovate the Mitchell Kobelinski Theatre. You can be a major contributor to this effort. ”

Also, here is a photo of the top of the lobby ballroom.

Robert Bank: since you give no contact information either here or on your Profile Page, I cannot contact you. I imagine that I got that remark about condos from Joe DuciBella’s NewsFlash quote, but since I no longer have that quote/bulletin, I can’t swear to it. Possibly it was from something I had read elsewhere. You might try to contact Joe via his E-mail: He is the Chicago Area Director of the Theatre Historical Soc. and would be in a position to know.

The Gateway is vital to it’s neighborhood not just as a movie house but as gathering place for local productions like the locally produced movie about a 100 year old nun from a nearby parish, public forums such as Aldermanic debates, City sponsored hearings such as the recent Planning Dept.’s Revised Zoning Hearing, The Jefferson Park Historical Society’s meetings, independent campaign kickoffs and on and on. Where else in the neighborhood can we get so many people together in one place? I remember trying to rent Jeff. Parks fieldhouse for the last Aldermanic debate only to have the Park District call our neighborhood assoc. back to say we could not have it on that date afterall and then when we tried to rent Wilson Pk. after initially being told it should be no problem, we were told that the floors were being sanded that week! The Gateway is not only a historic gem and a neighborhood identifier, its integral as a meeting place for the residents right to assemble and participate in the elctoral process.
If the City can spend $688 million on Soldier Field for 8 football games surely they can invest a few million thru tax credits and grants, into the Portage, Patio annd Gateway Theatres.

Brian, that would be a good idea to build the condos on their parking lot. But, as I said above, one good point about the Gateway IS the parking lot. And, there’s a parking deck about 1 block north of the theatre too. I also forgot to mention in my above post that the now condo-ized area east of the Gateway was light industrial for a reason. NOISE! I wonder if the idiots who buy these condos will complain about the noise AFTER they move in!

It would be a great shame to lose this theatre, especially one which appears to be in good condition. It could be used for concerts (Abba appeared here recently, I believe) and unlike the Uptown, there is adequate parking.

I don’t dispute the amount of tax dollars condos can raise. Done sensibly, condos have breathed new life into aging downtowns (Des Plaines and Arlington Heights are good examples). And in my neighborhood, the South Loop, they make sense as people can live walking distance from work, entertainment, etc.

But the Jefferson Park area has already reached the point of “enough is too much!” I returned to the neighborhood recently—I used to live in adajacent Portage Park near the Patio Theatre—and I was stunned. And not in a good way. One block of stores has been demolished and replaced by a CVS. East of the Gateway, a whole neighborhood of condos, some in the $500,000 (I believe) have gone in where a light industrial area was. This is in an area bounded by two expressways, two major railroad lines, the L, etc. so you can imagine the noise.

I’m not against progress and change. I’m not “pro-preservation-at-any-cost.” (just read my comments on the DuPage Theatre page). But our neighborhoods are losing their character with all of these look-alike condos and CVS’s, etc

And BTW, for $500,000 bucks, I can get a condo in my nieghborhood with a view of Lake Michigan

It is my understanding that the nightclub disaster on the near South Side of a couple years ago caused this. I have heard that the city really clamped down on code violations & that the Copernicus Foundation couldn’t afford to upgrade.

Interesting to hear that the deco facade still exists. What about the lobby? That was chopped up, wasn’t it?

Ok, thanks for the correction. If you actually look into Chicago’s landmark laws, a building can be demolished if the owner says it is too much of a finacial burden.

I believe this theater is a Chicago city landmark. Unfortunely that doesn’t mean much in Chicago.

This theatre was a landmark on the NW side of Chicago for many years. In a way, it was a shame what Coperincus did to the exterior. I loved the old marquee, especially the vertical one. It was so tall, it could be seen from the Kennedy Expressway, the L (now the Blue Line), and what is now METRA/Union Pacific NW line.

After Copernicus took over, it was still used for mainstream movies for awhile. They used a portable sign in place of the marquee and the entrance had been moved to the side.

Perhaps the Gateway’s greatest moment was in 1975 when JAWS had an amazing run there. It played at the Gateway for nearly the entire year

Last month I went to Six-Corners (first time in 40 years) looking for this theater and I couldn’t find it! Wasn’t it right around there?