Roosevelt Theater

Funny thing, I can’t recall anything on the block the Roosevelt was on either, and I should as many times as I walked by it! I don’t know if your going to get the book or not, but here are some things that I seem to remember from mostly the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. I can remember on the other sides of the block. On the Washington St side was a very fine food grocery store (really to good to be called a grocery store) called STOP AND SHOP. At the corner of Washington Blvd and Dearborn St was a very historic building (I can’t recall what was in it), but it should have never been torn down, SHAME ON CHICAGO! In the middle of the Dearborn St side was a Comonwealth Edison sub station (I guess that’s what it’s called) and it is the only thing that is still standing on the whole block. At the corner of Dearborn St and Randolph St was the United Artists Theatre. Randolph because of all the theatres had the most interesting area. Seems to me there was a resturant or bar called FLO"S that would have a young lady outside on a swing up on the second floor, wired for sound trying to get you to come into “FABULOUS FLO’S”. I think it had a fire and it was a Burger King in the 1970’s. I also remember a magazine store, it might have had books too, but it sure had a lot of magazines. It might have had adult magazines, but I don’t recall, I like trains, so it was the train magazines I was checking out! Accross the street, I think in part of the OLD HIDELBERG they grilled steaks in the window. Remember late at nght when new movies would play the next day. White Way Sign Co. would come and change all the letters and those big boards with info about the movie that just about covered up all the brick. What did they call those boards. Seems to me the PIT AND THE PEDULUM PLAYED at the Roosevelt and they had a wood pedulum that swug back and forth against the building! Help me out, did I get anything mixed up or what can you add. It would be neat to be able to know every business around that whole block anchored by those two great B&K’s!

The book Here’s The Deal covers Block 37 in detail

The Block 37 straddles the Blue Line and Red Line subways. It is also close to the Loop L structure and the Metra Electric and the South Shore Line. So, yes, a transit facility is going in as it would make sense to have it there.

I have always wondered what made the Roosevelt go so early. I don’t think any other vintage buildings on that block went down until everything got leveled during the 90’s. The larger State-Lake and Chicago Theatres continued to operate for a few more years after this (in the same theatre chain as the Roosevelt), which is counter-intuitive.

Well that answers my question,thank you.
Now i see what you mean by a record setting deal.
Thank You.

What was so record setting about the deal?
What other theatres did the Ascher Brothers have?
I am just sorry that it had to be taken down.:(
Thank you for you time.

Does any one have any more information on this theatre?
Like,what “CHAIN” it was part of or was it a vaudville house that became a movie house?

Here’s what is set to take place now at Block 37:
http://www.108northstate.com

It appears to have stalled though as there has been no news since 2005 and the only change noted at the site is the movement of earth.

BK, thanks for mentioning that book. I had never heard of it, but it sounds like a fascinating read. The Chicago Sun-Times had a recent series on the re-development of the Downtown Area. It examined the successes and pitfalls of this development.

BW, that could explain the row of single-story stores. They may have been trying to re-develop the block piecemeal, or the structures could have indeed been temporary in order to get a few tax dollars out of the site. I remember that the original plan was to obliterate practically the whole North Loop. Imagine the area with no Oriental/Ford Center, no Goodman, no Cadillac Palace! I’m glad that these places were retained, or in the case of the Goodman, the facades restored. Broadway and live theatre in Chicago is alive and well because of these places.

The structures in Bryan’s photo above look like they are all closed and awaiting demolition. Around the corner and across the street from the Oriental was a huge pinball and video game arcade. I just remember that block of Randolph being rather seedy. Demolishing all of it was actually an improvement!

If you compare and contrast Bryan’s 1978 and 1990 photos, you will see that State Street had been re-configured into a “Mall” (a glorified busway, actually). You can easily see that the State Street Mall was a colossal failure. It was ugly and it did nothing to stem the exodus of businesses from the Loop. Circa 1996, the City of Chicago removed the “Mall”, re-opening the street to traffic. Since then, business on State Street has gone up with stores and restaurants (like Borders Books and Nordstrom Rack) re-appearing. At one point, they proposed a Target store for block 37. On one hand, it would have made sense as Target and Marshall Fields were once owned by Target Corporation. On the other hand, there would have been no parking available for the Target.

I wonder why those single-level non-descript stores were built on the site of the Roosevelt. Certainly they knew that the entire block was going to be demolished.

There definitely is work going on at Block 37. The underground “Pedway” underneath, which links Marshall Fields with the CTA Blue Line and the Daley Center is now closed (the “Pedway” east of that point to Randolph Street Station has been closed for many years) The ground has been broken up and there is construction work going on.

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The Roosevelt closed after its Sunday evening performances on August 26, 1979. The final booking was a less then memorable double feature of “The Master Killer” and “The Chinatown Kid.”