I saw a concert here in ‘92. It was a crazy heavy metal band named GWAR. Almost as much a theatre presentation as a rock concert. They had a catapult on stage and the claim was that they were launching shit (literally) into the audience. They also sprayed the people in the front section with fake blood at various points during the show. At the end of the show the lead singer got completely naked on stage and was arrested.
I drove south down Halsted from the Loop last night. It was the first time in years I have had reason to visit this neighborhood. Boy, has it ever improved! The Ramova’s auditorium needs some stabilization work. It is starting to take on a state of decay similar to that of the Howard in it’s last years.
No doubt this is true. The Uptown in Chicago is fast approaching the point you describe. I think one of the main things that has kept the Uptown standing is the fact that it would cost a ton of money to bring it down. Who would pay to do this in a seedy area of Chicago? But with the neighborhood around it fast improving I think the cost-benefit analysis is going to start working against the old place one of these days. Some people have commented about improvements on Flatbush Avenue. So the same may be true here.
At the risk of giving Jim Rankin a coronary, I will respond here to Vincent’s San Francisco Fox comment. There are color photos of the entire building. If memory serves they can be found in a comprehensive hard cover book written on the Fox many years ago. I believe this book was called something like:“the Fabulous Fox.” I also believe that it is now out of print. But it can probably be found at the Theatre Historical Society.
(all in good fun Jim, I know that you are a stickler when it comes to comments being placed on the correct page)
What makes the Rhodes especially a bummer is that it looked to be all original. I was never inside the building. But the exterior was certainly all original during the last years that it sat vacant. Box office, entrance doors, marquee and especially the towering art deco RHODES vertical sign were all original. It was a very cool sight to see after first viewing some other late Chicago-area Rapp & Rapps: the Cine on Devon (building completely butchered) and the Will Rogers on Belmont (which at the time was intact but with a modernized exterior).
I think someone told me that there is nothing on the Rhodes site now. If you tear down a building in decent repair with architectural integrity and build a revenue-producing structure: OK. You can argue with me. But if you tear down such a building and do nothing but create another vacant parcel in an already depressed neighborhood it is bogus.
I suppose it must have been a matter of property taxes. Or maybe the city came to possess it. Either way, although I can understand the business reasoning, it is awfully weak to take such an action.
The Will Rogers at the end, though stately, did not offer nearly as exciting a presentation to passersby as on opening day. It originally sported an elaborate electrical display on the front of the builiding over the marquee and an art deco vertical sign on the Belmont Avenue side.
I also suspect that it stood a few more years past 1987…but not too many more. It did seem to be in a good state of repair in later years. I have heard that the last operators (either Plitt or CO) had some sort of legal means for keeping the building from being operated by a competitor after they closed it. That may have contributed to the building’s ultimate destruction.
I visited the Southtown as it was being demolished. Found my way through the lobby and into a damp store room at the base of the multi-story tower. It was a hollow structure. So, from this store room you could look all the way up to the top. It was an unexpected, strange, and shocking sight.
From the looks of it, many of the design features were in relatively decent shape right up until the end. There was still cardboard poster art sitting around too.
Too bad. But I suppose the place probably needed costly renovations to function in any capacity after all those years. If I were a property owner with no interest in theatres I suppose I would have made the same decision.
I would have traded a few New York area church conversions and all of the Times Square palaces if the Roxy could have been saved. I am not usually one to make such statements. But that was the greatest picture palace ever constructed in the United States and should have been saved, profitable or not.
I visited and photographed the Englewood around 1990. The building appeared to be structurally sound, and not suffering from an advanced state of decay at that point.
It is my understanding that the entire shopping plaza built as an effort to bring back 63rd and Halsted has been demolished now, leaving a barren wasteland.
It is a shame that they couldn’t have found a use for at least the exterior of the Englewood, similar to the conversion of the Belmont Theatre on the city’s north side.
Yeah, it has been pretty obvious for a while. No leases are being renewed in the retail block. It wasn’t long ago that the owner of the deli opened that premium restaurant on the corner. We were talking about this state of affairs one night and he said there would be hell to pay if they tried to break his lease. I imagine he must have signed a pretty long lease to invest as much money in those renovations as he did. I wonder how much they paid him to make that situation go away. Probably not much in comparison to the selling price.
The Boston Theatre was the Bijou Dream: a second floor cinema that was closed due to fire exit concerns after a huge fire-related area disaster. It was next to the RKO Keith’s on Washington Street and I think the building is still there, though the second floor auditorium is long gone. That staircase did sound dramatic. But it also sounded a little dangerous! People putting a lot of weight, wear and tear on glass stairs, water, electricity…
It is particularly surprising that such a lavish feature was included in such an ancient cinema. the Bijou Dream well predated the era of the movie palace.
I saw a concert here in ‘92. It was a crazy heavy metal band named GWAR. Almost as much a theatre presentation as a rock concert. They had a catapult on stage and the claim was that they were launching shit (literally) into the audience. They also sprayed the people in the front section with fake blood at various points during the show. At the end of the show the lead singer got completely naked on stage and was arrested.
Quite a change from operettas.
Well, there has been some discussion of this in the past. It seems like every event is certainly not listed on that web site.
I drove south down Halsted from the Loop last night. It was the first time in years I have had reason to visit this neighborhood. Boy, has it ever improved! The Ramova’s auditorium needs some stabilization work. It is starting to take on a state of decay similar to that of the Howard in it’s last years.
Very cool! It certainly sounds like they are doing things right.
No doubt this is true. The Uptown in Chicago is fast approaching the point you describe. I think one of the main things that has kept the Uptown standing is the fact that it would cost a ton of money to bring it down. Who would pay to do this in a seedy area of Chicago? But with the neighborhood around it fast improving I think the cost-benefit analysis is going to start working against the old place one of these days. Some people have commented about improvements on Flatbush Avenue. So the same may be true here.
That is so wrong.
Not normally one to lament the passing of a neighborhood theatre.
But this was a terrible rehab job. Drab. Uninspired. No respect for history.
At the risk of giving Jim Rankin a coronary, I will respond here to Vincent’s San Francisco Fox comment. There are color photos of the entire building. If memory serves they can be found in a comprehensive hard cover book written on the Fox many years ago. I believe this book was called something like:“the Fabulous Fox.” I also believe that it is now out of print. But it can probably be found at the Theatre Historical Society.
(all in good fun Jim, I know that you are a stickler when it comes to comments being placed on the correct page)
Good, because it is a bullshit project.
What a great idea! I wonder how they came up with it.
What makes the Rhodes especially a bummer is that it looked to be all original. I was never inside the building. But the exterior was certainly all original during the last years that it sat vacant. Box office, entrance doors, marquee and especially the towering art deco RHODES vertical sign were all original. It was a very cool sight to see after first viewing some other late Chicago-area Rapp & Rapps: the Cine on Devon (building completely butchered) and the Will Rogers on Belmont (which at the time was intact but with a modernized exterior).
I think someone told me that there is nothing on the Rhodes site now. If you tear down a building in decent repair with architectural integrity and build a revenue-producing structure: OK. You can argue with me. But if you tear down such a building and do nothing but create another vacant parcel in an already depressed neighborhood it is bogus.
I suppose it must have been a matter of property taxes. Or maybe the city came to possess it. Either way, although I can understand the business reasoning, it is awfully weak to take such an action.
I had forgotten about this place! The realty link above says the building has been gutted. I wonder exactly what that means.
I wonder if the Lou Rawls Theatre project on the site of the old Regal was a factor in the decision to shutter the New Regal.
Brian: is there a HAARGIS photo of the Rhodes on 79th Street?
The Will Rogers at the end, though stately, did not offer nearly as exciting a presentation to passersby as on opening day. It originally sported an elaborate electrical display on the front of the builiding over the marquee and an art deco vertical sign on the Belmont Avenue side.
I also suspect that it stood a few more years past 1987…but not too many more. It did seem to be in a good state of repair in later years. I have heard that the last operators (either Plitt or CO) had some sort of legal means for keeping the building from being operated by a competitor after they closed it. That may have contributed to the building’s ultimate destruction.
I visited the Southtown as it was being demolished. Found my way through the lobby and into a damp store room at the base of the multi-story tower. It was a hollow structure. So, from this store room you could look all the way up to the top. It was an unexpected, strange, and shocking sight.
From the looks of it, many of the design features were in relatively decent shape right up until the end. There was still cardboard poster art sitting around too.
Too bad. But I suppose the place probably needed costly renovations to function in any capacity after all those years. If I were a property owner with no interest in theatres I suppose I would have made the same decision.
The Rhodes stood at least until the late 80’s: ‘87 or '88 maybe. That is the last time I saw the building. I think it stood into the 90’s.
I would have traded a few New York area church conversions and all of the Times Square palaces if the Roxy could have been saved. I am not usually one to make such statements. But that was the greatest picture palace ever constructed in the United States and should have been saved, profitable or not.
I visited and photographed the Englewood around 1990. The building appeared to be structurally sound, and not suffering from an advanced state of decay at that point.
It is my understanding that the entire shopping plaza built as an effort to bring back 63rd and Halsted has been demolished now, leaving a barren wasteland.
It is a shame that they couldn’t have found a use for at least the exterior of the Englewood, similar to the conversion of the Belmont Theatre on the city’s north side.
Bryan’s photo of September 15, 2004 illustrates the most unique vertical sign I have ever seen. The box office looks pretty cool too.
A fascinating history including fascinating conversions.
It all appears to still be there.
Yeah, it has been pretty obvious for a while. No leases are being renewed in the retail block. It wasn’t long ago that the owner of the deli opened that premium restaurant on the corner. We were talking about this state of affairs one night and he said there would be hell to pay if they tried to break his lease. I imagine he must have signed a pretty long lease to invest as much money in those renovations as he did. I wonder how much they paid him to make that situation go away. Probably not much in comparison to the selling price.
They sure did do a fine job with the place. I remember how shabby it looked sitting there on Genesee Street in the 90’s.
It really is a fine building. Very well-balanced and attractive design. Not too understated or overstated.
Regarding modern cinemas, I know I have seen a fountain somewhere. I will have to think about exactly where.
The Boston Theatre was the Bijou Dream: a second floor cinema that was closed due to fire exit concerns after a huge fire-related area disaster. It was next to the RKO Keith’s on Washington Street and I think the building is still there, though the second floor auditorium is long gone. That staircase did sound dramatic. But it also sounded a little dangerous! People putting a lot of weight, wear and tear on glass stairs, water, electricity…
It is particularly surprising that such a lavish feature was included in such an ancient cinema. the Bijou Dream well predated the era of the movie palace.