Patio Theatre
6008 W. Irving Park Road,
Chicago,
IL
60634
6008 W. Irving Park Road,
Chicago,
IL
60634
44 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 267 comments
Patiomike: Doesn’t the Portage Park Theater have its original organ? Although I don’t believe it’s operational, if you meant that, as well.
I don’t know that the place was ever in perfect condition. Before its opening in 1987, mountains of litter were removed from the auditorium and other areas. Carpets were replaced, seats fixed, new paint applied, light bulbs changed, projectors serviced and a then state-of-the-art Dolby stereo sound system was installed. He even bought a new popcorn popper. Further repairs were made after opening including extensive work on the heating plant. One of the last jobs done before the 2001 closing was the removal a 10HP motor from the ventilation system, sending it out for rewiring, and reinstalling it. After 20+ years, the place could use some freshening up. The projectors need to be gently coaxed back to operation. New carpeting, paint, etc…. just like fixing up grandma’s place – if it sat 1,500.
The organ, a Barton, is still in place in the theater. Catoe.org has further details. I believe the Patio is now the only theater in Chicago that still has its original organ and not a transplant. As part of this long hoped for reopening, the owner is looking to get the instrument back to working order. It was well maintained in the 80s-90s but has not been touched since the theater’s closing.
Would love to see a movie at the Patio again, or even take a walk through it to bring back some memories. I’m trying to remember where the a/c was, was it in the sub basement that you entered from behind the stage area, to the left of the stage if you were coming down the side aisle? I remember seeing a device with a large wheel and a drive belt. Seems that something as old as wwII a/c should be fixable unless a major part went out and is not possible to replace. If Alex gives you a call again Mike tell him that Anna, Bogdan, David and Adam say hello, and if he is wondering we still have the same phone number as always.
That report is six years old. Alex has no intention of selling the building or converting the theater to a store or some other reuse. Many offers have been made over the years by developers who wanted to clear that corner. A recording studio once occupied a second floor office so anything’s possible regarding expansion. He’s set a realistic limit on what he intends to spend to get the main room open and is open to non-traditional events. The Copernicus Center caters largely to a Polish-speaking audience. He doesn’t want to “out Portage the Portage” either. Leaving the theater dark does not help the other tenants, the building or the neighborhood as a whole. “I want to contribute to the community” were his words. How many developers even know what that means? At his age, he could easily do nothing. I applaud his willingness to take some risks.
On the Chicagoland Watch List. http://www.landmarks.org/chicago_watch_2004_6.htm
Along with the Uptown, New Regal, Gateway, and Central Park.
Even a multi-use format will be up against serious competition for venues. The Copernicus Center/Gateway is just a short distance away and has a large stage and auditorium and off-street parking next door. The Portage is also in the local area, and has more off-street parking in the neighborhood compared to the Patio. Maybe a multi-screen setup would be helpful, utilizing space in adjacent buildings to create additional auditoriums, such as was done at the Pickwick in Park Ridge and the Lake in Oak Park. This way, the main auditorium with its beautiful ceiling and details could be spared.
Sure you be nice to see the Patio reopened, in any incarnation.
Agree with Tim Oneill. I think the market has only gotten more competitive since the Patio closed. The next chapter would have to have a multi-use format. That is, unless Alex is planning to run it at a loss against rental revenue from the rest of the building just for fun. If he can afford it given his entire portfolio of real estate more power to him.
Well, I hope that Alex has been taking care of the theatre since it closed almost 9 years ago. I think that he should re-open it as a multi-purpose venue, like the Portage. It’ll never make it as a first run theatre. Some of these film companies want you to play a film for up to 4 weeks. That’s fine if you have a megaplex with various seat counts in each auditorium; but a single screen theatre? Forget about it.
I just had a nice long chat with the theater’s owner – he called me right out of the blue. He’s thinking seriously of reopening. He’s discussing the repair or possible replacement of the A/C with local technicians. He’s also looking into making repairs to the bathrooms, a fresh paint job, and refurbishment of the marquee. With the Brickyard theaters closed, there’s a better chance of opening as a first run theater. He is regularly stopped on the street and asked “when will you reopen?” He reads these posts regularly so now’s your chance to let him know you support the effort.
P.S. DaveK is correct about the balcony seat dilemma. Removal of the seats would have made the room too reverberant making dialog hard to hear.
Jwballer, its been the same owner since the early 80’s. The economy had nothing to do with the closure its the city charging unreasonably high fees for the public place of amusement license. The balcony is never used in the theatre, yet the PPA license charges per seat, the city never used to charge him for the balcony seats, but at one point they told him that to avoid an increase in the fee all the balcony seats would have to be removed.
There is a new facebook page “Fans of Chicago’s Historic Patio Theatre”. Join it.
No, it doesn’t have a balcony. Instead, it has several rows of seats that are arranged at the back of the auditorium in rising tiers, stadium-style.
These seats were roped-off for years and unavailable to patrons.
The Patio is most certainly not open; that web page is just 8 years old. It closed in 2001, when The Mummy Returns was new to theaters.
The Patio Theatre made an appearance (in vector form) in my comic strip Multiplex today: http://www.multiplexcomic.com/archive.php?name=416
(The two characters in the strip are making a habit of visiting classic theaters in the Chicago area; one is a photography buff, the other a budding classic movie theater buff. Chicago’s Calo Theatre has previously appeared, and they will be visiting more in the future, as well.)
Photography purists will be more interested in this recent gallery (from July, 2009) of Patio Theatre pics at my Flickr account, however: View link
exterior hasn’t changed since the last pics were posted, as far as I know I haven’t heard anything from the owner about planning to reopen.
Reactivate notification status.
You had to walk up the ramp from the lobby between the stadium style seating areas at the rear. The bathrooms were in the basement, though.
There is an inclined ramp that you have to go up when you enter the auditorium.
I remember something strange about this theater. Maybe I just dreamed it but I think that when you entered the auditorium you had to step down. Or was it up? Maybe somebody will straighten me out.
Re.: PATIO marquee –
trucks keep ramming it, can’t say why this should be a particular problem in more recent times. Someone else can speculate?
My mom worked in the patio theater from about 1991 till 1998 and would often take me to work with her, at one time we lived in the apartment building attached to the Patio. After so many years of being around the Patio and essentially growing up there I share some of Mr. Antonelli’s memories of the Patio and of Alex K. Although I was too young at the time to think of the Patio in the same way I think of it now, I would love to be able to see a movie in it. Going into a new theatre today is boring and bland. Even if the movie was bad you wouldn’t be disappointed because of all of the things you could see while in the theatre. I remember on some days I would try to sneak into the projection booth and would see all of the posters on the wall and the big projectors and tubes of metal rods used to light the projectors. I also remember Mr. Antonelli and that he was very serious about his work at the Patio, when i try to remember way back I remember when “The Wizard of Austin Boulevard” was being filmed at the Patio and it was full of wires and lighting equipment. I think those who have worked in the Patio have an extra special bond with the place, even someone like me who as a little boy helped my parents clean up the empty popcorn buckets and pop cups. I also know that there were others who devoted their time to help keep the Patio running, and to the best of my knowledge they did this for free. The three gentleman would come in on Saturdays and fix-up the place. I don’t remember a whole lot about them, but maybe PatioMike or Mr. Antonelli can help me out here, I remember them as Mr. Richard (DIc), Mr. Jim, and Mr. Jerry.
Dave K
For PATIO to remain standing profoundly disused for so many years sort of tells me the owner awaits even expects the right terms to be brought them for putting it back in business. Optimism, can’t fault them for that. Otherwise it’d’ve wiped away already, right?
I think of other disused old neighborhood movie palaces that came back to life after years, but unfortunately I can think of some—Montclare is one—the owner seemed to want to but after time ultimately gave up the ghost. With that in mind what’re the realistic odds for the PATIO—there’s poor street parking and it ain’t of any architectural significance.
Here is another 1982 photo:
http://tinyurl.com/d9t4p3
This, too, looks like a nice theatre inside.