Village Art Theatre
1548-50 N. Clark Street,
Chicago,
IL
60610
1548-50 N. Clark Street,
Chicago,
IL
60610
18 people
favorited this theater
Showing 151 - 175 of 177 comments
In fairness, it was put up by the building’s owner, not Village. Although Village is terribly cheap about signage, like the CO logos that are still everywhere. In fact, at Bloomingdale Court, they took half of the CO logo and rotated it 90 degrees to make a ‘V’ for Village.
I think Village is too cheap or lazy to take it down.
Lost Memory,
I like the “We are not closing” on the marquee. The “For Rent, Summer 2006” sign is still up as of today (10/03/2006). Anybody know what’s up with that?
Correction, that should be spelled “Belvidere.”
My girlfriend and I went here on 8-26-2006. I hadn’t been here in several years. It is true that most of the decor was lost when the theatre was “quadded.” Looking from the concession stand, one can easily guess the layout of the original single screen auditorium. Auditorium #1 is to the left and appears to be the largest. #s 2 and 3 are down a long hallway, presumably where the rear of the original theatre was. They are quite small. #4 is to the right. I couldn’t see in because another movie was playing.
As for my experience here. Well, the best thing that can be said is that the floors and restrooms were clean. The seats appear newer. If you go to www.cinematour.com and check out the Belvedere Theatre (now closed) in Waukegan, the seats in the photos appear similar and they may actually be those same seats! The concessions were okay and the staff was friendly enough. It was, however, very stuffy in #3. All-in-all, the Village isn’t a bad place to see a movie, but it really isn’t on my “must attend” list either.
That’s good news from Village. I’ll try and see the next must-see here and snap some photos. Thanks for the news Paul.
BTW, I saw The Rock at Water Tower(mall cinemas). It was a little after Cineplex Odeon’s remodel.
So now I hear that Village has renewed the lease for another year on this place?
It appears that this place has reverted to the name “Village Theatre”.
Cinemark Fan: The last time I went here was circa 1996 to see THE ROCK, which starred Ed Harris. It was kind of ramshackle back then, but as I haven’t been there in 9 years or so, I can’t say how it is now. And as I said on previous posts, the Burnham wasn’t that bad. It needed an updating.
Thanks for the suggestions guys. Say, I’ve got a few questions for the people who’ve been here recently. One: What do the seats and screens kinda look like? Two: Does it look ratty? Three: Are the bathrooms ok? I read MichaelCollins’s comment and it shouldn’t be bad. I’m getting ready to go here next weekend and I’m hoping that the place doesn’t look like it had rats running around since December. Oh, these questions are for my mom and she’s picky about where I drag her to. So basically, what I’m trying to know is this: Is the place is like Burnham Plaza(02-05) or worse? And my mom didn’t mind going to Burnham.
There are lots of nice names to choose from :):
Granada (one of my faves)
Majestic
Capitol
Valencia
Paladium
Palace
Orphium (I actually hate this name, but it has been used many times before).
Got a theme? Here is a name
Mayan
Paradise
Egyptian
Venitian
Parisian
OR Name it after the town (if another theatre doesn’t have it already)
Or come up with something unique
Good luck with your project.
JG
Take that back, that name is already taken.
That’s it! Roxy Theatres.
I would have to think about that. If I ever come up with a name, I have to make sure that it is not a registered trademark.
Right now, my corporation is in the devlopment stages. The project I’m doing at the moment is a school paper.(about to be done once and for all) Anyway, I’m going to write up a business proposal, try and get funding etc… Then who knows, I may be able to get this off the ground later this year or next year. If I succeed, I plan to remodel Oakbrook 1-4 and put 3 more screens in it. As far as North Riverside goes, if I can turn it into a 11/12 screener, it could operate like Webster Place and City North because let’s not forget, Kerasotes is coming in the N. Riverside area this fall. Wish me luck everyone!
To Jimpiscitelli: Do you have any suggestions for a theater corporation name? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
To CinemarkFan: Since your project is doing well, can’t wait for the Oakbrook 1-4 to be reopened! Since you plan on taking over the Village Theaters chain, hopefully imporvement at the North Riverside and the reopening of the River Oaks are accomplished.
Theatres closed by the Village Entertainment chain and the years Village operated them:
Biograph: 2002-2004
Burnham Plaza: 2002-2005
Fox Valley: 2002-2003
Golf Glen: 2002-2006
Hinsdale: 2002-2003
Water Tower: 2002-2003
Notice that all came from Village’s expansion in 2002. Undercapitalized and over-expanded in such a short time
It’s coming along nicely. I’ve even wrote about Cineplex Odeon and their overbuilding. After that, I might get to Village Theatres. When I become a theatre owner, I might try and take over their operations.
Cinemark Fan, how’s your theatre chain school project doing?
For some interesting reviews of the Village Theatre, click here View link and believe me they run the gamut!
Hopefully, they’ll play something like Silent Hill or The Sentinel. Hell, even Scary Movie 4. I’ve never been here also.
Brian W, I think it’s probably more than a rumor that this place will close. The “For Rent” sign on the marquee does not bode well. I wonder why the closure. The land could be “too valuable” (but as Arlington Heights proved, there can be room for condos and a cinema and live theatre). Or it could be that the building isn’t in good shape—something that is stated in the above posts.
I’ve always associated this theatre with “indie” newspapers like THE READER. Like THE READER, it always seemed “funky” and “offbeat”. But as Village Theatres has grown and become more “corporate,” this place may not fit in with their business module anymore.
(Or it could be like the Wells Street “corridor”. Once “artistic”, the area is now a yuppified version, trading on how it used to be).
I’ve been meaning to get over to the Village, and I’d like to see one more movie there before it closes. But lately, they’ve been showing movies that I don’t particularly care to see.
The architect named in the CHRS is erroneous. His name was actually Adolph Werner.
The Village originally was known as the Germania, for the nearby Germania Club, but the name was quickly changed to the Parkside following the US entry into World War I. The operators, as stated above, were Gumbiner Brothers, who were simultaneously building the similarly German Bertha in Lincoln Square. It became the Gold Coast on September 26, 1931, advertised as “Now One of Chicago’s Most Beautiful and Coziest Talking Picture Palaces”. Edith Rockefeller McCormick was mentioned as a frequent patron. Last mention I can find of the Gold Coast is in 1956. It became the Globe Theater, opening May 25, 1962 following a $50,000 renovation. In 1967 it became the Village with another $50,000 renovation, and later that year was targeted for demolition as part of the Sandburg Village redevelopment area (hence the Village name). As the owner was a State Representative, Schoeninger, whose family had built it, this did not happen. In 1977 some legitimate theater went on there; namely ‘1947’, a play about the deaths of Capone, Bugsy Siegel, and Bugs Moran. It was one of the primary venues for the Chicago International Film Festival, and did very good business as a discount and revival house in the 70s and 80s.
Rumor has it that the theater will close very shortly. Relatively little of the original decor is still visible, including a few auditorium doors and some plaster ornamentation near the screens. If it does not function as a theater again, I hope someone has the vision to engage in some fine adaptive reuse. It might make an elegant restaurant. I hope the marquee comes down, it looks even uglier with its front panel gone.
The Village has a new, young, energetic and film-loving general manager who is doing a lot to improve the theater. The place is looking better, the sound is better and the movies look better.
The Chicago Historic Respurces Survey lists Adolph Hoerner as architect.
A “for rent summer 2006” sign has gone up over the marquee.
Theater 3 is running full DTS digital sound, and theater 2 is soon going to be upgraded.
Right before they cut up the theater they used to have a cat that roamed the auditorium. I was told the cat was used to keep the rodent popluation down. The new auditoriums are very small. They have old cinema chairs that, I believe, they obtained from another closed theater chain. The projection and sound here are awful. But the theater is in a great location and a good place to see a movie for “last minute decisions.” The last time I was there (about 3 years ago) the staff was not very nice.