You’re right; it’s not. The Blaine school, named for politician James G. Blaine opened in 1893. The Blaine stayed in operation until the opening of the Music Box (which was originally to be called the New Blaine) in 1928
This has nothing to do with the Biograph, but since we’re discussing chicago landmarks, I think it’s appropriate. I think I found the house you were talking about. The first designated landmark demolished, the 1851 Rincker house, which stood opposite of Superdawg – now a parking lot for a dunkin donuts, I think – was demolished in 1980 following a suspicious, probably-arson fire (which only destroyed the interior of the salvageable building). It was the second-oldest in the city, and the only remaining example of German Gothic Revival architecture in Chicago, built of thick mud brick faced in timber. Interestingly, the demo permit for that was only issued as a result of an address mix-up, the same thing that happened with the Hayes-Healy gym on depaul last year (although that was not a landmark). 25 years, and they still haven’t figured out to list every concievable address of landmarks. As a footnote, prior to the present landmarks commission, an earlier 1957 organization with no enforcement power had designated 38 landmarks, 7 of which were later destroyed (Sullivan’s Garrick, Sullivan house, Meyer, and Stock Exchange; the Edison shop; the Cable building; and the Leiter I.)
Yeah, looks right to me. Odd that they tore down the lobby section though, in most situations like this they seem to just send the cars straight through it.
Oh, they will. They’ve always used the marquee in their campaigns, etc, and continue to. And that is also protected under the landmarking. I’ll look into the farm house thing, that sounds totally unfamiliar to me. And I suppose i’ll drop my objection to the remodeling of the entrance, because poking my head inside I now see an ornate metal ceiling (or maybe just part of the original marquee) is visible where that had been.
As far as I know, the only declared Chicago Landmark that has been demolished was the McCarthy building on Block 37. The Chicago landmarking should prevent issuance of permit without review to certify that it would not destroy the character of a landmark (which I would argue has happened here, which i’ll explain shortly). The interior of the Biograph, for whatever reason, is NOT among the protected interiors list [url=http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/Tours/Interiors.html]here[/url}. Notice the Chicago, Uptown, and New Regal are. National Register protections prevent federal or state encroachment on historic properties, I believe. But in any case, the exterior should be protected. One of the things removed when the lobby was gutted inculded a deco “BIOGRAPH” sign above the doorway, which had been enclosed in the 80s when the doorway was moved forward to include the box office. It was an exterior component, though, and I think that may constitute an exterior alteration.
Yes and yes. Although I was never inside the theater before, I was shown pictures of it and it appeared in very poor shape indeed. It’s been repainted inside and is very quaint and cozy. Although it doesn’t really qualify as a restoration, it is done very tastefully and resembles the original decor to a large extent. Really the only major differences from pictures dating to the original is paint, and the old organ false balconies were removed when ‘scope came in, and boxes on the rear walls were enclosed not long after opening. Any drapery on the sidewalls is gone. They’ve done a ton of work and a great job, I think you’ll be very pleasantly surprised to see what it looks like now. Dennis used to manage the Gateway and yes, it was the same festival that was held there, although they should be happening more frequently now that they have a permanent home. SFC also continues to do screenings at other theaters like the Arcada and Pickwick.
The Portage is set to reopen Friday, May 19 with Silent Film Chicago’s Spring Silent Film Festival. Tickets are now on sale. http://www.silentfilmchicago.com/
It was demolished in 1962 so the former auditorium could be used as parking for the Cosmpolitan Insurance Company, which operated out of the offices around the theater.
It opened September 11, 1918. Ads claimed it had 3,000 seats, 2,500 of which were on the main floor. The ads were even audacious enough to advertise “The Pantheon Symphony Orchestra (formerly Chicago Symphony Orchestra)”
No, it is not. It is on both the National Register of Historic Places (since 1984) and is a designated Chicago Landmark, giving it two layers of protection for the exterior, so it could not have been torn down easily at all, and earlier plans for its city landmarking would have landmarked the lobby as well. Who knows what political deals led to that part being dropped. Who cares if it’s used for theatrical purposes? The Biograph was always first and foremost a movie house. Biograph, after all, was one of the top silent film studios. If it’s gutted either way, with nothing left of the old interior, what’s the difference? Look again at The Chicago Landmark page. It says that in addition to the Dillinger connection (though the building he was actually shot at was torn down in the last 5 years; there’s a Qdoba there now) it was chosen as typical of early theater construction. For the Natipnal Register, it was named as significant in the areas of Performing Arts (as an early movie house) and Social History (Dillinger). The Biograph has lost what made it historically interesting as a movie house and now Zacek wants to ignore anything that made it historic in the gangster era. So I ask again, why move into a historic landmark if you’re only interest is in destroying that history? It’s almost the same thing as what happened at Soldier Field.
The second screen addition (not a split) had 1,000 seats originally, opening Christmas, 1969. It was said to be the first ‘stadium’ twin in the area – were the balconies unusually steeply raked? I never went, so I don’t know. The second screen also had the unique configuration of entering at the center cross aisle to minimize interference. The Golf Mill 3 opened for the fourth of July, 1974 with 700 seats, to the left of theater 1.
Morton Fink and his family had gained experience by running the Harlem and North Avenue drive-ins. The Golf Mill was their first indoor. And it was December 29 1961, not 1962. It was apparently the first in the world to offer six-track stereo and first indoor theater within a shopping center within a shopping center. Another service offered in the early days was a laundry service: women could drop off their laundry at 1pm, catch a matinee, and pick up their washed and bundled laundry when they left.
None of the three were split. It closed with three screens.
I should also add that this, along with the Vic are the two oldest operating cinemas in the city, although both did spend good amounts in non-theatrical use. It is also the oldest and perhaps only former nickelodeon to remain in use.
Just got this in my email… I believe they removed one of the two screens added in 1993 in the storefronts and expanded into a new wing, making the York a 9-screen complex. Pretty remarkable! I suppose they’re running out of room to expand any further though.
THE YORK THEATRE IS NOW BIGGER & EVEN BETTER!
Opening Friday, April 28, just in time for Mission: Impossible 3, The Da Vinci Code, and the rest of the summer blockbusters, the York Theatre is now bigger and even better with 9 screens offering more movie choices, all digital sound, and more stadium seating.
The new wing, with new auditoriums 7,8,9, will feature a series of
original art panels, by local artists, depicting “Lost Elmhurst”.
“The Balmoral, Chicago’s newest motion picture theater, located at Sheridan road and Balmoral avenue opposite the Edgewater Beach hotel, opened last week with a policy of presenting single feature domestic and foreign films. The theater, which seats 500, was constructed at a cost of $250,000. The Balmoral will present afternoon and evening performances and will provide free coffee for patrons. There is ample parking nearby. The feature attraction this week-end is "If a Man Answers,” starring Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin.“ – Chicago Tribune, Jan 6, 1963
It opened December 28, 1962 with “The Pigeon That Took Rome”, and was described as “small but attractive, with aisles on both sides of the house, an arrangement which provides good vision from any vantage point. The arrangement is practical because the seats are of the push-back variety with ample room between rows. In April 1964, they shifted to exclusively foreign pictures. It closed in February 1966 with the Edgewater Beach Hotel following suit the next year, and a 4+1 apartment building soon rose on the theater’s site.
Incidentally, the Edgewater Historical Society’s site says an earlier Balmoral theater was on the site until 1911, but I can’t find evidence of this elsewhere.
I took a ride by it tonight. It looks to me like they had the twin, added a third screen the same size as the first one, split the original twin 3 ways each, and added more screens in the annex part. In other words the original twin is auditoriums 5-10 and the 1-4 is annex. The roller rink is some kind of kiddie amusement place now. I’m sort of surprised this theater is still around – and under loews/amc – since it’s not really in a shopping center, although there is a very busy shopping area surrounding it. Presumably it was also built to sap the audience from the old Harlem Outdoor.
It was acquired by Plitt in June 1982. It had been an art house, occasional home to the chicago international film festival, and became a discount house.
You’re right; it’s not. The Blaine school, named for politician James G. Blaine opened in 1893. The Blaine stayed in operation until the opening of the Music Box (which was originally to be called the New Blaine) in 1928
This has nothing to do with the Biograph, but since we’re discussing chicago landmarks, I think it’s appropriate. I think I found the house you were talking about. The first designated landmark demolished, the 1851 Rincker house, which stood opposite of Superdawg – now a parking lot for a dunkin donuts, I think – was demolished in 1980 following a suspicious, probably-arson fire (which only destroyed the interior of the salvageable building). It was the second-oldest in the city, and the only remaining example of German Gothic Revival architecture in Chicago, built of thick mud brick faced in timber. Interestingly, the demo permit for that was only issued as a result of an address mix-up, the same thing that happened with the Hayes-Healy gym on depaul last year (although that was not a landmark). 25 years, and they still haven’t figured out to list every concievable address of landmarks. As a footnote, prior to the present landmarks commission, an earlier 1957 organization with no enforcement power had designated 38 landmarks, 7 of which were later destroyed (Sullivan’s Garrick, Sullivan house, Meyer, and Stock Exchange; the Edison shop; the Cable building; and the Leiter I.)
Yeah, looks right to me. Odd that they tore down the lobby section though, in most situations like this they seem to just send the cars straight through it.
Oh, they will. They’ve always used the marquee in their campaigns, etc, and continue to. And that is also protected under the landmarking. I’ll look into the farm house thing, that sounds totally unfamiliar to me. And I suppose i’ll drop my objection to the remodeling of the entrance, because poking my head inside I now see an ornate metal ceiling (or maybe just part of the original marquee) is visible where that had been.
As far as I know, the only declared Chicago Landmark that has been demolished was the McCarthy building on Block 37. The Chicago landmarking should prevent issuance of permit without review to certify that it would not destroy the character of a landmark (which I would argue has happened here, which i’ll explain shortly). The interior of the Biograph, for whatever reason, is NOT among the protected interiors list [url=http://www.ci.chi.il.us/Landmarks/Tours/Interiors.html]here[/url}. Notice the Chicago, Uptown, and New Regal are. National Register protections prevent federal or state encroachment on historic properties, I believe. But in any case, the exterior should be protected. One of the things removed when the lobby was gutted inculded a deco “BIOGRAPH” sign above the doorway, which had been enclosed in the 80s when the doorway was moved forward to include the box office. It was an exterior component, though, and I think that may constitute an exterior alteration.
Yes and yes. Although I was never inside the theater before, I was shown pictures of it and it appeared in very poor shape indeed. It’s been repainted inside and is very quaint and cozy. Although it doesn’t really qualify as a restoration, it is done very tastefully and resembles the original decor to a large extent. Really the only major differences from pictures dating to the original is paint, and the old organ false balconies were removed when ‘scope came in, and boxes on the rear walls were enclosed not long after opening. Any drapery on the sidewalls is gone. They’ve done a ton of work and a great job, I think you’ll be very pleasantly surprised to see what it looks like now. Dennis used to manage the Gateway and yes, it was the same festival that was held there, although they should be happening more frequently now that they have a permanent home. SFC also continues to do screenings at other theaters like the Arcada and Pickwick.
The rendering I mentioned in December looks entirely different from what was built.
The Portage is set to reopen Friday, May 19 with Silent Film Chicago’s Spring Silent Film Festival. Tickets are now on sale. http://www.silentfilmchicago.com/
How on earth did the Logan survive with the Harding virtually next door?
It’s open now.
When it was converted to a garage and machine shop in 1918, it was apparently called the Lincoln Theater.
It was built on the site of a nickelodeon, the Lincoln, that had burned down.
It was demolished in 1962 so the former auditorium could be used as parking for the Cosmpolitan Insurance Company, which operated out of the offices around the theater.
It opened September 11, 1918. Ads claimed it had 3,000 seats, 2,500 of which were on the main floor. The ads were even audacious enough to advertise “The Pantheon Symphony Orchestra (formerly Chicago Symphony Orchestra)”
Here is the article from when it was recieving city landmark status.
No, it is not. It is on both the National Register of Historic Places (since 1984) and is a designated Chicago Landmark, giving it two layers of protection for the exterior, so it could not have been torn down easily at all, and earlier plans for its city landmarking would have landmarked the lobby as well. Who knows what political deals led to that part being dropped. Who cares if it’s used for theatrical purposes? The Biograph was always first and foremost a movie house. Biograph, after all, was one of the top silent film studios. If it’s gutted either way, with nothing left of the old interior, what’s the difference? Look again at The Chicago Landmark page. It says that in addition to the Dillinger connection (though the building he was actually shot at was torn down in the last 5 years; there’s a Qdoba there now) it was chosen as typical of early theater construction. For the Natipnal Register, it was named as significant in the areas of Performing Arts (as an early movie house) and Social History (Dillinger). The Biograph has lost what made it historically interesting as a movie house and now Zacek wants to ignore anything that made it historic in the gangster era. So I ask again, why move into a historic landmark if you’re only interest is in destroying that history? It’s almost the same thing as what happened at Soldier Field.
The second screen addition (not a split) had 1,000 seats originally, opening Christmas, 1969. It was said to be the first ‘stadium’ twin in the area – were the balconies unusually steeply raked? I never went, so I don’t know. The second screen also had the unique configuration of entering at the center cross aisle to minimize interference. The Golf Mill 3 opened for the fourth of July, 1974 with 700 seats, to the left of theater 1.
Morton Fink and his family had gained experience by running the Harlem and North Avenue drive-ins. The Golf Mill was their first indoor. And it was December 29 1961, not 1962. It was apparently the first in the world to offer six-track stereo and first indoor theater within a shopping center within a shopping center. Another service offered in the early days was a laundry service: women could drop off their laundry at 1pm, catch a matinee, and pick up their washed and bundled laundry when they left.
None of the three were split. It closed with three screens.
I should also add that this, along with the Vic are the two oldest operating cinemas in the city, although both did spend good amounts in non-theatrical use. It is also the oldest and perhaps only former nickelodeon to remain in use.
Just got this in my email… I believe they removed one of the two screens added in 1993 in the storefronts and expanded into a new wing, making the York a 9-screen complex. Pretty remarkable! I suppose they’re running out of room to expand any further though.
THE YORK THEATRE IS NOW BIGGER & EVEN BETTER!
Opening Friday, April 28, just in time for Mission: Impossible 3, The Da Vinci Code, and the rest of the summer blockbusters, the York Theatre is now bigger and even better with 9 screens offering more movie choices, all digital sound, and more stadium seating.
The new wing, with new auditoriums 7,8,9, will feature a series of
original art panels, by local artists, depicting “Lost Elmhurst”.
They also have a “Now Accepting Applications” sign in the window, so I can’t imagine the threat is really imminent.
“The Balmoral, Chicago’s newest motion picture theater, located at Sheridan road and Balmoral avenue opposite the Edgewater Beach hotel, opened last week with a policy of presenting single feature domestic and foreign films. The theater, which seats 500, was constructed at a cost of $250,000. The Balmoral will present afternoon and evening performances and will provide free coffee for patrons. There is ample parking nearby. The feature attraction this week-end is "If a Man Answers,” starring Sandra Dee and Bobby Darin.“ – Chicago Tribune, Jan 6, 1963
It opened December 28, 1962 with “The Pigeon That Took Rome”, and was described as “small but attractive, with aisles on both sides of the house, an arrangement which provides good vision from any vantage point. The arrangement is practical because the seats are of the push-back variety with ample room between rows. In April 1964, they shifted to exclusively foreign pictures. It closed in February 1966 with the Edgewater Beach Hotel following suit the next year, and a 4+1 apartment building soon rose on the theater’s site.
Incidentally, the Edgewater Historical Society’s site says an earlier Balmoral theater was on the site until 1911, but I can’t find evidence of this elsewhere.
I never noticed this before, but the Oriental’s vertical sign is in the background of the Norman Rockwell painting The Clock Mender.
Also, the Oriental was acquired by M&R in about 1967.
I took a ride by it tonight. It looks to me like they had the twin, added a third screen the same size as the first one, split the original twin 3 ways each, and added more screens in the annex part. In other words the original twin is auditoriums 5-10 and the 1-4 is annex. The roller rink is some kind of kiddie amusement place now. I’m sort of surprised this theater is still around – and under loews/amc – since it’s not really in a shopping center, although there is a very busy shopping area surrounding it. Presumably it was also built to sap the audience from the old Harlem Outdoor.
Kerasotes has had a listing on their upcoming projects page showing a 14-screen at Armitage and Grand for a while now.
It was acquired by Plitt in June 1982. It had been an art house, occasional home to the chicago international film festival, and became a discount house.