From this week’s Chicago Reader ‘The Business’ column: “The Silent Film Society was booted from the Gateway Theatre a year ago, but expects to inaugurate a new home base this spring at the Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee. Film Society head and former Gateway manager Dennis Wolkowicz is one of three members of a management team that has taken a long-term lease (with option to buy) on the 85-year-old Portage. Wolkowicz says they spiffed it up, returned it to a single auditorium format, and are just awaiting (what else?) the PPA license. It’ll have 1,350 seats and will offer live music and talkiesâ€"classic, revival, independent, documentary, and foreign moviesâ€"along with the silent films.”
It looks wonderful and I eagerly await its opening.
Yes, there were, at total opposite ends of the street, and both by the same architect. And it was indeed built in 1911. The 1872 Adelphi was elsewhere in the loop, and was better known as Haverly’s, once the largest in Chicago, at Monroe and Dearborn. That theater had a rather interesting history. It was built following the fire using the outer walls of the old custom-house. It seated around 2500, a rickety firetrap with only two exits for the balconies and galleries accessible via crooked stairs, was rebuilt in 1878 and closed in 1882, replaced by a new Haverly’s theater across the street, incidentally, known as the Columbia, which later burned. Perhaps Mr. Woods, who remodeled the 1911 Columbia into the Adelphi was alluding to this earlier prominent theater.
It had 1250 seats as a single for the Center Theaters chain who also owned the Edens), and opened November 10, 1972. It was billed as a ‘Return to Elegance’ and early reports said the lobby would be decorated in “funky 1930s Roxy-theater style complete with swans swimming in the pool.” The lobby also featured various artworks meant to evoke classic movie palaces. Incidentally, one of the owners was named Robert Lubliner. I’ll bet he was a relation of Lubliner & Trinz. Cineplex took over Lubliner’s Center Theaters (McClurg and Edens) in 1987.
It was actually opened on April 4, 1931. An interesting fact about the ceiling:
“The star studded sky that will compose the auditorium ceiling og the new Publix-Balaban & Katz theater, the Nortown, which is to be opened at Devon and Western avenues on April 4, is to be an exact duplication of an April constellation, according to J. E. O. Pridmore, supervising architect. J. C. Penn, astronomy professor at Armour institute, was commissioned to put the stars in their proper places to insure that the layout would be authentic.” -Chicago Tribune, pG5, March 22, 1931.
The present theater space, as I understand it, is the old balcony space and part of the auditorium, the ground floor and stage having been destroyed, and now seats 160.
Well, this marquee IS plainer than the one they took down. They probably could have replicated the old one just as easily and added the lettering there. Also, notice they did not put back the long-missing neon on the facade on either side of the marquee. And the poster cases look different, too. See this photo. At least it wasn’t demolished, I guess, even if none of the 1913 building really survives. I’ll try to get a photo of the new marquee up shortly.
Go to the library and look for a book titled “The Best Remaining Seats” by Ben Hall. It has pretty much all the information you could possibly need on the Roxy.
The original stage was said to be very innovative; an opening day article in the Tribune says, “A new feature in theater construction is introduced in the revolving stage, which allows one act to be in progress while two others are in preparation behind the scenes, the stage itself moving up, down, or sideways under motor power directed by a controller.” Incidentally, the restoration did not actually retain the original colors, opting instead for a more subdued version; however, the bright, jewel-like colors were consistently touted as one of the more interesting features of the theater upon its original opening.
Here’s a bit more on the yoga studio – “Mike and John are hopeful that their second studio, located in Lincoln Park, will open during the first quarter of this year. The new studio will occupy the second floor of the old Parkway Theatre on Clark Street at Diversey Avenue. The Parkway was built in the early 20th century as a vaudeville stage and later became popular as a movie theatre for classic, foreign and independently produced films. The partners are committed to restoring as much of the original building as possible. The studio features old oak floors, Ionic columns and a 20-foot ceiling with elaborate decorative plaster work. A dropped greenhouse roof will capture natural light while protecting the original plaster details from the heat and humidity. The new studio also will have a locker room and showers.” – http://www.yogachicago.com/jan04/bikram.shtml
The balcony space has been converted to a Bikram Yoga studio. Some of the decor remains intact, although it looks like substantial renovation was necessary. Their website is www.bycic.com but does not mention the theater.
And the corrected link to the old lobby photo above is here
Yeah, but they didn’t even replicate that accurately. It’s simplified from the old design, the proportions are off, and the neon on the sides is missing. You’d think that having the original it could have been replicated easily…
I checked out the Resale Store today, it seems to have just opened. It looks like any renovations that had made it a smaller theater, or bowling lanes, or any of that have been removed and the auditorium is fully open. It’s very interesting. Much of the plaster and tropical murals are badly damaged, but it’s pretty neat and something you don’t see often. I definitely reccomend checking this out for any Chicago theater fans.
The Randolph was directly next to the Iroquois. For many years later, it was the site of the Old Heidelberg German restaurant. About 10 years ago, the property was redeveloped and the site is presently an Argo Tea. It had been the Noble Fool Theater for a couple years. The Apollo was the theater directly next to the Garrick. The site was redeveloped in the 1950s into a Greyhound Depot, which, along with the Garrick site, is now part of the Chicago Title and Trust center. The RKO Grand was on the site of Daley Plaza.
Oddly it’s now open as the Brown Elephant Resale Store. I guess the theater thing fell through? When I made my post last month, a tile entry had been laid that read “Brown Elephant”. I was wondering what that was.
The Depaulia newspaper printed an article on the Biograph project this week; it is not online yet, but it included several photos showing the project. The theatre is indeed 100% gutted. Quote VG’s head, Dennis Zacek, “We are doing our best to move forward past this particular period in Chicago history.” Which begs the question, Why move into a historic landmark?
CHI74: A 1996 article in the Tribune about a certain architectural salvage firm in Chicago, Ziggurat (I don’t think they exist anymore) mentions that they had the elephant chairs. They exist, somewhere. I’m surprised they weren’t acquired by the Oriental, since the restoration was occuring then. Maybe they were removed DURING the restoration? That would seem odd, but considering the timeframe…
Yes, an earlier press release from Cavalcade of Music said “The cinema, once known as the Niles Center Theater, was built around 1915 and showed silent films, some of which were shot less than 100 yards away. Chicago’s Essanay Films used Lincoln Avenue as a location in many early Western movies.” So this was probably misinterpreted by the article writer. Some of the other photos on DigitalPast note that the theater was owned by a grocer two doors down from the theater.
I’m not sure that’s right about it being a studio lot. I know that the area had been very rustic when it was first opened, so silent film crews sometimes used the street as a set for Westerns, but I don’t know that the theater itself was a studio.
I guess that’s why they closed Golf Glen. You have to get your equipment somewhere, and where better than the theater that’s going to be driven out by Kerasotes shortly.
From this week’s Chicago Reader ‘The Business’ column: “The Silent Film Society was booted from the Gateway Theatre a year ago, but expects to inaugurate a new home base this spring at the Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee. Film Society head and former Gateway manager Dennis Wolkowicz is one of three members of a management team that has taken a long-term lease (with option to buy) on the 85-year-old Portage. Wolkowicz says they spiffed it up, returned it to a single auditorium format, and are just awaiting (what else?) the PPA license. It’ll have 1,350 seats and will offer live music and talkiesâ€"classic, revival, independent, documentary, and foreign moviesâ€"along with the silent films.”
It looks wonderful and I eagerly await its opening.
Yes, there were, at total opposite ends of the street, and both by the same architect. And it was indeed built in 1911. The 1872 Adelphi was elsewhere in the loop, and was better known as Haverly’s, once the largest in Chicago, at Monroe and Dearborn. That theater had a rather interesting history. It was built following the fire using the outer walls of the old custom-house. It seated around 2500, a rickety firetrap with only two exits for the balconies and galleries accessible via crooked stairs, was rebuilt in 1878 and closed in 1882, replaced by a new Haverly’s theater across the street, incidentally, known as the Columbia, which later burned. Perhaps Mr. Woods, who remodeled the 1911 Columbia into the Adelphi was alluding to this earlier prominent theater.
It had 1250 seats as a single for the Center Theaters chain who also owned the Edens), and opened November 10, 1972. It was billed as a ‘Return to Elegance’ and early reports said the lobby would be decorated in “funky 1930s Roxy-theater style complete with swans swimming in the pool.” The lobby also featured various artworks meant to evoke classic movie palaces. Incidentally, one of the owners was named Robert Lubliner. I’ll bet he was a relation of Lubliner & Trinz. Cineplex took over Lubliner’s Center Theaters (McClurg and Edens) in 1987.
The Admiral was originally to be named the Ritz and to open in April, 1925; it opened exactly two years later, on March 31, 1927.
It was actually opened on April 4, 1931. An interesting fact about the ceiling:
“The star studded sky that will compose the auditorium ceiling og the new Publix-Balaban & Katz theater, the Nortown, which is to be opened at Devon and Western avenues on April 4, is to be an exact duplication of an April constellation, according to J. E. O. Pridmore, supervising architect. J. C. Penn, astronomy professor at Armour institute, was commissioned to put the stars in their proper places to insure that the layout would be authentic.” -Chicago Tribune, pG5, March 22, 1931.
The present theater space, as I understand it, is the old balcony space and part of the auditorium, the ground floor and stage having been destroyed, and now seats 160.
Well, this marquee IS plainer than the one they took down. They probably could have replicated the old one just as easily and added the lettering there. Also, notice they did not put back the long-missing neon on the facade on either side of the marquee. And the poster cases look different, too. See this photo. At least it wasn’t demolished, I guess, even if none of the 1913 building really survives. I’ll try to get a photo of the new marquee up shortly.
http://www.skokienet.org/centenn/ch4sec2.htm Has some background info on the early Essanay Westerns and the theater’s relationship.
Rather, I should have emailed him that, had I been looking closely…
Go to the library and look for a book titled “The Best Remaining Seats” by Ben Hall. It has pretty much all the information you could possibly need on the Roxy.
The original stage was said to be very innovative; an opening day article in the Tribune says, “A new feature in theater construction is introduced in the revolving stage, which allows one act to be in progress while two others are in preparation behind the scenes, the stage itself moving up, down, or sideways under motor power directed by a controller.” Incidentally, the restoration did not actually retain the original colors, opting instead for a more subdued version; however, the bright, jewel-like colors were consistently touted as one of the more interesting features of the theater upon its original opening.
Here’s a bit more on the yoga studio – “Mike and John are hopeful that their second studio, located in Lincoln Park, will open during the first quarter of this year. The new studio will occupy the second floor of the old Parkway Theatre on Clark Street at Diversey Avenue. The Parkway was built in the early 20th century as a vaudeville stage and later became popular as a movie theatre for classic, foreign and independently produced films. The partners are committed to restoring as much of the original building as possible. The studio features old oak floors, Ionic columns and a 20-foot ceiling with elaborate decorative plaster work. A dropped greenhouse roof will capture natural light while protecting the original plaster details from the heat and humidity. The new studio also will have a locker room and showers.” – http://www.yogachicago.com/jan04/bikram.shtml
Also this page features a Photo of the space.
The balcony space has been converted to a Bikram Yoga studio. Some of the decor remains intact, although it looks like substantial renovation was necessary. Their website is www.bycic.com but does not mention the theater.
And the corrected link to the old lobby photo above is here
Yeah, but they didn’t even replicate that accurately. It’s simplified from the old design, the proportions are off, and the neon on the sides is missing. You’d think that having the original it could have been replicated easily…
I checked out the Resale Store today, it seems to have just opened. It looks like any renovations that had made it a smaller theater, or bowling lanes, or any of that have been removed and the auditorium is fully open. It’s very interesting. Much of the plaster and tropical murals are badly damaged, but it’s pretty neat and something you don’t see often. I definitely reccomend checking this out for any Chicago theater fans.
Also, photos of most of these from the THSA archives can be seen at the Corner Bakery location on the site
The Randolph was directly next to the Iroquois. For many years later, it was the site of the Old Heidelberg German restaurant. About 10 years ago, the property was redeveloped and the site is presently an Argo Tea. It had been the Noble Fool Theater for a couple years. The Apollo was the theater directly next to the Garrick. The site was redeveloped in the 1950s into a Greyhound Depot, which, along with the Garrick site, is now part of the Chicago Title and Trust center. The RKO Grand was on the site of Daley Plaza.
Before the Heidelberg, there was a theatre called Randolph, besides that, there were the Apollo, RKO Grand, and the Palace.
Oddly it’s now open as the Brown Elephant Resale Store. I guess the theater thing fell through? When I made my post last month, a tile entry had been laid that read “Brown Elephant”. I was wondering what that was.
The Depaulia newspaper printed an article on the Biograph project this week; it is not online yet, but it included several photos showing the project. The theatre is indeed 100% gutted. Quote VG’s head, Dennis Zacek, “We are doing our best to move forward past this particular period in Chicago history.” Which begs the question, Why move into a historic landmark?
CHI74: A 1996 article in the Tribune about a certain architectural salvage firm in Chicago, Ziggurat (I don’t think they exist anymore) mentions that they had the elephant chairs. They exist, somewhere. I’m surprised they weren’t acquired by the Oriental, since the restoration was occuring then. Maybe they were removed DURING the restoration? That would seem odd, but considering the timeframe…
tivoli: You are looking for the Oakland Square Theatre
Yes, an earlier press release from Cavalcade of Music said “The cinema, once known as the Niles Center Theater, was built around 1915 and showed silent films, some of which were shot less than 100 yards away. Chicago’s Essanay Films used Lincoln Avenue as a location in many early Western movies.” So this was probably misinterpreted by the article writer. Some of the other photos on DigitalPast note that the theater was owned by a grocer two doors down from the theater.
I’m not sure that’s right about it being a studio lot. I know that the area had been very rustic when it was first opened, so silent film crews sometimes used the street as a set for Westerns, but I don’t know that the theater itself was a studio.
I guess that’s why they closed Golf Glen. You have to get your equipment somewhere, and where better than the theater that’s going to be driven out by Kerasotes shortly.
The poster cases, concession stand, and marble tile are also very CO.