They seem to be putting some money into the building – the facade is being worked on by a restoration contractor, with scaffolding up (although I think a part of it was removed). The stage floor, actually a rather deep stage, is still in the store, although the auditorium floor is leveled. I thought I saw a peek of plasterwork where a ceiling tile was missing. I didn’t see any posters on the walls.
This was originally the first Terminal theater, listed under that name on this site. That page should probably refer only to the second Terminal, at 3315. The first Terminal was designed by Henry L. Newhouse.
Well, the Roxy and Ritz were not balcony theaters at all- they were in adjacent former loft/ballroom/billiards/meeting space above the storefronts, added in mid-1983. The main auditorium, as illustrated by your picture, is clearly too low to have had a balcony. I’m surprised to see that picture; it looks like the acoustics must have been horrible when talkies hit. Gene Siskel seems to have loved the theaters; in a 1984 article comparing multiplexes, he said “these three lovingly-designed theaters are among my favorites anywhere in the metropolitan area,” and “the two upstairs mini-theaters are without qualification the prettiest mini-theaters in town; in fact, to call them mini-theaters is to do them a disservice.” Of course, the comparison was to Chestnut Station, Water Tower Place, and the Fine Arts 4. He was a bit wary of the takeover from Larry Edwards to Plitt.
There’s not really anywhere I can post them, and it would be copyright infringement to post them elsewhere. However, if you’d like to look up the microfilm at your library, or if you have access to the tribune archives by having a Chicago Public Library card, you can look for April 16, 1914, p17 and a correction in April 19, p11. There is little information in it- only a couple of paragraphs, without any new info, essentailly just sketching the basics – but it is of historical interest. I do encourage people with CPL cards to go on the CPL website and poke around until you find the Chicago Tribune historical archive database, there is an enormous wealth of information out there, and you can really hone your searching skills.
Bryan, that is a great view. Never having actually been in the Biograph myself, can anyone say what, if anything was/is left of this?
Sure, just send me an email with your address and i’ll send my materials right over – or I can put them on a CD and drop them by VG since i’m by there all the time. My address is in my profile. I do seem to recall reading that it was a ballroom, billiards, dance studio, and storage at times, but I don’t have time to look up all the articles I had seen at the moment to confirm.
Yes, that’s the lettering I refer to. I had assumed it was an 80s renovation too initially because the deco style didn’t seem to ring true, but it’s present in 1939 photos I saw on ebay (I have these saved to disk, in case you’d like me to email them). I’ve seen similar signage above doors in other deco remodels. It is strange that the lettering there didn’t originally match the marquee. In these photos, the colors were reverse of the more recent style and the marquee was painted awkwardly, as well. The underside of the marquee was also white in these. The poster cases were also somewhat larger. Don’t get me wrong, i’m very excited to see the Biograph put to a greater use, and I think it’s an excellent project – i’m just a bit concerned about what might be lost. Plaster can always be re-cast! And don’t worry, I wouldn’t be so foolish as to climb in a dumpster, it was right on top. I go to Depaul, so I will be watching this project intently. If any volunteer labor is desired, don’t hestiate to contact me. I also have pdfs of the 1914 Tribune articles announcing the theater.
I personally grabbed a couple chunks of ornamental, albeit relatively simple, plaster from the dumpster last week. Certainly it’s been remodeled a number of times in its history, and this was probably covered over, but it did exist. Are either of those wood sections to be maintained? And what about the main theater, or the upstairs? And yes, I agree it will probably be an improvement over the most recent appearance, and it will look nice, but it’s not really restoration. Brick does fit with the Victory Gardens aesthetic from the current location, which I do like. Why was the ‘Biograph’ over the doors removed? And why is the white pediment over the entrance missing in the renderings? Is the marquee going to be repainted correctly, with the proper typeface and striping missing in the present paint scheme?
And it was of course named for the intersection of Milwaukee and Crawford (Now Pulaski) where it sat. Note that “Pulaski” is spelled incorrectly in the address field above.
The Milford and Bryn Mawr (and the Des Plaines) were all owned by H&E Balaban for a very long time. The Milford opened 6pm February 24, 1917 for the Ascher Brothers chain, not Lynch.
A May 1, 1985 Tribune article notes that Carr’s had put the Southtown up for sale. It also notes that Carr’s purchased it for 2.5 million in 1958 and the sale price in 1985 was S295,000.
That article is from January 17th, 2005; something is just wrong with Crain’s code. I don’t really see anything in that article that goes against what anyone’s said. That article really is a piece of crap, it has no substance and doesn’t even try to prove its thesis that theaters don’t help downtowns. If anything it contradicts it with its hinsdale example. Like I said, it’s only good for the pictures.
That’s not strictly true. There were a number of ‘airdomes’– open-air theaters, usually set up in vacant lots – in the nickelodeon days from about 1905-1915. Perhaps it was the first free outdoor screening, but I have to imagine there were scattered incidents (and i’m sure lots of people saw the movies at airdomes free from adjacent buildings)
Address was 203 Vine. The theatre was closed in about 1936 after being run for a few years by the H&E Balaban Chain, which acquired it at about the same time as the Pickwick in 1933. In January 1955 the theatre briefly reopened as an arthouse called the Park Avenue Cinema but this venture lasted only a few months, undoubtedly partially due to the fact that its rear wall was to the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. In November 1956 it was converted to the Michael Kirby Ice Skating School, remaining open until 1973. The conversion wsa carried out by busting a 10 foot hole in the side of the auditorium, pumping in sand to fill in the slope, and installing refrigeration equipment on the stage. The Ridge Square Condominiums rose on the site in 1983. Parts of its polychrome Terra Cotta facade are still around.
Here, I found it. Page 103 of Ben Hall’s “The Best Remaining Seats”. Chris, if you send me an email I can scan in the photos from this book and you can post them. There’s a closeup of the sidewall, a view of the proscenium and asbestos curtain, a full-color rendering of the interior, and the exterior view I mentioned.
I saw a black and white photo of it at some point; I thought it was in “The Best Remaining Seats” but I can’t seem to find the photo at the moment. Anyway, I could see that it was originally multicolored, maybe three or four colors, each ray was the same width. That’s probably the main problem; the spacing is narrow in spots and wide in others, it looks sloppy. I don’t doubt that the colors were vivid though.
October 28, 1984 to be exact
It looks like the project is coming along very nicely and tastefully. Can’t wait to see inside.
They seem to be putting some money into the building – the facade is being worked on by a restoration contractor, with scaffolding up (although I think a part of it was removed). The stage floor, actually a rather deep stage, is still in the store, although the auditorium floor is leveled. I thought I saw a peek of plasterwork where a ceiling tile was missing. I didn’t see any posters on the walls.
That does seem more than a bit odd.
This was originally the first Terminal theater, listed under that name on this site. That page should probably refer only to the second Terminal, at 3315. The first Terminal was designed by Henry L. Newhouse.
Well, the Roxy and Ritz were not balcony theaters at all- they were in adjacent former loft/ballroom/billiards/meeting space above the storefronts, added in mid-1983. The main auditorium, as illustrated by your picture, is clearly too low to have had a balcony. I’m surprised to see that picture; it looks like the acoustics must have been horrible when talkies hit. Gene Siskel seems to have loved the theaters; in a 1984 article comparing multiplexes, he said “these three lovingly-designed theaters are among my favorites anywhere in the metropolitan area,” and “the two upstairs mini-theaters are without qualification the prettiest mini-theaters in town; in fact, to call them mini-theaters is to do them a disservice.” Of course, the comparison was to Chestnut Station, Water Tower Place, and the Fine Arts 4. He was a bit wary of the takeover from Larry Edwards to Plitt.
There’s not really anywhere I can post them, and it would be copyright infringement to post them elsewhere. However, if you’d like to look up the microfilm at your library, or if you have access to the tribune archives by having a Chicago Public Library card, you can look for April 16, 1914, p17 and a correction in April 19, p11. There is little information in it- only a couple of paragraphs, without any new info, essentailly just sketching the basics – but it is of historical interest. I do encourage people with CPL cards to go on the CPL website and poke around until you find the Chicago Tribune historical archive database, there is an enormous wealth of information out there, and you can really hone your searching skills.
Bryan, that is a great view. Never having actually been in the Biograph myself, can anyone say what, if anything was/is left of this?
Sure, just send me an email with your address and i’ll send my materials right over – or I can put them on a CD and drop them by VG since i’m by there all the time. My address is in my profile. I do seem to recall reading that it was a ballroom, billiards, dance studio, and storage at times, but I don’t have time to look up all the articles I had seen at the moment to confirm.
Yes, that’s the lettering I refer to. I had assumed it was an 80s renovation too initially because the deco style didn’t seem to ring true, but it’s present in 1939 photos I saw on ebay (I have these saved to disk, in case you’d like me to email them). I’ve seen similar signage above doors in other deco remodels. It is strange that the lettering there didn’t originally match the marquee. In these photos, the colors were reverse of the more recent style and the marquee was painted awkwardly, as well. The underside of the marquee was also white in these. The poster cases were also somewhat larger. Don’t get me wrong, i’m very excited to see the Biograph put to a greater use, and I think it’s an excellent project – i’m just a bit concerned about what might be lost. Plaster can always be re-cast! And don’t worry, I wouldn’t be so foolish as to climb in a dumpster, it was right on top. I go to Depaul, so I will be watching this project intently. If any volunteer labor is desired, don’t hestiate to contact me. I also have pdfs of the 1914 Tribune articles announcing the theater.
I personally grabbed a couple chunks of ornamental, albeit relatively simple, plaster from the dumpster last week. Certainly it’s been remodeled a number of times in its history, and this was probably covered over, but it did exist. Are either of those wood sections to be maintained? And what about the main theater, or the upstairs? And yes, I agree it will probably be an improvement over the most recent appearance, and it will look nice, but it’s not really restoration. Brick does fit with the Victory Gardens aesthetic from the current location, which I do like. Why was the ‘Biograph’ over the doors removed? And why is the white pediment over the entrance missing in the renderings? Is the marquee going to be repainted correctly, with the proper typeface and striping missing in the present paint scheme?
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.wi0059 is the HABS/HAER entry for the Ringling
Interior demolition recently began. The lobby is now essentially gutted. Sad, I had thought they would try to restore it.
The Varsity in Evanston, IL is a Gap on one half
And it was of course named for the intersection of Milwaukee and Crawford (Now Pulaski) where it sat. Note that “Pulaski” is spelled incorrectly in the address field above.
The Milford and Bryn Mawr (and the Des Plaines) were all owned by H&E Balaban for a very long time. The Milford opened 6pm February 24, 1917 for the Ascher Brothers chain, not Lynch.
A May 1, 1985 Tribune article notes that Carr’s had put the Southtown up for sale. It also notes that Carr’s purchased it for 2.5 million in 1958 and the sale price in 1985 was S295,000.
View link Here is the new link to the 1983 Russell Phillips photo of the auditorium.
That article is from January 17th, 2005; something is just wrong with Crain’s code. I don’t really see anything in that article that goes against what anyone’s said. That article really is a piece of crap, it has no substance and doesn’t even try to prove its thesis that theaters don’t help downtowns. If anything it contradicts it with its hinsdale example. Like I said, it’s only good for the pictures.
The only thing that article is good for is the pictures.
The Chicago Historic Respurces Survey lists Adolph Hoerner as architect.
The Chicago Historic Resources survey lists George H. Borst as the architect. Anyone hear anything more on the renovation project?
That’s not strictly true. There were a number of ‘airdomes’– open-air theaters, usually set up in vacant lots – in the nickelodeon days from about 1905-1915. Perhaps it was the first free outdoor screening, but I have to imagine there were scattered incidents (and i’m sure lots of people saw the movies at airdomes free from adjacent buildings)
Address was 203 Vine. The theatre was closed in about 1936 after being run for a few years by the H&E Balaban Chain, which acquired it at about the same time as the Pickwick in 1933. In January 1955 the theatre briefly reopened as an arthouse called the Park Avenue Cinema but this venture lasted only a few months, undoubtedly partially due to the fact that its rear wall was to the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad. In November 1956 it was converted to the Michael Kirby Ice Skating School, remaining open until 1973. The conversion wsa carried out by busting a 10 foot hole in the side of the auditorium, pumping in sand to fill in the slope, and installing refrigeration equipment on the stage. The Ridge Square Condominiums rose on the site in 1983. Parts of its polychrome Terra Cotta facade are still around.
Here, I found it. Page 103 of Ben Hall’s “The Best Remaining Seats”. Chris, if you send me an email I can scan in the photos from this book and you can post them. There’s a closeup of the sidewall, a view of the proscenium and asbestos curtain, a full-color rendering of the interior, and the exterior view I mentioned.
I saw a black and white photo of it at some point; I thought it was in “The Best Remaining Seats” but I can’t seem to find the photo at the moment. Anyway, I could see that it was originally multicolored, maybe three or four colors, each ray was the same width. That’s probably the main problem; the spacing is narrow in spots and wide in others, it looks sloppy. I don’t doubt that the colors were vivid though.