Yes, but many of the theaters started out as vaudeville and other types of “live” venues. They only happened to become venues for film when film became more popular.
Well, count me as someone who had no idea what that building really was! The tall building in the left of the photo used to be a Marshall Field’s. The current tenants in the Varsity space are the GAP and recently, a furniture store. You can see paper signs in the photo of the furniture store space announcing that an OSCO Drug was going to go in there, but obviously that didn’t pan out.
Can you post a link to your photos? We climbed around in the rubble on Sunday, but there wasn’t much to see. Apparently drywall had been put up over the original walls, which were painted green and had some nice mouldings and basketweave circles on them (For lights?) There also was some red hammered tin wall decoration exposed (like that found on the ceilings in many Chicago bldgs) and a few random seat cushions strewn about. We also found some chunks of scrollwork (part of the old facade?), it seemed at one point it had been painted baby blue. Would love to see your pics.
I don’t remember there being a restaurant in the lobby when I attended. This would have been mid 90s. I do remember it having a gold/cream monochromatic color scheme. I saw, among other movies, “Secrets and Lies” there. Can anyone verify/embellish on my vague memory of the interior?
Wow. Surprised and shocked to hear it has become a dance club. Saw “Bound,” “The City of Lost Children,” and some other artsy movies there in the mid-late 90s. The carpeted lobby was very narrow and had an oldish rectangular water fountain in it. The ladies' bathroom was to the left when you entered and had the original fixtures. The theater itself had quasi-boxes on either side and a balcony. The boxes did not give you a very good view of the movie, but it was cool to sit up there. Before you entered the theater you had a very claustrophobic vibe. I want to say I remember the doors to enter the theatre being tall and narrow “swinging” doors. It was not ornate inside, not like a “movie palace” found in larger cities.
My father lived around the corner from the Will Rogers in the 50s. He told me he and his sister spent many a hot summer day there as it was one of the few spots in the neighborhood with air conditioning. He said there was a 5-cent pony ride out front.
So the theatre is that building that is a Mexican (or was a) Mexican grocery store? I’ve seen it from the train a million times, and never would have thought it was a theatre…just an odd building.
Yes, but many of the theaters started out as vaudeville and other types of “live” venues. They only happened to become venues for film when film became more popular.
Well, count me as someone who had no idea what that building really was! The tall building in the left of the photo used to be a Marshall Field’s. The current tenants in the Varsity space are the GAP and recently, a furniture store. You can see paper signs in the photo of the furniture store space announcing that an OSCO Drug was going to go in there, but obviously that didn’t pan out.
Can you post a link to your photos? We climbed around in the rubble on Sunday, but there wasn’t much to see. Apparently drywall had been put up over the original walls, which were painted green and had some nice mouldings and basketweave circles on them (For lights?) There also was some red hammered tin wall decoration exposed (like that found on the ceilings in many Chicago bldgs) and a few random seat cushions strewn about. We also found some chunks of scrollwork (part of the old facade?), it seemed at one point it had been painted baby blue. Would love to see your pics.
I don’t remember there being a restaurant in the lobby when I attended. This would have been mid 90s. I do remember it having a gold/cream monochromatic color scheme. I saw, among other movies, “Secrets and Lies” there. Can anyone verify/embellish on my vague memory of the interior?
Wow. Surprised and shocked to hear it has become a dance club. Saw “Bound,” “The City of Lost Children,” and some other artsy movies there in the mid-late 90s. The carpeted lobby was very narrow and had an oldish rectangular water fountain in it. The ladies' bathroom was to the left when you entered and had the original fixtures. The theater itself had quasi-boxes on either side and a balcony. The boxes did not give you a very good view of the movie, but it was cool to sit up there. Before you entered the theater you had a very claustrophobic vibe. I want to say I remember the doors to enter the theatre being tall and narrow “swinging” doors. It was not ornate inside, not like a “movie palace” found in larger cities.
My father lived around the corner from the Will Rogers in the 50s. He told me he and his sister spent many a hot summer day there as it was one of the few spots in the neighborhood with air conditioning. He said there was a 5-cent pony ride out front.
So the theatre is that building that is a Mexican (or was a) Mexican grocery store? I’ve seen it from the train a million times, and never would have thought it was a theatre…just an odd building.