If you want an example of how the Internet is making the world a smaller place, here you go: a photo of the Commodore appears on cover of a CD by a Croation band, released on a Brazilian label. There’s a short review at: View link
Hi Rick. Since the guestbook was hosted on a different site, it’s possible. However, since the email address that was on the site is no longer active, it’s unlikely that guestbook entries are reaching anyone. It also looks like the last three entries in the guestbook are probably comment spam. Too bad.
There was a terrific site mentioned in the thread above, written by a guy named Michael Kuecker. The domain has been taken over by different owners, but the original content is still available in the Wayback Machine. It’s not much to look at, but it’s wonderful to read:
If anyone knows how to contact the author, it would be great to hear from him. I’d love to provide a new home for his site. I hate seeing good work like that disappear.
For that matter, anybody who wants to share memories of the Granada is welcome to contact me by email (). I really loved that place.
Recently I’ve been going through some of my old photos, and I’ve got a few more shots of the Granada that I’ll be adding to my gallery.
Sorry for the delay in posting these. Turns out that I had never bothered to print either of the photos from the auditorium, so I had to find the original negative, and scan that.
By the way… I’ve read many of your comments here over the past few years, and would love to ask you a few questions offline. If you wouldn’t mind that, feel free to email me sometime: cambodia at aol.com.
I was also surprised to learn that all those pics were taken by one guy. To even have COLLECTED that many photos would be an accomplishment… and to have actually TAKEN them is absolutely incredible.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t looking for anything about American Classic Images when I found that article. Just stumbled across it when I was searching for something else on Google News.
Thanks for the info. Could that have been 6417 W. Devon, or maybe 6417 N. Broadway? Devon runs east and west, so I don’t think 6417 N. Devon could be the right address.
The late Don Klein, who managed a number of theatres in Chicago, once told me that this was the “original” Devon Theatre, and that the nearby Knickerbocker (6225 N. Broadway) was renamed the Devon when this theatre closed.
Sam Burrows managed the 400 Theatre — now called the Village North — through most of the 1980s. At one point, in about 1980 — Burrows no longer remembers exactly when — a very old woman walked up to the box office.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I have a free pass to this theatre. I think it may have expired, but I was wondering if you would still honor it.”
She handed him her pass. It read:
Admit One
REGENT THEATRE
6746 N. SHERIDAN ROAD
When Accompanied With One Adult Paid Admission
TO ANY PERFORMANCE
Up To And Including April 17, 1925
The Chicago offers tours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, for five bucks. (Check the theatre’s website to make sure; sometimes other engagements preempt the tours.) It’s definitely worth the trip. I’ve posted several photos (most of which were taken during the tour) in Set #21, at this URL:
OK, after a delay of only five months or so, here is the image I promised to upload: a scan of one of the old film schedules from the Varsity. I’m not sure, but I believe this one is probably from 1981 or 1982:
You might be right that “gutted” is too strong a word. Andy McGhee had told me beforehand that there was basically nothing left of the original decor. Nonetheless, you can still see a few traces both inside and out, and you can also see the hallmarks of the 1930s-era renovation.
One of the interesting things that Andy pointed out was that some elements of the Morse are virtually identical to the Village North. The terra cotta on the parapet walls, in particular, is nearly identical.
Although the interior of the Morse is gutted, there is no mistaking its roots. Thanks to AMcGhee’s willingness to put up with me and my camera, some recent pictures can be seen here: http://www.mekong.net/random/photoi19.htm
For those of us who are accustomed to seeing old theatres ground to dust, the Morse project is a terrific change: this one appears to be coming back from the dead.
It’s very sad to see the Nortown being demolished, but I’m happy that a few things are being salvaged by the people from Urban Remains Chicago. I have an old pamphlet from the Theatre Historical Society that says the during the demolition of another old Chicago palace – the Norshore – “Local newspapers ran photos of the wrecker’s ball swinging at the columned lobby with chandeliers, furniture, and statuary still in place.”
I used to do some work at the Village from time to time in the late 1980s. As Chitownguy noted above, there was a cat that lived in the theatre. His name was Mitchell (after a nearby restaurant), and he was supposed to be a mouser. I don’t know how effective he was, but I’m guessing he never went hungry.
This theatre had the tiniest bathrooms of any theatre I ever went in, and it was the only theatre I can recall where the ladies' room was actually SMALLER than the men’s room.
There are a few pics of the Glenwood, taken in March 2011, in one of the “Lost Palaces” photo sets:
http://www.mekong.net/redirect/glenwood
Anyone have any additional info on the demolition?
If you want an example of how the Internet is making the world a smaller place, here you go: a photo of the Commodore appears on cover of a CD by a Croation band, released on a Brazilian label. There’s a short review at: View link
Not sure whether or not it’s their official site, but there’s a page for the band (Florence Foster Fan Club) at http://www.myspace.com/florencefosterfanclub
Hi Rick. Since the guestbook was hosted on a different site, it’s possible. However, since the email address that was on the site is no longer active, it’s unlikely that guestbook entries are reaching anyone. It also looks like the last three entries in the guestbook are probably comment spam. Too bad.
There was a terrific site mentioned in the thread above, written by a guy named Michael Kuecker. The domain has been taken over by different owners, but the original content is still available in the Wayback Machine. It’s not much to look at, but it’s wonderful to read:
View link
If anyone knows how to contact the author, it would be great to hear from him. I’d love to provide a new home for his site. I hate seeing good work like that disappear.
For that matter, anybody who wants to share memories of the Granada is welcome to contact me by email (). I really loved that place.
Recently I’ve been going through some of my old photos, and I’ve got a few more shots of the Granada that I’ll be adding to my gallery.
At the moment, there are about 40, starting here:
http://www.mekong.net/random/theatre-preview1.htm
Cheers,
Cam
A couple exterior photos are here:
http://www.mekong.net/random/theatre-preview26.htm
I’m with Ken: I’ve been visiting this theatre for years, and it’s always seemed just fine. Some recent pics are here:
http://www.mekong.net/random/theatre-preview28.htm
Hi LTS — here’s a page with a couple of (medicocre) pics of the auditorium:
http://www.mekong.net/random/highland.htm
Sorry for the delay in posting these. Turns out that I had never bothered to print either of the photos from the auditorium, so I had to find the original negative, and scan that.
By the way… I’ve read many of your comments here over the past few years, and would love to ask you a few questions offline. If you wouldn’t mind that, feel free to email me sometime: cambodia at aol.com.
A pic of the lobby, taken in 1992, is here:
http://www.mekong.net/random/cinema_photo216.htm
At the time, it was a church, and was well-maintained. I think I have a pic of the auditorium; I’ll try to post it if anyone is interested.
A recent photo is here:
http://www.mekong.net/random/cinema_photo379.htm
I was also surprised to learn that all those pics were taken by one guy. To even have COLLECTED that many photos would be an accomplishment… and to have actually TAKEN them is absolutely incredible.
Oddly enough, I wasn’t looking for anything about American Classic Images when I found that article. Just stumbled across it when I was searching for something else on Google News.
There’s a really excellent article about the guy who took the photos on American Classic Images, here:
View link
They’ve done a terrific job with this place. Some new photos are here:
http://www.mekong.net/random/cinema24.htm
Regards,
Bruce
David, at one point there were fire escapes in the north alley. You can just barely see them in this photo:
http://www.mekong.net/random/photo187.htm
Man, I miss that place. I loved that theatre!
Thanks for the info. Could that have been 6417 W. Devon, or maybe 6417 N. Broadway? Devon runs east and west, so I don’t think 6417 N. Devon could be the right address.
The late Don Klein, who managed a number of theatres in Chicago, once told me that this was the “original” Devon Theatre, and that the nearby Knickerbocker (6225 N. Broadway) was renamed the Devon when this theatre closed.
Sam Burrows managed the 400 Theatre — now called the Village North — through most of the 1980s. At one point, in about 1980 — Burrows no longer remembers exactly when — a very old woman walked up to the box office.
“Excuse me,” she said. “I have a free pass to this theatre. I think it may have expired, but I was wondering if you would still honor it.”
She handed him her pass. It read:
Admit One
REGENT THEATRE
6746 N. SHERIDAN ROAD
When Accompanied With One Adult Paid Admission
TO ANY PERFORMANCE
Up To And Including April 17, 1925
Needless to say, he let her in.
A scan of the pass can be seen at http://www.mekong.net/random/freepass.htm
Some recent photos of the exterior are in set #23, here:
http://www.mekong.net/random/theatres.htm
Hi LTS — thanks for the kind words. If you get a minute, shoot me an email (). It’s about a project you might find interesting.
The Chicago offers tours on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, for five bucks. (Check the theatre’s website to make sure; sometimes other engagements preempt the tours.) It’s definitely worth the trip. I’ve posted several photos (most of which were taken during the tour) in Set #21, at this URL:
http://www.mekong.net/random/theatres.htm
Our guide was great: informative, charismatic and funny.
OK, after a delay of only five months or so, here is the image I promised to upload: a scan of one of the old film schedules from the Varsity. I’m not sure, but I believe this one is probably from 1981 or 1982:
View link
Regards,
Bruce
Hi LTS —
You might be right that “gutted” is too strong a word. Andy McGhee had told me beforehand that there was basically nothing left of the original decor. Nonetheless, you can still see a few traces both inside and out, and you can also see the hallmarks of the 1930s-era renovation.
One of the interesting things that Andy pointed out was that some elements of the Morse are virtually identical to the Village North. The terra cotta on the parapet walls, in particular, is nearly identical.
Hi All —
Although the interior of the Morse is gutted, there is no mistaking its roots. Thanks to AMcGhee’s willingness to put up with me and my camera, some recent pictures can be seen here:
http://www.mekong.net/random/photoi19.htm
For those of us who are accustomed to seeing old theatres ground to dust, the Morse project is a terrific change: this one appears to be coming back from the dead.
It’s very sad to see the Nortown being demolished, but I’m happy that a few things are being salvaged by the people from Urban Remains Chicago. I have an old pamphlet from the Theatre Historical Society that says the during the demolition of another old Chicago palace – the Norshore – “Local newspapers ran photos of the wrecker’s ball swinging at the columned lobby with chandeliers, furniture, and statuary still in place.”
I’ve put up a few photos from the Nortown at http://www.mekong.net/random/nortown.htm
Regards,
Bruce
Bill and Brian… thanks very much for your help. It’s great to be able to rely on the expertise of all the people here!
There is a pic of the auditorium, taken in 1990, in Set #15, here:
http://www.mekong.net/random/theatres.htm
I used to do some work at the Village from time to time in the late 1980s. As Chitownguy noted above, there was a cat that lived in the theatre. His name was Mitchell (after a nearby restaurant), and he was supposed to be a mouser. I don’t know how effective he was, but I’m guessing he never went hungry.
This theatre had the tiniest bathrooms of any theatre I ever went in, and it was the only theatre I can recall where the ladies' room was actually SMALLER than the men’s room.