In “F.I.S.T.” (1978), set in Cleveland in 1937, Sylvester Stallone mentions seeing Ginger Rogers at the Orpheum Theatre, though it was renamed the Roxy in 1931.
The Strand Theatre was built in the 1915-1916 period on East Main Street in Waterford. The drugstore building next door was completed in 1917, and this filled in the empty lots on the East Main Street business district.
The Strand Theatre was operated by L. G. Alby at for approximately 15 years. The Strand had a 2-floor layout with the projector on the balcony. Typical admission prices were 5 cents for children and 10 cents for adults. When the depression hit in 1930, L. G. Alby closed the theatre, became a foreman at Massey Ferguson in Racine and worked there until his retirement. The theatre was remodeled with a double storefront and became part of the Waterford Post newspaper offices.
The exterior of the Ford Theater has not significantly changed in the 75+ years that it has been in existence. Built in 1948, it was one of the first commercial buildings on N. Milwaukee Street. Gus Jahnke of Wauwatosa purchased the land in the spring of 1948; by September, the theatre was completed and his son Roland Jahnke was its first manager. The Ford Theatre was a welcome addition to Waterford, and it was well attended in the 1950s and 1960s. By the 1970s, the Ford was leased to a Milwaukee operator for X-rated films, and closed in the mid-1980s. The Roth Heating Co. bought the theatre, removed the seats and leveled the auditorium floor, but at this writing the marquee still graces the Ford Theatre.
In the summer of 1988, Rita and I came from Kenosha to see “Tucker - The Man And His Dream” at the Ford City Cinema, which was meaningful as the Tucker plant is directly adjacent to the Ford City theatres
In the summer of 1988, Rita and I came from Kenosha to see “Tucker - The Man And His Dream” at the Ford City Cinema, which was meaningful as the Tucker plant is directly adjacent to the Ford City theatres.
The Avalon Regal Theatre is in line for a $249,500 city grant to repair the northwest corner tower, resetting of masonry, tuckpointing and isolated repairs on the front facade under the Adopt-A-Landmark program, it’s first significant public cash infusion since Community Capital Investment Partners President Jerald Gary bought the building in 2014 from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for $100,000. The theatre’s website says the auditorium will open in 2027 with “full venue activation in 2028.”
In 1985, Ed and Bettiann Gardner bought and restored the theatre and reopened it in 1987, but it went to the FDIC after a subsequent owner went to federal prison for stealing $900,000 in state grant money for a work training program there.
Since 2016, over $14 million in Adopt-a-Landmark Grants have gone to 33 historic preservation projects.
On Saturday, February 20th, 2016, Milwaukee experienced record-breaking unseasonable warmth with a high temperature reaching roughly 19°F above normal, hitting a high of about 55°F to 56°F and a low around 38°F, which rapidly melted remaining snowpacks in the area.
The Portage Theatre was acquired last fall by the Zenith Music Group. ZMG owner Chris Bauman had produced events there from 2014 to 2018, and now Bauman has announced a nonprofit foundation in hopes of raising $3 million for repairs and such, beginning with the weakened marquee. Restroom and cosmetic upgrades will be next; ornamental-lighting improvements are planned for the 1,500-seat auditorium as is a theme bar in an adjacent storefront and walk-of-fame lobby stars. Check portagetheaterfoundation.org for details.
The wrecker’s ball bounces and the old Senate fades away
By Paul Gapp
Architecture critic
EVERY YEAR or two, it seems, another of Chicago’s grand old vaudeville houses falls under the wrecker’s ball.
The losses often go unnoticed because the theaters are frequently in ravaged neighborhoods rarely visited by those who remember the better times.
And so it almost went a couple of weeks ago when a demolition crew attacked the sturdy steel and masonry of the Senate Theater at 3128 W. Madison St.
This time, however, a policeman from the 11th District telephoned to give me the sad news. He just hated to see the building go.
It thus seems fitting to write a modest obituary for the Senate, and hope it also may serve as a symbolic tribute to other theaters that have slid into oblivion without a single mourner or a word in print.
Jerome Winsberg remembers the Senate well because he managed it in the 1940s and has been in show business around Chicago for a half-century.
“It was a good house, a 3,000-seater with a big balcony that booked in a lot of name acts,” recalled Winsberg, vice president of Plitt Theaters, Inc.
“They built it maybe 50 years ago. It was operated by Lubliner and Trinz Theaters until Balaban & Katz took it over, and they kept it until 1957 when business tapered off.
“I remember that Mark Fisher and Art Kahn were leaders of the pit bands. Maybe you never heard of them, but they were big around Chicago in the old days. Preston Sellers was our organist.
“Henny Youngman played there, and Ben Blue and Gil Young. One of the most unusual acts was Cantor Joseph Rosenblatt from New York. He was tops in the cantorial singing field, right up there with people like Jan Peerce.”
Many of the old “WLS Barn Dance” stars played the Senate. Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Buck Jones were among them.
Winsberg remembers vividly that only a few days after Jones took his last bow at the Senate, he was killed in the 1942 fire that left 492 dead in Boston’s Cocoanut Grove nightclub.
The Senate played movies in its waning days. It last made news in 1968, when the Black Panthers and several other street gangs rented it for a one-night rally.
The theater was no architectural triumph, although it boasted an ornately decorated facade and enough interior elegance to satisfy its audiences.
But the Senate, like its dead or dying counterparts around the city, had a personality - a kind of soul.
So call this its eulogy. Another piece of the glorious city-that-used-to-be lies in rubble.
The 1915 Skokie Theatre was sold for $875,000 last June 29 and is set to relaunch in late September with its new owners, comedian Chris Matsakis and Monica Matsakis and actor José Pablo Cantillo and Kristi Cantillo. The lobby has a new bar, concessions and lounge space, and a lineup of new comedy, theater and live musical acts plus classes.
Built by Samuel Meyer as the Niles Center Theatre in 1915, the facade got its art-deco frontage in 1942. This week the Skokie Village Board approved a $50,000 Storefront Enhancement grant, and online fundraising has collected over $13,000 more.
McHenry Outdoor Theater celebrates 75 years of movies under the stars
Just like they have on most every summer night for the past three quarters of a century, drivers make their way down gravel paths, kicking up dust and passing rows of speaker poles as they look for the perfect spot to watch a movie at the McHenry Outdoor Theater.
While the name has changed since that first car pulled into the Skyline Drive-In on July 20, 1951, to see “Rogues of Sherwood Forest,” the feeling of excitement when images start to flicker on the six-story screen hasn’t.
“It’s very unique, and I think it’s very important to preserve it,” owner Scott Dehn said.
The screen at the McHenry Outdoor Theater is roughly six stories tall and 100 feet wide. The theater opened as Skyline Drive-In on July 20, 1951, with a showing of “Rogues of Sherwood Forest.” Rick West/
The theater in Lakemoor (the property the theater is situated on was annexed from McHenry in 2020) is celebrating 75 years since first opening at 1510 Chapel Hill Road.
Open during the golden age of outdoor theaters, the McHenry is the only remaining drive-in in the suburbs.
Dehn purchased the theater 26 years ago. He said his earliest childhood memory was seeing a movie with his parents and sister at the very drive-in he now owns.
“I know exactly where we were parked, and I remember the two movies I saw were ‘Star Trek III’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,’” he said. “I already loved movies at that point. But this was the biggest building I’d ever seen at that young age, and I was like, ‘Wow! They show a movie on there?’ I was just captivated.”
The experience of being able to get out of the car and run around before the movie, and seeing people together in groups, stuck with him.
“I became infatuated with the whole communal movie experience,” Dehn said.
While they’re still there, the drive-in speakers at the McHenry Outdoor Theater don’t emit sound anymore. Sounds are broadcast over loudspeakers throughout the site and simulcast on FM radio. Rick West/
People are still embracing that experience. Dehn said they’ll get 600 to 700 cars on weekend nights to the theater, which is generally open from April to December.
Charles and Anna Ellis of Woodstock said they’ve had season passes for their family for two years and come every Wednesday for “subtitle night,” or any time a new movie comes out.
“I grew up going to drive-ins,” Charles Ellis said. “It was a whole family affair every summer. We like that it’s passing on to the next generation.”
Their experience showed.
Not only was the bed of their truck covered in cushions and pillows, but a hammock attached to a stand on the tow hitch allowed Charles to gently swing and pass the time before the movie started
“We’ve got it set up now so it’s almost as comfortable as sitting on our couch at home,” he said.
A few spaces over, Mason Snider and Chloe Schadle of Belvidere perched in the back of a pickup truck, eating popcorn and getting ready to take in their first drive-in movie. Both 17, they were the target audience when the industry was thriving.
“Seeing it in movies has kind of made it nostalgic for me, even though I’ve never been to one,” Schadle said. “When you see it, it always brings a vibe, and it looks cool.”
Dehn said he’s tried to make the theater a destination for families and has made a variety of improvements to the property over the years to enhance the movie-watching experience, including replacing the screen and renovating the concession stand three years ago.
“Everything’s as upgraded as it can be right now,” he said.
While only about 300 drive-ins still operate in the United States, Dehn said there were “thousands” when he bought the McHenry Outdoor in 2000.
Most closed because they couldn’t afford new equipment when the movie industry switched from traditional 35 mm film to digital projection.
Dehn faced the same dilemma, but saw an opportunity when Honda offered an online contest called “Project Drive-In” in 2013, which the company described as “a national effort to save as many of America’s remaining drive-ins as possible” by supplying them with free digital projection setups.
Dehn got the word out about the effort, which required people to vote online for the theater they wanted to receive the equipment. Moviegoers rallied, and they were one of nine theaters nationally chosen.
“What saved the theater is what I love most about it; it’s that the community comes together,” he said. “I mean, they come here because they want to see ‘Moana’ or ‘Toy Story,’ but they want to share that experience together, and it becomes like a block party where there just happens to be a couple of movies playing.”
To celebrate the anniversary, the theater will give the first 75 cars free admission on Tuesday, July 21, and Thursday, July 23, to showings of the live-action “Moana” and “The Odyssey.”
As part of the theater’s “golden ticket” promotion, one winner will receive a ticket good for every movie, every season, for the next 75 years. To sign up for the giveaway, visit goldenagecinemas.com/goldenticket.
Dehn said he still finds it hard to believe that the theater is turning 75 and that he’s been a part of it for over a third of its history.
“There’s not that many (drive-ins) that can say that,” he said. “I love movies. I love what you get out of seeing movies with your friends, your family, the community, your neighbors. It’s my job to take care of it and leave it better than I found it. I hope that whoever comes after me can keep that going for another 75 years.” (by Rick West)
Former Egyptian Theatre Executive Director Barbara Kummerfeldt passes away
DeKalb, IL – The Egyptian Theatre is saddened to announce that former Executive Director Barbara Kummerfeldt passed away on January 20th at the age of 87.
Kummerfeldt’s multi-decade history with the Egyptian Theatre started during the late 1970’s when she, along with her husband Irv, were part of the original steering committee that was instrumental in saving the Egyptian Theatre from the literal wrecking ball. She along with a group of concerned citizens worked to get the building listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1978 and formed the non-profit organization, Preservation of Egyptian Theatre, which continues to own and operate the Theatre to this day.
“Barb dedicated an impressive number of years to the Egyptian Theatre. There is no doubt she has left a lasting imprint on the history of the Theatre,” stated Alex Nerad, Egyptian Theatre Executive Director.
Thanks to Kummerfeldt’s efforts, she, along with many dedicated community members, were able to secure a $2.3 million grant from the State of Illinois in 1982. This money was used to restore the Theatre to its original 1929 splendor.
“Barb never wearied in her passion for the preservation of the Egyptian Theatre,” said DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas. “From the preservation campaign that she and her late husband, Irv, successfully led to renovate the historic theatre in the 1980s to the present, she thought about and talked about what might be done to make it better every day.”
When the Theatre reopened in 1983 after its restoration, she became the first Executive Director of the non-profit serving until 1988 where she helped to see that it was host to dozens of events a year including robust film programming.
“Without Barb Kummerfeldt there most likely would be a parking lot at 135 N. Second St. instead of the historic landmark Egyptian Theatre,” stated former Egyptian Theatre Board Member Barb Josh. “She not only cleared the initial hurdle of saving the Theatre from the wrecking ball, but the even larger one of funding its restoration and making it financially viable. She, along with her husband Irv, and a handful of others made the building operational so it could be open to the public during its restoration. In all aspects, she was always hands on.”
Many community members who worked with Kummerfeldt during her tenure at the Egyptian Theatre have begun to share their memories of Barb following her passing.
“It’s very possible that we would have never seen the revitalization of the Egyptian Theatre if it had not been for Irv and Barbara Kummerfeldt. As a matter of fact, this community treasure might not even be intact had it not been for the dogged determination of the Kummerfeldt’s over 40 years ago. Now, we share in the sadness in Barb’s passing, but we celebrate her stewardship that continued for many years following the establishment of the Preservation of Egyptian Theatre organization. We will continue the celebration of Barb Kummerfeldt’s life later this year, as we look forward to a gala grand opening of the Egyptian Theatre,” stated City of DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith.
“The City of DeKalb has lost a champion. The dedication of Barb Kummerfeldt, as Director of the Egyptian Theatre merits a chapter in the community’s history,” stated charter P.E.T. members Roger and Mary Keys. “Barb championed the Egyptian as a cultural arts center for the city when the building was filled with snow and falling apart. Beginning in the late 1970’s as a charter member of Preservation of Egyptian Theatre she opened her home for meetings, helped keep the lights on during trying times and supported fellow volunteers. With grateful hearts we mourn her passing.”
“When I first came to NIU/DeKalb, Barbara Kummerfeldt was one of the first people to welcome me and got on the bandwagon of supporting the NIU Show Band. The method to her madness was getting me to support her and Irv’s efforts in saving the Egyptian Theatre. DeKalb will forever be indebted to Barbara Kummerfeldt for her love, commitment, and preservation of the theatre – a DeKalb Treasure.” stated Michael Embrey who presented shows at the Egyptian Theatre during Kummerfeldt’s tenure.
Her longstanding impact on the Egyptian Theatre will forever be a part of its rich history.
Additional memories and tributes will continue to be shared on the Egyptian Theatre social media and website: www.egyptiantheatre.org.
(April 19, 1930)
Theatre Deal Goes In Effect At Midnight
Warner Brothers To Take Over Sheboygan Theatre And Other Theatres In Wisconsin
It was unofficially announced today that Warner Bros, one of the leading film companies in the United States, has taken over the Wisconsin branch of the Universal Theatrical Enterprises chain of theatres, and that the concern will assume ownership at 12 o'clock midnight tonight and will start operating these theatres Sunday.
Theatres included are the Sheboygan theatre, which was erected at a cost of $600,000 and which was opened to the public in 1928; Venetian theatre at Racine, Kenosha theatre at Kenosha, and all the Universal theatres in Milwaukee except the Alhambra. Among the Milwaukee theatres are the Lake, State, Downer, Juneau, Nation and Kosciuszko.
The deal, which has been in the course of consummation during the past week, involves millions of dollars in theatre values.
Manager K. G. Wood of the Sheboygan theatre today would not make official comment as to the completion of negotiations, but admitted that he was notified late Friday to take a complete inventory of his theatre, and to check meters at the close of business tonight.
Family aims to restore old movie theater -
Granada was constructed in Racine in 1928
(By Michael Burke, The Racine Journal Times)
In the late 1920s, people of this city were constructing lavish movie theaters as fast as Walgreens were built in two years, and most neighborhoods had one nearby.
But by the 1970s, another generation of residents was demolishing the old movie houses like they were rat-infested eyesores.
Today it’s nearly impossible to find an old theater here that’s both semi-intact and feasible to restore. However, one comes close.
The Namowicz family of Warren Industries has bought and wants to restore the former Granada Theater, 1921 Charles St. “We want to bring back the glamour” of the 1928 theater, said David Namowicz.
Given acceptable restoration costs, the owners envision possibly turning the building into a banquet hall and/or events center.
It was Namowicz who first explored the old building - last used by its Illinois owner for storage and saw its potential. Steven, Thomas, Carolyn and Michael Namowicz went along with the idea, and the family bought the structure for $150,000.
David Namowicz indicated the theater lobby’s ceiling and said, “That’s what caught my eye.”
Its considerable architectural detail is all there - just as much of the plaster work throughout the building remains. The main original features missing are the stage and the sloping floor. A poured, level concrete floor forever obscures the original floor.
However, much of the stage house remains, including the large proscenium arch and the fly loft, just under the ceiling, which is 48 feet tall there. From the loft, workers would haul away scenery used in the vaudeville plays, said theater historian Fred Hermes of Racine.
Hermes said five local theaters were built in about 1927-28: the Granada, Capitol, Majestic, Crown and Venetian. “There was a tremendous interest in silent films,” he said, and vaudeville was still popular entertainment.
The Granada Theater, which operated until 1961, differentiated itself from other local theaters with its Spanish theme, “so it was kind of gaudy,” Namowicz said.
In the early years, for 15 cents a person, one could go to one of those grand theaters “and be treated like a queen,” Hermes said. “It was just as much a treat to see the inside as it was to see the movie.”
Among local movie theaters. the Granada wasn’t one of the most opulent. It was “a little bit below the middle,” Hermes said. However, by today’s standards, it’s a delight, with 24-foot ceilings in the seating area, terrazzo floors, and intricate plaster work adorning the walls and ceilings.
“It’ll never be like the Venetian and Rialto, Namowicz said, "but it’s definitely gorgeous.”
The building even has the original fireplace in the lobby. “I found (it) last week Namowicz said, hidden behind one of the walls that was added later to carve up the theater for later uses.
The Granada fared better in its decades of disuse than most local theaters. Most obviously, it wasn’t razed. Second, its domed roof undoubtedly helped ward off water damage. Finally, whoever erected interior walls did so respectfully, causing very slight damage to the structure.
“We got lucky here, because so far the damage is nominal,” Namowicz said.
When the old theater went on the market, he said, other bids came from a print shop and an auto repair business. Namowicz and his family didn’t think either one came close to realizing the Granada’s potential.
In addition to the theater itself, they bought the adjacent building at 1925 Charles St. All their plans are predicated on a restoration cost they can afford but if it does happen, that next-door building will play a part.
To run a banquet hall/events center they’d need a large kitchen, and to meet present building codes they’d need new bathrooms. They could put the kitchen and bathrooms in the adjacent building with a doorway in between, “so we don’t damage the theater, Namowicz explained.
“What I really need right now,” he said, “I need someone with some pictures” from the Granada’s early years.
If the costs aren’t prohibitive and the restoration can be done, the Granada will become a tangible link to a bygone era In Racine.
Namowicz said “It’s definitely going to give the city of Racine the feeling for what we have lost.”
Family aims to restore old movie theater -
Granada was constructed in Racine in 1928
(By Michael Burke, The Racine Journal Times)
In the late 1920s, people of this city were constructing lavish movie theaters as fast as Walgreens were built in two years, and most neighborhoods had one nearby.
But by the 1970s, another generation of residents was demolishing the old movie houses like they were rat-infested eyesores.
Today it’s nearly impossible to find an old theater here that’s both semi-intact and feasible to restore. However, one comes close.
The Namowicz family of Warren Industries has bought and wants to restore the former Granada Theater, 1921 Charles St. “We want to bring back the glamour” of the 1928 theater, said David Namowicz.
Given acceptable restoration costs, the owners envision possibly turning the building into a banquet hall and/or events center.
It was Namowicz who first explored the old building - last used by its Illinois owner for storage and saw its potential. Steven, Thomas, Carolyn and Michael Namowicz went along with the idea, and the family bought the structure for $150,000.
David Namowicz indicated the theater lobby’s ceiling and said, “That’s what caught my eye.”
Its considerable architectural detail is all there - just as much of the plaster work throughout the building remains. The main original features missing are the stage and the sloping floor. A poured, level concrete floor forever obscures the original floor.
However, much of the stage house remains, including the large proscenium arch and the fly loft, just under the ceiling, which is 48 feet tall there. From the loft, workers would haul away scenery used in the vaudeville plays, said theater historian Fred Hermes of Racine.
Hermes said five local theaters were built in about 1927-28: the Granada, Capitol, Majestic, Crown and Venetian. “There was a tremendous interest in silent films,” he said, and vaudeville was still popular entertainment.
The Granada Theater, which operated until 1961, differentiated itself from other local theaters with its Spanish theme, “so it was kind of gaudy,” Namowicz said.
In the early years, for 15 cents a person, one could go to one of those grand theaters “and be treated like a queen,” Hermes said. “It was just as much a treat to see the inside as it was to see the movie.”
Among local movie theaters. the Granada wasn’t one of the most opulent. It was “a little bit below the middle,” Hermes said. However, by today’s standards, it’s a delight, with 24-foot ceilings in the seating area, terrazzo floors, and intricate plaster work adorning the walls and ceilings.
“It’ll never be like the Venetian and Rialto, Namowicz said, "but it’s definitely gorgeous.”
The building even has the original fireplace in the lobby. “I found (it) last week Namowicz said, hidden behind one of the walls that was added later to carve up the theater for later uses.
The Granada fared better in its decades of disuse than most local theaters. Most obviously, it wasn’t razed. Second, its domed roof undoubtedly helped ward off water damage. Finally, whoever erected interior walls did so respectfully, causing very slight damage to the structure.
“We got lucky here, because so far the damage is nominal,” Namowicz said.
When the old theater went on the market, he said, other bids came from a print shop and an auto repair business. Namowicz and his family didn’t think either one came close to realizing the Granada’s potential.
In addition to the theater itself, they bought the adjacent building at 1925 Charles St. All their plans are predicated on a restoration cost they can afford but if it does happen, that next-door building will play a part.
To run a banquet hall/events center they’d need a large kitchen, and to meet present building codes they’d need new bathrooms. They could put the kitchen and bathrooms in the adjacent building with a doorway in between, “so we don’t damage the theater, Namowicz explained.
“What I really need right now,” he said, “I need someone with some pictures” from the Granada’s early years.
If the costs aren’t prohibitive and the restoration can be done, the Granada will become a tangible link to a bygone era In Racine.
Namowicz said “It’s definitely going to give the city of Racine the feeling for what we have lost.”
(August 28, 2005)
There will be a tour on Tuesday, November 10, 2026 from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
In “F.I.S.T.” (1978), set in Cleveland in 1937, Sylvester Stallone mentions seeing Ginger Rogers at the Orpheum Theatre, though it was renamed the Roxy in 1931.
September 22, 2023.
The Strand Theatre was built in the 1915-1916 period on East Main Street in Waterford. The drugstore building next door was completed in 1917, and this filled in the empty lots on the East Main Street business district.
The Strand Theatre was operated by L. G. Alby at for approximately 15 years. The Strand had a 2-floor layout with the projector on the balcony. Typical admission prices were 5 cents for children and 10 cents for adults. When the depression hit in 1930, L. G. Alby closed the theatre, became a foreman at Massey Ferguson in Racine and worked there until his retirement. The theatre was remodeled with a double storefront and became part of the Waterford Post newspaper offices.
The exterior of the Ford Theater has not significantly changed in the 75+ years that it has been in existence. Built in 1948, it was one of the first commercial buildings on N. Milwaukee Street. Gus Jahnke of Wauwatosa purchased the land in the spring of 1948; by September, the theatre was completed and his son Roland Jahnke was its first manager. The Ford Theatre was a welcome addition to Waterford, and it was well attended in the 1950s and 1960s. By the 1970s, the Ford was leased to a Milwaukee operator for X-rated films, and closed in the mid-1980s. The Roth Heating Co. bought the theatre, removed the seats and leveled the auditorium floor, but at this writing the marquee still graces the Ford Theatre.
In the summer of 1988, Rita and I came from Kenosha to see “Tucker - The Man And His Dream” at the Ford City Cinema, which was meaningful as the Tucker plant is directly adjacent to the Ford City theatres
In the summer of 1988, Rita and I came from Kenosha to see “Tucker - The Man And His Dream” at the Ford City Cinema, which was meaningful as the Tucker plant is directly adjacent to the Ford City theatres.
The Avalon Regal Theatre is in line for a $249,500 city grant to repair the northwest corner tower, resetting of masonry, tuckpointing and isolated repairs on the front facade under the Adopt-A-Landmark program, it’s first significant public cash infusion since Community Capital Investment Partners President Jerald Gary bought the building in 2014 from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for $100,000. The theatre’s website says the auditorium will open in 2027 with “full venue activation in 2028.”
In 1985, Ed and Bettiann Gardner bought and restored the theatre and reopened it in 1987, but it went to the FDIC after a subsequent owner went to federal prison for stealing $900,000 in state grant money for a work training program there.
Since 2016, over $14 million in Adopt-a-Landmark Grants have gone to 33 historic preservation projects.
On Saturday, February 20th, 2016, Milwaukee experienced record-breaking unseasonable warmth with a high temperature reaching roughly 19°F above normal, hitting a high of about 55°F to 56°F and a low around 38°F, which rapidly melted remaining snowpacks in the area.
I was in “Time Men” and couldn’t attend that day … !
The Portage Theatre was acquired last fall by the Zenith Music Group. ZMG owner Chris Bauman had produced events there from 2014 to 2018, and now Bauman has announced a nonprofit foundation in hopes of raising $3 million for repairs and such, beginning with the weakened marquee. Restroom and cosmetic upgrades will be next; ornamental-lighting improvements are planned for the 1,500-seat auditorium as is a theme bar in an adjacent storefront and walk-of-fame lobby stars. Check portagetheaterfoundation.org for details.
The inner lobby. The auditorium is to the left.
The inner lobby, looking toward the outer lobby and the entrance.
Seven current interior photos were posted this week.
Inner lobby as seen from the auditorium.
October 13, 1925.
Inner lobby; auditorium at right, 2026.
Inner lobby as seen from auditorium, 2026.
The wrecker’s ball bounces and the old Senate fades away
By Paul Gapp
Architecture critic
EVERY YEAR or two, it seems, another of Chicago’s grand old vaudeville houses falls under the wrecker’s ball.
The losses often go unnoticed because the theaters are frequently in ravaged neighborhoods rarely visited by those who remember the better times.
And so it almost went a couple of weeks ago when a demolition crew attacked the sturdy steel and masonry of the Senate Theater at 3128 W. Madison St.
This time, however, a policeman from the 11th District telephoned to give me the sad news. He just hated to see the building go.
It thus seems fitting to write a modest obituary for the Senate, and hope it also may serve as a symbolic tribute to other theaters that have slid into oblivion without a single mourner or a word in print.
Jerome Winsberg remembers the Senate well because he managed it in the 1940s and has been in show business around Chicago for a half-century.
“It was a good house, a 3,000-seater with a big balcony that booked in a lot of name acts,” recalled Winsberg, vice president of Plitt Theaters, Inc.
“They built it maybe 50 years ago. It was operated by Lubliner and Trinz Theaters until Balaban & Katz took it over, and they kept it until 1957 when business tapered off.
“I remember that Mark Fisher and Art Kahn were leaders of the pit bands. Maybe you never heard of them, but they were big around Chicago in the old days. Preston Sellers was our organist.
“Henny Youngman played there, and Ben Blue and Gil Young. One of the most unusual acts was Cantor Joseph Rosenblatt from New York. He was tops in the cantorial singing field, right up there with people like Jan Peerce.”
Many of the old “WLS Barn Dance” stars played the Senate. Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Buck Jones were among them.
Winsberg remembers vividly that only a few days after Jones took his last bow at the Senate, he was killed in the 1942 fire that left 492 dead in Boston’s Cocoanut Grove nightclub.
The Senate played movies in its waning days. It last made news in 1968, when the Black Panthers and several other street gangs rented it for a one-night rally.
The theater was no architectural triumph, although it boasted an ornately decorated facade and enough interior elegance to satisfy its audiences.
But the Senate, like its dead or dying counterparts around the city, had a personality - a kind of soul.
So call this its eulogy. Another piece of the glorious city-that-used-to-be lies in rubble.
The 1915 Skokie Theatre was sold for $875,000 last June 29 and is set to relaunch in late September with its new owners, comedian Chris Matsakis and Monica Matsakis and actor José Pablo Cantillo and Kristi Cantillo. The lobby has a new bar, concessions and lounge space, and a lineup of new comedy, theater and live musical acts plus classes.
Built by Samuel Meyer as the Niles Center Theatre in 1915, the facade got its art-deco frontage in 1942. This week the Skokie Village Board approved a $50,000 Storefront Enhancement grant, and online fundraising has collected over $13,000 more.
McHenry Outdoor Theater celebrates 75 years of movies under the stars
Just like they have on most every summer night for the past three quarters of a century, drivers make their way down gravel paths, kicking up dust and passing rows of speaker poles as they look for the perfect spot to watch a movie at the McHenry Outdoor Theater.
While the name has changed since that first car pulled into the Skyline Drive-In on July 20, 1951, to see “Rogues of Sherwood Forest,” the feeling of excitement when images start to flicker on the six-story screen hasn’t.
“It’s very unique, and I think it’s very important to preserve it,” owner Scott Dehn said.
The screen at the McHenry Outdoor Theater is roughly six stories tall and 100 feet wide. The theater opened as Skyline Drive-In on July 20, 1951, with a showing of “Rogues of Sherwood Forest.” Rick West/
The theater in Lakemoor (the property the theater is situated on was annexed from McHenry in 2020) is celebrating 75 years since first opening at 1510 Chapel Hill Road.
Open during the golden age of outdoor theaters, the McHenry is the only remaining drive-in in the suburbs.
Dehn purchased the theater 26 years ago. He said his earliest childhood memory was seeing a movie with his parents and sister at the very drive-in he now owns.
“I know exactly where we were parked, and I remember the two movies I saw were ‘Star Trek III’ and ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,’” he said. “I already loved movies at that point. But this was the biggest building I’d ever seen at that young age, and I was like, ‘Wow! They show a movie on there?’ I was just captivated.”
The experience of being able to get out of the car and run around before the movie, and seeing people together in groups, stuck with him.
“I became infatuated with the whole communal movie experience,” Dehn said.
While they’re still there, the drive-in speakers at the McHenry Outdoor Theater don’t emit sound anymore. Sounds are broadcast over loudspeakers throughout the site and simulcast on FM radio. Rick West/
People are still embracing that experience. Dehn said they’ll get 600 to 700 cars on weekend nights to the theater, which is generally open from April to December.
Charles and Anna Ellis of Woodstock said they’ve had season passes for their family for two years and come every Wednesday for “subtitle night,” or any time a new movie comes out.
“I grew up going to drive-ins,” Charles Ellis said. “It was a whole family affair every summer. We like that it’s passing on to the next generation.”
Their experience showed.
Not only was the bed of their truck covered in cushions and pillows, but a hammock attached to a stand on the tow hitch allowed Charles to gently swing and pass the time before the movie started
“We’ve got it set up now so it’s almost as comfortable as sitting on our couch at home,” he said.
A few spaces over, Mason Snider and Chloe Schadle of Belvidere perched in the back of a pickup truck, eating popcorn and getting ready to take in their first drive-in movie. Both 17, they were the target audience when the industry was thriving.
“Seeing it in movies has kind of made it nostalgic for me, even though I’ve never been to one,” Schadle said. “When you see it, it always brings a vibe, and it looks cool.”
Dehn said he’s tried to make the theater a destination for families and has made a variety of improvements to the property over the years to enhance the movie-watching experience, including replacing the screen and renovating the concession stand three years ago.
“Everything’s as upgraded as it can be right now,” he said.
While only about 300 drive-ins still operate in the United States, Dehn said there were “thousands” when he bought the McHenry Outdoor in 2000.
Most closed because they couldn’t afford new equipment when the movie industry switched from traditional 35 mm film to digital projection.
Dehn faced the same dilemma, but saw an opportunity when Honda offered an online contest called “Project Drive-In” in 2013, which the company described as “a national effort to save as many of America’s remaining drive-ins as possible” by supplying them with free digital projection setups.
Dehn got the word out about the effort, which required people to vote online for the theater they wanted to receive the equipment. Moviegoers rallied, and they were one of nine theaters nationally chosen.
“What saved the theater is what I love most about it; it’s that the community comes together,” he said. “I mean, they come here because they want to see ‘Moana’ or ‘Toy Story,’ but they want to share that experience together, and it becomes like a block party where there just happens to be a couple of movies playing.”
To celebrate the anniversary, the theater will give the first 75 cars free admission on Tuesday, July 21, and Thursday, July 23, to showings of the live-action “Moana” and “The Odyssey.”
As part of the theater’s “golden ticket” promotion, one winner will receive a ticket good for every movie, every season, for the next 75 years. To sign up for the giveaway, visit goldenagecinemas.com/goldenticket.
Dehn said he still finds it hard to believe that the theater is turning 75 and that he’s been a part of it for over a third of its history.
“There’s not that many (drive-ins) that can say that,” he said. “I love movies. I love what you get out of seeing movies with your friends, your family, the community, your neighbors. It’s my job to take care of it and leave it better than I found it. I hope that whoever comes after me can keep that going for another 75 years.” (by Rick West)
Former Egyptian Theatre Executive Director Barbara Kummerfeldt passes away
DeKalb, IL – The Egyptian Theatre is saddened to announce that former Executive Director Barbara Kummerfeldt passed away on January 20th at the age of 87.
Kummerfeldt’s multi-decade history with the Egyptian Theatre started during the late 1970’s when she, along with her husband Irv, were part of the original steering committee that was instrumental in saving the Egyptian Theatre from the literal wrecking ball. She along with a group of concerned citizens worked to get the building listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in 1978 and formed the non-profit organization, Preservation of Egyptian Theatre, which continues to own and operate the Theatre to this day.
“Barb dedicated an impressive number of years to the Egyptian Theatre. There is no doubt she has left a lasting imprint on the history of the Theatre,” stated Alex Nerad, Egyptian Theatre Executive Director.
Thanks to Kummerfeldt’s efforts, she, along with many dedicated community members, were able to secure a $2.3 million grant from the State of Illinois in 1982. This money was used to restore the Theatre to its original 1929 splendor.
“Barb never wearied in her passion for the preservation of the Egyptian Theatre,” said DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas. “From the preservation campaign that she and her late husband, Irv, successfully led to renovate the historic theatre in the 1980s to the present, she thought about and talked about what might be done to make it better every day.”
When the Theatre reopened in 1983 after its restoration, she became the first Executive Director of the non-profit serving until 1988 where she helped to see that it was host to dozens of events a year including robust film programming.
“Without Barb Kummerfeldt there most likely would be a parking lot at 135 N. Second St. instead of the historic landmark Egyptian Theatre,” stated former Egyptian Theatre Board Member Barb Josh. “She not only cleared the initial hurdle of saving the Theatre from the wrecking ball, but the even larger one of funding its restoration and making it financially viable. She, along with her husband Irv, and a handful of others made the building operational so it could be open to the public during its restoration. In all aspects, she was always hands on.”
Many community members who worked with Kummerfeldt during her tenure at the Egyptian Theatre have begun to share their memories of Barb following her passing.
“It’s very possible that we would have never seen the revitalization of the Egyptian Theatre if it had not been for Irv and Barbara Kummerfeldt. As a matter of fact, this community treasure might not even be intact had it not been for the dogged determination of the Kummerfeldt’s over 40 years ago. Now, we share in the sadness in Barb’s passing, but we celebrate her stewardship that continued for many years following the establishment of the Preservation of Egyptian Theatre organization. We will continue the celebration of Barb Kummerfeldt’s life later this year, as we look forward to a gala grand opening of the Egyptian Theatre,” stated City of DeKalb Mayor Jerry Smith.
“The City of DeKalb has lost a champion. The dedication of Barb Kummerfeldt, as Director of the Egyptian Theatre merits a chapter in the community’s history,” stated charter P.E.T. members Roger and Mary Keys. “Barb championed the Egyptian as a cultural arts center for the city when the building was filled with snow and falling apart. Beginning in the late 1970’s as a charter member of Preservation of Egyptian Theatre she opened her home for meetings, helped keep the lights on during trying times and supported fellow volunteers. With grateful hearts we mourn her passing.”
“When I first came to NIU/DeKalb, Barbara Kummerfeldt was one of the first people to welcome me and got on the bandwagon of supporting the NIU Show Band. The method to her madness was getting me to support her and Irv’s efforts in saving the Egyptian Theatre. DeKalb will forever be indebted to Barbara Kummerfeldt for her love, commitment, and preservation of the theatre – a DeKalb Treasure.” stated Michael Embrey who presented shows at the Egyptian Theatre during Kummerfeldt’s tenure.
Her longstanding impact on the Egyptian Theatre will forever be a part of its rich history.
Additional memories and tributes will continue to be shared on the Egyptian Theatre social media and website: www.egyptiantheatre.org.
(April 19, 1930) Theatre Deal Goes In Effect At Midnight
Warner Brothers To Take Over Sheboygan Theatre And Other Theatres In Wisconsin
It was unofficially announced today that Warner Bros, one of the leading film companies in the United States, has taken over the Wisconsin branch of the Universal Theatrical Enterprises chain of theatres, and that the concern will assume ownership at 12 o'clock midnight tonight and will start operating these theatres Sunday. Theatres included are the Sheboygan theatre, which was erected at a cost of $600,000 and which was opened to the public in 1928; Venetian theatre at Racine, Kenosha theatre at Kenosha, and all the Universal theatres in Milwaukee except the Alhambra. Among the Milwaukee theatres are the Lake, State, Downer, Juneau, Nation and Kosciuszko. The deal, which has been in the course of consummation during the past week, involves millions of dollars in theatre values. Manager K. G. Wood of the Sheboygan theatre today would not make official comment as to the completion of negotiations, but admitted that he was notified late Friday to take a complete inventory of his theatre, and to check meters at the close of business tonight.
Family aims to restore old movie theater - Granada was constructed in Racine in 1928 (By Michael Burke, The Racine Journal Times)
In the late 1920s, people of this city were constructing lavish movie theaters as fast as Walgreens were built in two years, and most neighborhoods had one nearby.
But by the 1970s, another generation of residents was demolishing the old movie houses like they were rat-infested eyesores.
Today it’s nearly impossible to find an old theater here that’s both semi-intact and feasible to restore. However, one comes close.
The Namowicz family of Warren Industries has bought and wants to restore the former Granada Theater, 1921 Charles St. “We want to bring back the glamour” of the 1928 theater, said David Namowicz.
Given acceptable restoration costs, the owners envision possibly turning the building into a banquet hall and/or events center.
It was Namowicz who first explored the old building - last used by its Illinois owner for storage and saw its potential. Steven, Thomas, Carolyn and Michael Namowicz went along with the idea, and the family bought the structure for $150,000.
David Namowicz indicated the theater lobby’s ceiling and said, “That’s what caught my eye.”
Its considerable architectural detail is all there - just as much of the plaster work throughout the building remains. The main original features missing are the stage and the sloping floor. A poured, level concrete floor forever obscures the original floor.
However, much of the stage house remains, including the large proscenium arch and the fly loft, just under the ceiling, which is 48 feet tall there. From the loft, workers would haul away scenery used in the vaudeville plays, said theater historian Fred Hermes of Racine.
Hermes said five local theaters were built in about 1927-28: the Granada, Capitol, Majestic, Crown and Venetian. “There was a tremendous interest in silent films,” he said, and vaudeville was still popular entertainment.
The Granada Theater, which operated until 1961, differentiated itself from other local theaters with its Spanish theme, “so it was kind of gaudy,” Namowicz said.
In the early years, for 15 cents a person, one could go to one of those grand theaters “and be treated like a queen,” Hermes said. “It was just as much a treat to see the inside as it was to see the movie.”
Among local movie theaters. the Granada wasn’t one of the most opulent. It was “a little bit below the middle,” Hermes said. However, by today’s standards, it’s a delight, with 24-foot ceilings in the seating area, terrazzo floors, and intricate plaster work adorning the walls and ceilings.
“It’ll never be like the Venetian and Rialto, Namowicz said, "but it’s definitely gorgeous.”
The building even has the original fireplace in the lobby. “I found (it) last week Namowicz said, hidden behind one of the walls that was added later to carve up the theater for later uses.
The Granada fared better in its decades of disuse than most local theaters. Most obviously, it wasn’t razed. Second, its domed roof undoubtedly helped ward off water damage. Finally, whoever erected interior walls did so respectfully, causing very slight damage to the structure.
“We got lucky here, because so far the damage is nominal,” Namowicz said.
When the old theater went on the market, he said, other bids came from a print shop and an auto repair business. Namowicz and his family didn’t think either one came close to realizing the Granada’s potential.
In addition to the theater itself, they bought the adjacent building at 1925 Charles St. All their plans are predicated on a restoration cost they can afford but if it does happen, that next-door building will play a part.
To run a banquet hall/events center they’d need a large kitchen, and to meet present building codes they’d need new bathrooms. They could put the kitchen and bathrooms in the adjacent building with a doorway in between, “so we don’t damage the theater, Namowicz explained.
“What I really need right now,” he said, “I need someone with some pictures” from the Granada’s early years.
If the costs aren’t prohibitive and the restoration can be done, the Granada will become a tangible link to a bygone era In Racine.
Namowicz said “It’s definitely going to give the city of Racine the feeling for what we have lost.”
Family aims to restore old movie theater - Granada was constructed in Racine in 1928 (By Michael Burke, The Racine Journal Times)
In the late 1920s, people of this city were constructing lavish movie theaters as fast as Walgreens were built in two years, and most neighborhoods had one nearby.
But by the 1970s, another generation of residents was demolishing the old movie houses like they were rat-infested eyesores.
Today it’s nearly impossible to find an old theater here that’s both semi-intact and feasible to restore. However, one comes close.
The Namowicz family of Warren Industries has bought and wants to restore the former Granada Theater, 1921 Charles St. “We want to bring back the glamour” of the 1928 theater, said David Namowicz.
Given acceptable restoration costs, the owners envision possibly turning the building into a banquet hall and/or events center.
It was Namowicz who first explored the old building - last used by its Illinois owner for storage and saw its potential. Steven, Thomas, Carolyn and Michael Namowicz went along with the idea, and the family bought the structure for $150,000.
David Namowicz indicated the theater lobby’s ceiling and said, “That’s what caught my eye.”
Its considerable architectural detail is all there - just as much of the plaster work throughout the building remains. The main original features missing are the stage and the sloping floor. A poured, level concrete floor forever obscures the original floor.
However, much of the stage house remains, including the large proscenium arch and the fly loft, just under the ceiling, which is 48 feet tall there. From the loft, workers would haul away scenery used in the vaudeville plays, said theater historian Fred Hermes of Racine.
Hermes said five local theaters were built in about 1927-28: the Granada, Capitol, Majestic, Crown and Venetian. “There was a tremendous interest in silent films,” he said, and vaudeville was still popular entertainment.
The Granada Theater, which operated until 1961, differentiated itself from other local theaters with its Spanish theme, “so it was kind of gaudy,” Namowicz said.
In the early years, for 15 cents a person, one could go to one of those grand theaters “and be treated like a queen,” Hermes said. “It was just as much a treat to see the inside as it was to see the movie.”
Among local movie theaters. the Granada wasn’t one of the most opulent. It was “a little bit below the middle,” Hermes said. However, by today’s standards, it’s a delight, with 24-foot ceilings in the seating area, terrazzo floors, and intricate plaster work adorning the walls and ceilings.
“It’ll never be like the Venetian and Rialto, Namowicz said, "but it’s definitely gorgeous.”
The building even has the original fireplace in the lobby. “I found (it) last week Namowicz said, hidden behind one of the walls that was added later to carve up the theater for later uses.
The Granada fared better in its decades of disuse than most local theaters. Most obviously, it wasn’t razed. Second, its domed roof undoubtedly helped ward off water damage. Finally, whoever erected interior walls did so respectfully, causing very slight damage to the structure.
“We got lucky here, because so far the damage is nominal,” Namowicz said.
When the old theater went on the market, he said, other bids came from a print shop and an auto repair business. Namowicz and his family didn’t think either one came close to realizing the Granada’s potential.
In addition to the theater itself, they bought the adjacent building at 1925 Charles St. All their plans are predicated on a restoration cost they can afford but if it does happen, that next-door building will play a part.
To run a banquet hall/events center they’d need a large kitchen, and to meet present building codes they’d need new bathrooms. They could put the kitchen and bathrooms in the adjacent building with a doorway in between, “so we don’t damage the theater, Namowicz explained.
“What I really need right now,” he said, “I need someone with some pictures” from the Granada’s early years.
If the costs aren’t prohibitive and the restoration can be done, the Granada will become a tangible link to a bygone era In Racine.
Namowicz said “It’s definitely going to give the city of Racine the feeling for what we have lost.” (August 28, 2005)