“Private Bank” was a poor name for a theater let alone a bank.
It’s unusual how all the live theaters were spread all across the Loop in contrast to the Movie houses that were concentrated around Randolph and State.
In June you asked for a map to the Madison /Crawford business area,mentioning a lost link
Was that link by any chance to Scott Newmans Jazz Age Chicago?
If it is ,then luckily that site is archived. (If not it does have maps to that area for 1928 and 1950)
Go to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine page at: http//WWW.ARCHIVE.ORG
In the the box next to to “WAYBACK MACHINE” enter http://chicago.urban-history.org/ , then click the ‘Take Me Back’ button.
click on one of the circled dates to see if theres a snapshot and click
Some images weren’t embedded and may be missing,but I did find the maps.
The maps are under “the bright lights districts ” “Madison Crawford”
I suggest saving the map to your own pc (there is a status bar that pops up at the bottom of the image,the furthest
left icon is a save as button. The mape will be saved as an adobe PDF file.
Why is this listed as Apollo 2000. That is the club name and it never showed movies under that name. It should be listed as Marshall Square theater. It started showing movies in Spanish in either 1967 or 1968.
Anyone in the Chicago area watching the M Squad reruns. They are on ME2 tv(ch26.3), daily at 10pm and on the weekends. There are various location shots of Chicago from 1957-1960. Not really theater oriented, though some show up. Last night they showed the advertising for “The Vikings” on an unidentified theater as Lee Marvin walks by.I’ll have to check to see where the Vikings premiered. He makes various references to people living in upscale west side residences though I can’t identify the area from the clips.
There is an interesting history to this series as they had to do these location shots guerilla style as Mayor Daley disapproved of showing the city in a violent way. BTW the city does not looks as glamorous as we have imagined it in our youthful memories.
Before you decide to take a physical tour I recommend you take a virtual tour with google street view.
To access click on MAP, to the right of the theater address at the top of the page. Then either,
A. Click on the balloon with the A in it, then click enter streetview.
or
B. Click and hold on the little orange man figure (left on the map) and drag him to any blue bordered street.
Directions for using streetview are at this link, View link
There was a Fifth Avenue line that shared the same tracks as the Madison.The book says it ran between December 1953 and February 22,1954 but only as a shuttle.
The State street streetcar ended in 1955 and the Western Avenue streetcar ended in 1956. The Western avenue ran green hornets as well and is the only streetcar I have a memory of riding.
You are right about the Pulaski cars,they were red.
The Green Hornets and the Blue goose ran on Madison. In the book there is a great picture of two streetcars passing in front of the Athletic club at Madison and Hamlin.
Just a nostalgia note, this theater was situated a trifle north of
the Madison,Ashland and Ogden intersection where there was an old early skyscraper on that little island that hosted the revolving Turtle Wax turtle.
According to my source “Chicago Surface Lines"by Allen R. Lind,on February 25, 1951 the Pulaski Road streetcars were replaced by busses on the weekends. On September 16 1952 they were completely replaced by trolleybusses.
CTA ended all Madison streetcars service on December 13,1953.
The last streetcar ran on The Clark Wentworth Avenue
route the summer of 1958.
I wouldn’t think the streetcars would have anything to do with the demise of the Paradise as public transportation continued to be available,the area was also serviced by the lake street and the Congress Els.
FYI to see what the area looks like recently, click on MAP next to the theater address at the top of these pages. Then either click on the balloon and the click on STREET VIEW. Or drag the little orange man figure on the left side of the map to any blue bordered street.
(The blue bordered streets are where Google sent their Camera Cars).
You can rotate the view 360 degrees and tilt the views to see the tops of taller structures. To amble up and down streets either use the street arrows on the picture part or drag the little orange man on the map part.
Google has a lot of America covered and increasing numbers of overseas places.
A great way for a cheap (and sometimes safe) tour, especially down memory lane.
The most unfortunate pairing I ever saw was at a Twin in a Joliet shopping center in 1987. One was an Eddie Murphy movie, the other , a Barbra Streisand flick. The Marquee read : RAW NUTS.
To get a street view of this theater, click on map next to the address above , then click street view. I am now convinced google is listing the incorrect addresses, however if you click on the west arrow it will take you up the street to the former Lawndale theater.
Does anyone know when they ever screened films here? I always remember it as live theater. I would be interested to see history and photos of the Erlanger and Great Northern as well. Does anyone know if the THSA archives data on live stage theaters in addition to movie houses? Thanks in advance.
How accurate is the address for this theater?
If you click on the map above you can see a street view. The Mount Olive church is further west in what definitely looks like an old theatre front. Google shows it at 5766 or 67 w Chicago Avenue. I also noticed a discrepancy with the Hub theater. Of course the google address may be wrong. BTW for all those interested in what the area looks like nowadays ,at least in most of Chicago, click on the map next to the address and click on street view. You can rotate around or wander up and down the street. All of Manhattan seems to be covered as well. Cheers.
“Private Bank” was a poor name for a theater let alone a bank. It’s unusual how all the live theaters were spread all across the Loop in contrast to the Movie houses that were concentrated around Randolph and State.
Zanzibar and Sky Bandits, 1940.
February 26 1964. The Marbro had a closed circuit tv event of the Sonny Liston Cassius Clay fight. The Tribune article claims 5000 in attendance.
This photo of the Mayfair Theater is posted at Flickr.
Correction the link is simply “ARCHIVE.ORG”
Amoswald and all
In June you asked for a map to the Madison /Crawford business area,mentioning a lost link
Was that link by any chance to Scott Newmans Jazz Age Chicago?
If it is ,then luckily that site is archived. (If not it does have maps to that area for 1928 and 1950)
Go to the Internet Archive Wayback Machine page at: http//WWW.ARCHIVE.ORG
In the the box next to to “WAYBACK MACHINE” enter http://chicago.urban-history.org/ , then click the ‘Take Me Back’ button.
click on one of the circled dates to see if theres a snapshot and click
Some images weren’t embedded and may be missing,but I did find the maps.
The maps are under “the bright lights districts ” “Madison Crawford”
I suggest saving the map to your own pc (there is a status bar that pops up at the bottom of the image,the furthest
left icon is a save as button. The mape will be saved as an adobe PDF file.
Why is this listed as Apollo 2000. That is the club name and it never showed movies under that name. It should be listed as Marshall Square theater. It started showing movies in Spanish in either 1967 or 1968.
Anyone in the Chicago area watching the M Squad reruns. They are on ME2 tv(ch26.3), daily at 10pm and on the weekends. There are various location shots of Chicago from 1957-1960. Not really theater oriented, though some show up. Last night they showed the advertising for “The Vikings” on an unidentified theater as Lee Marvin walks by.I’ll have to check to see where the Vikings premiered. He makes various references to people living in upscale west side residences though I can’t identify the area from the clips.
There is an interesting history to this series as they had to do these location shots guerilla style as Mayor Daley disapproved of showing the city in a violent way. BTW the city does not looks as glamorous as we have imagined it in our youthful memories.
Btw. Here is a link to Jazz Age Chicago with info on the Madison Crawford area. It includes a pdf map from 1950
View link
Before you decide to take a physical tour I recommend you take a virtual tour with google street view.
To access click on MAP, to the right of the theater address at the top of the page. Then either,
A. Click on the balloon with the A in it, then click enter streetview.
or
B. Click and hold on the little orange man figure (left on the map) and drag him to any blue bordered street.
Directions for using streetview are at this link,
View link
Actually there are three photos, one is from the sixties and looks like the Marbro is closed.
There are two shots of the Marbro in the 30s at this link.
View link
Here you go. A couple of decades early though. Scroll down to the bottom.
View link
There was a Fifth Avenue line that shared the same tracks as the Madison.The book says it ran between December 1953 and February 22,1954 but only as a shuttle.
The State street streetcar ended in 1955 and the Western Avenue streetcar ended in 1956. The Western avenue ran green hornets as well and is the only streetcar I have a memory of riding.
You are right about the Pulaski cars,they were red.
The Green Hornets and the Blue goose ran on Madison. In the book there is a great picture of two streetcars passing in front of the Athletic club at Madison and Hamlin.
Just a nostalgia note, this theater was situated a trifle north of
the Madison,Ashland and Ogden intersection where there was an old early skyscraper on that little island that hosted the revolving Turtle Wax turtle.
According to my source “Chicago Surface Lines"by Allen R. Lind,on February 25, 1951 the Pulaski Road streetcars were replaced by busses on the weekends. On September 16 1952 they were completely replaced by trolleybusses.
CTA ended all Madison streetcars service on December 13,1953.
The last streetcar ran on The Clark Wentworth Avenue
route the summer of 1958.
I wouldn’t think the streetcars would have anything to do with the demise of the Paradise as public transportation continued to be available,the area was also serviced by the lake street and the Congress Els.
test
FYI to see what the area looks like recently, click on MAP next to the theater address at the top of these pages. Then either click on the balloon and the click on STREET VIEW. Or drag the little orange man figure on the left side of the map to any blue bordered street.
(The blue bordered streets are where Google sent their Camera Cars).
You can rotate the view 360 degrees and tilt the views to see the tops of taller structures. To amble up and down streets either use the street arrows on the picture part or drag the little orange man on the map part.
Google has a lot of America covered and increasing numbers of overseas places.
A great way for a cheap (and sometimes safe) tour, especially down memory lane.
The most unfortunate pairing I ever saw was at a Twin in a Joliet shopping center in 1987. One was an Eddie Murphy movie, the other , a Barbra Streisand flick. The Marquee read : RAW NUTS.
Does anyone know if the Tati movie,Playtime, was shown at the Carnegie?
Does anyone know if the Tati movie,Playtime, was shown at the Carnegie?
Many thanks to JRS40 for compiling the lists of movies and the dates they ran at the theaters. May I ask you where you mine the data? Thanks.
To get a street view of this theater, click on map next to the address above , then click street view. I am now convinced google is listing the incorrect addresses, however if you click on the west arrow it will take you up the street to the former Lawndale theater.
Does anyone know when they ever screened films here? I always remember it as live theater. I would be interested to see history and photos of the Erlanger and Great Northern as well. Does anyone know if the THSA archives data on live stage theaters in addition to movie houses? Thanks in advance.
How accurate is the address for this theater?
If you click on the map above you can see a street view. The Mount Olive church is further west in what definitely looks like an old theatre front. Google shows it at 5766 or 67 w Chicago Avenue. I also noticed a discrepancy with the Hub theater. Of course the google address may be wrong. BTW for all those interested in what the area looks like nowadays ,at least in most of Chicago, click on the map next to the address and click on street view. You can rotate around or wander up and down the street. All of Manhattan seems to be covered as well. Cheers.