Elm Theater
7540 W. Grand Avenue,
Elmwood Park,
IL
60707
7540 W. Grand Avenue,
Elmwood Park,
IL
60707
3 people
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Opened on October 1, 1937 with Frances Langford in “Hit Parade” & Donald Woods in “The Case of the Stuttering Bishop”. The Elm Theater was located on W. Grand Avenue near 75th Avenue in the near western suburb of Elmwood Park. The auditorium ran parallel to W. Grand Avenue, from which it was set back and fronted by small shops. The entrance was to the right of the shops. The theater could seat 700 and operated until its closing in early-June, 1960.
The theatre became a bargain mart, selling second-hand furniture, antiques and appliances. In 1965 the front of the building and foyer area was demolished, and the auditorium has since served as a liquor store, and, since the mid-1980s, a hardware store, which closed in 2007. It was demolished in February 2015.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 19 comments)
Another photo from the same archive, this one is dated July 4, 1960. Not sure if the theater was still open then, but the marquee gives a double bill of Here Come the Jets (1959) and Visit To a Small Planet (1960), the latter being a Jerry Lewis movie with story by Gore Vidal. I checked that day’s Tribune, and nobody else was showing these pictures in town: http://cdm15232.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p15232cdi&CISOPTR=403&CISOBOX=1&REC=9
FYI I found a Chicago Tribune display ad for the Elm dated June 5, 1960 showing a double bill of Here Come the Jets and Visit To a Small Planet. Since the marquee still had those films listed on July 4, I conclude the theater was already closed then. By July 4 there were no other theaters in the Chicago area still showing those two films. So it is probably safe to conclude the Elm closed about June 5, 1960.
I had no idea that the old True Value is the site of this theatre. I thought the it was where Caputo’s is today.
No, Caputo’s is at the NW corner of Grand and Harlem, where Ablin’s drug store was, plus many other shops. the Elm was a few blocks west of there near the Elmwood Park village circle.
Seen Today… The Auditorium is fenced in … Machinery on site.. about to begin Demolition in a few day or sooner.
Just posted several photos of the Elm Theater auditorium demolition from Saturday, February 7. rso1000 has also posted some new photos from the last few days.
I have to say I never realized while I shopped at the True Value store that the building I was in was—at least in large part—the old Elm Theatre, re-purposed. It certainly didn’t look so from the front (Grand Ave) side, and I remember the Elm Theatre facade & marquee from the early ‘60s. But I see from the new demolition photos the full background.
Added a few more photos of the murals on the auditorium walls taken 2/12/15. The remainder of the auditorium will probably leveled on 2/13/15.
The correct address for the Elm Theater was 7540 W. Grand Ave. In the photo above you can see the address of the store (7542) next to the theater. Also old newspaper ads show the address as 7540. See posted ad in “Photo section”.
This opened on October 1st, 1937. Grand opening ad posted.