McVickers Theatre
25 W. Madison Street,
Chicago,
IL
60602
25 W. Madison Street,
Chicago,
IL
60602
19 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 100 comments
Those Bruce Lee triple features were here. Lines around the corner for ticket holders. Second line for early arrivals. Just as long.
1955 postcard with “Oklahoma!” at the McVickers in the background. Enlargeable several times within the Flickr link.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hollywoodplace/28827949496?fbclid=IwAR28FN9YLmuTGsmTJgCRJVFN2PtwdrhcsTI8eJxZXimzBAev7kKLURQZNzo
It is so strange that the artwork for the stage production of Fiddler in ‘67 uses the exact same artwork for the film which came out 4 years later. This should be impossible as the artwork is clearly based on the movie cast which hadn’t even been chosen yet. Anybody have an idea why this is? Look at the marquee of this theater with Fiddler then look at the ad for the McClurg where it had its Chicago film engagement which as you can see from previous comments confused me.
The street, “McVicker Ave.” in Chicago, is named for the original owner of this theatre.
The discussion about the McVickers Theatre has gone on for some time (years!). I think somewhere during the years it’s been mentioned that it was a roadshow theatre, and also hosted several touring musicals in the late 1960s including “Man of LaMancha” with Jose Ferrer. (For a long time I thought it played the Shubert, but thanks to this page I was corrected.) The McVickers was a little unique in that it hosted both roadshow musicals (“Gone With the Wind” in my case in the late 1960s) and touring musicals. Concerning why “Cinerama’s Russian Adventure” was booked at the McVickers in the Cinerama process I do not know. Due to the unique booking, wish I had seen it.
Hello Again-
I have a question I have yet ti find answer to so hopefully historians of this theater might be able to answer it. in the Spring of 1966 of all the Cinerama theaters in the U.S. why was the McVickers the only one to show Cinerama’s Russian Adventure in the original 3-panel process?
Hello-
I find it interesting that in the above intro no mention
is made of the fact this was of Chicago’s leading houses
that the studios used for roadshow engagements.
January 2, 1926: McVickers Robbery Seen As Inside Job (AP) — Executives of McVickers theatre were scrutinizing rogues gallery files today while police were seeking former employees of the theatre after the treasurer was held up last night and robbed of $1,000. A robber familiar with the theatre’s floor plan and routine sequestered the treasurer, his wife and another employe and forced them to deliver up the contents of the safe. The police are convinced that intimate knowledge of the layout of the building was necessary to smooth execution of the robbery.
Circa 1925 photo credit Chicago History Museum/Getty Images.
https://photos.com/featured/mcvickers-theater-chicago-history-museum.html?fbclid=IwAR2O3aTuyumnMKCAAxP3jksWPn-SojybixmHAwh_6XPUaUFs3HB2hBI4zXs
Nope. It’s the stage production. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF movie (1971) never played at the McVickers Theatre. It played at the McClurg Court Theatre.
It looks like the photo with Fiddler on the marquee is not a stage production from ‘67 but the original Chicago film engagement in '71 or'72 when the film was running roadshow.
The theatre had stage productions in the 60s, I was taken to a wonderful “Fiddler on the Roof.”
This opened on October 26th, 1922. Its grand opening ad is in the photo section.
Found on Newspapers.com
James Brown played the Bismarck (now the Cadillac Palace) on December 29, 1984. The Bismarck did indeed have its seats removed as it mainly was used for banquets at the time.
I highly doubt there was a James Brown concert at the McVickers Theatre. By 1983/1984, the McVickers was showing mostly kung fu movies. I don’t ever recall hearing about a concert there at the time.
I attended a James Brown concert there in late 1983 or early 1984. Have been trying to find a record of it for an essay I am writing but have had no success. Anyone remember news of this concert that started very, very late and there were NO SEATS in the entire theater.
A 1984 article with some inaccuracies.
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1984/10/24/page/112/article/community-news
The Calumet412 website has a photo claiming to be the 2nd version of the McVickers. No mention of the source or photo credit.
http://calumet412.com/post/80069440469/mcvickers-theater-25-w-madison-chicago-this
http://youtu.be/EKM-lYVTz2U
The first McVicker’s opened 155 years ago today.
i remember the MCVICKERS showing mainly ‘reserved seat only’ movies in the late 50’s and early 60’s including THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK, WEST SIDE STORY, 55 DAYS AT PEKING ect.
Towards the end of this clip, Geoffrey Baer discusses the McVickers Theatre.http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2011/09/22/ask-geoffrey-922
My office is just down the street from State and Madison; lots of changes.
Great photo! Lots of the block is gone, but I do remember the McVickers.