CIBC Theatre

The Majestic Theatre was opened on January 1, 1906 as a venue for primarily vaudeville seating almost 2,500. On opening night movies were shown as part of the vaudeville bill on the Kinodrome. (The building itself in which the theatre and attached office tower are located in is still referred to as the Majestic Building). It was designed by architect Edmund C. Krause who had a gentleman named George Leslie Rapp working for him as a draftsman and designer. The following year (1907) G.L. Rapp would form the architectural firm C. W. & Geo. L. Rapp with his elder brother Cornelius Ward Rapp, which would become the famous & prolific Chicago architectural firm Rapp & Rapp.

During the 1910’s and into the 1920’s, the Majestic Theatre was part of the Orpheum vaudeville circuit in Chicago, along with such other Loop theatres as the Palace Theatre and the State-Lake Theatre. The Majestic Theatre was closed in the early-1930’s after a couple of years of sporadic use and remained dark for over a decade.

From 1945 until 2005, it was named the Shubert Theatre, by the theatrical family which took over the theatre at this time, after their late brother, Sam Shubert. Since then, the theatre has been used for stage shows and often plays host to Broadway shows when they come to Chicago.

The Shubert Theatre, renamed the LaSalle Bank Theatre after its financial benefactor, closed in January 2005, while it underwent a $40 million restoration. It reopened in 2006.

In May 2008, the LaSalle Bank Theatre received yet another new name, the Bank of America Theatre, after the name change of the former LaSalle Bank, acquired by Bank of America in October 2007, was made official. It was renamed PrivateBank Theatre in December 2015. In September 2017 it was renamed CIBC Theatre after a Canadian bank.

Recent comments (view all 84 comments)

DavidZornig on September 18, 2017 at 2:58 pm

And yet another new name as of today.
CIBC Theatre.
Thanks to Tim O'Neill for the link.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/canadas-cibc-aquires-naming-rights-to-the-privatebank-theatre/

OeOeO on September 18, 2017 at 9:11 pm

“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.

DavidZornig on March 1, 2018 at 3:23 pm

1910 photo added via Bebe Belman. Shows full Majestic marquee.

DavidZornig on August 9, 2019 at 11:29 pm

Link with a 1970 photo of the Shubert marquee featuring “Hair. Photo credit & copyright Gary J. Siblo.

https://www.clickasnap.com/i/33qhtjjvvfqw3kz7?fbclid=IwAR2fjFy0mOTtCO9cqHgrBqijYWdB3tAVNIF4pVQ0DikF_vqKZ-71hHQAsq4#.XU0InY-dQow.facebook

JAlex on August 10, 2019 at 12:24 pm

CIBC Theatre….it just rolls off the tongue.

davidplomin on November 25, 2019 at 7:04 pm

FYI: It was the first theater built in downtown Chicago after the ill fated Iroquois Theater Fire of December, 1903.

rivest266 on August 11, 2020 at 1:40 pm

Opened on January 1st, 1906. Grand opening ad posted.

Dplomin on September 4, 2023 at 9:56 pm

It would be nice if the theater had a more fitting name that had something to do with Chicago and its theatrical history. How about Joseph Jefferson, an early stage performer who was noted for playing Rip Van Winkle and the theater awards in Chicago is named after?

rivest266 on September 5, 2023 at 1:49 pm

CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce) changed its logo last year, expect a new marquee on this theatre again.

Broan on September 5, 2023 at 2:36 pm

Looks like the logo was updated, looking at the Broadway in Chicago site.