Oakland Square Theatre

This description of the Oakland Square Theatre was featured in an article about the Ascher Bros. chain that appeared in the March 10, 1917 issue of Moving Picture World:

“The Oakland Square theater, on Oakwood and Drexel boulevards, was erected under the personal supervision of the architect, Henry L. Newhouse, and is recognized as one of the finest in the country. Until the erection of the Metropolitan, a description of which will follow, this house was unequalled for beauty and modernity by any moving picture theater in Chicago. On the opening night, March 4, 1916, nearly every section of the city was represented in a crowd of nearly 5,000 people who sought to gain admission, and many hundreds were turned away.

“This beautiful house is located in the heart of an exclusive residence district on the South Side. The interior decorations are carried out in a modified French Renaissance style. The exterior is of the Italian type, and in the copings are quaint grotesque figures. In the auditorium are 1,525 seats all so arranged as to afford a perfect view of the screen, no matter where one may sit. The Oakland Square has been doing a capacity business ever since its successful opening. This can be attributed somewhat to the capable management of Max E. Ascher, whose personal attention is given to the details of every exhibition. The Ascher policy of operating for the convenience of patrons rather than for employees is always in evidence here.”

Uploaded a photo of the auditorium. Looks like this was one of Ascher’s oddball “cornerwise” theaters, with the screen off in a corner.

I remember going to this elegant little theater when I was a child, back in the early ‘40s. We lived at 3702 Lake Park Avenue, and my parents would give my older brother (11 years old) money for our tickets, and he would run ahead to buy them before the prices changed. Oakland Square itself was a fascinating place to me then.

Fort exterior, 1987:

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According to this blog post a spacious private residence has been built on the Oakland Square site.

http://www.kentimmerman.com/rukn.htm

It apparently was rather innovative when the project was announced; it was noted to contain “no wall seats” (boxes, I presume), held extra-wide seats, and was apparently both the city’s largest all-movie theater at the time, and “the first theater over 1,000 seats without a stage”. Chicago Tribune, July 30, 1915.