La Salle Theatre
W. Madison Street and N. Clark Street,
Chicago,
IL
60602
W. Madison Street and N. Clark Street,
Chicago,
IL
60602
2 people
favorited this theater
The La Salle Opera House opened in 1910, and could seat a just under 800.
It was located at 110 W. Madison Street near the corner of N. Clark Street, adjoining the Brevoort Hotel and across the street from the tiny Madison Theatre and Astor Theatre (all of which have long since vanished from the Loop). In addition to opera, the La Salle Opera House also would later stage legitimate theatre, as well as vaudeville acts.
However, beginning in 1927, the La Salle Theatre began showing movies, becoming just another one of the many movie houses dotting the Loop. It was equipped with a Weickhardt organ. It remained a movie house until closing in the late-1940’s.
In Spring of 1950, the La Salle Theatre was razed to make way for a new St. Peter’s Church, which relocated to the Loop, which is also home to 30 Franciscan friars who live above the church. St. Peter’s in the Loop, besides hosting classical concerts, is also known for its gorgeous stained-glass windows and the huge crucifix on its façade, overlooking W. Madison Street.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 10 comments)
From the Chicago Tribune, Jan. 25, 1924:
Davy Miller Recovering
from His Bullet Wound
According to reports from the University hospital, Davy Miller, boxing referee who was shot on Sunday night by Dean O'Bannion, has passed the crisis and his wound is healing. It is expected he will leave the hospital in a few days. The shooting took place in front of the La Salle theater.
This New York Times article is dated June 5, 1909, which is a year before the opening given in the introduction.
http://tinyurl.com/mkkbyt
Here’s a ca1910 photo of the LaSalle Theatre from the Art Institute of Chicago web site.
The planned demolition of the LaSalle was reported in Boxoffice in July 1949:
http://tinyurl.com/yhp5thb
I remember going to the LaSalle Theater in the Loop as a young child. My aunt Chickie picked me up after work at Marillac House at Jackson and Morgan to take me to see a reissue of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs. I can still remember the excitment of anticipation some 65 or 70 years later. I also remember, in later years, seeing a chapter of “The Vigilante” there. The theater frequently showed african safari films with bare-breasted natives. It also showed foreign films in the 1940s. I remember seeing a double feature of a German film entitled “The Iron Crown” (a legend about a crown made from the nails of Christ’s cross)and a French classic film entitled “Beauty And The Beast”. I also remember seeing another double feature of H. G. Welles stories: The Invisible Man and The Shape Of Things To Come. Yes, I remember the LaSalle Theater well.
The Google Map view is of 110 W Madison in Oak Park, IL, not downtown Chicago.
Just added a 1939 photo courtesy of the Chuckman Collection. It should be noted that the marquee reads La Salle with a space.
Spring 1935 photo added courtesy of Darla Zailskas.
This doesn’t come up in searches with the space in between the La and Salle. Also, it should be listed as being located in the Loop with the other Loop theaters.
This Shorpy link can be enlarged for incredible detail.
https://www.shorpy.com/node/18273