Rhodes Theatre
544 E. 79th Street,
Chicago,
IL
60619
544 E. 79th Street,
Chicago,
IL
60619
4 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Brotman & Sherman Theaters, Stanley-Warner Theatres, Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp.
Architects: George W. Leslie Rapp, Hans Teichert
Firms: Rapp & Rapp
Styles: Streamline Moderne
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Feb 4, 2011 — The Double Feature
This late Rapp & Rapp designed movie house, done in Art Moderne style in 1937, was located in the Chatham neighborhood, at the intersection of E. 79th Street and S. Rhodes Avenue. The Rhodes Theatre was opened on November 19, 1937 with Kenny Baker in “Mr. Dodd Takes the Air”.
For most of the 1930’s and 1940’s (and into the 1950’s), the Rhodes Theatre was operated by the Warner Brothers (later Stanley-Warner) chain. From the mid-1960’s into the 1970’s, it was part of the Brotman & Sherman Theaters chain, which also acquired other former Warner houses such as the Avalon Theatre (New Regal), Capitol Theatre, and Met Theatre.
The Rhodes Theatre was open into the 1980’s, but, unfortunately, was demolished after it closed. In 2022 the site remains vacant as a piece of grassed-over land
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 19 comments)
Here are some 1983 photos:
http://tinyurl.com/co4jf9
http://tinyurl.com/d8wkjn
http://tinyurl.com/dba755
This theater was part of the Brotman & Sherman chain for a while but they ran it down taking everything they could out of it and not putting anything back. Typical of the time.
I grew up in the shadow of the Rhodes—used to play softball in its parking lot, age 10-12. I recently made a video about it and put it on YouTube. You may enjoy it.
[url]=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYXjSsbS4_M][/url]
Sorry, that url didn’t become a normal link. I’ll post it as regular characters; you may have to cut and paste.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYXjSsbS4_M
1983 R rated and PG rated Double feature? hopefully, they got the kids out.
This opened on November 19th, 1937. Grand opening ad in photo section.
They showed a lot of martial arts movies in the 80’s. I lived in the area then, movies were $1.
Removed the grand opening ad and replaced it with a better quality version.
Rhodes theatre opening · Fri, Nov 19, 1937 – 27 · Chicago Tribune (Chicago, Illinois) · Newspapers.com
The Rhodes theater was ground zero for martial arts films that wormed the lines around the corner from 1972 through 77.My first movie there was “Willard” My last attendance a weeknight when I had nothing to do so I saw “Godzilla”. Something like that. It had classic Hollywood hand and foot molds in the lobby floor cartooned by a red velvet rope. Portraits of40’s Warner Bros. Movie stars. By the seventies, it all seemed archaic, Didn’t fit the black population there. But “Enter the Dragon ” sure did. August of 1973.Lines down the block in the rain. It was remodeled and enjoyed a brief revival but that was it. Its still an empty lot…and some of the floor molds are still there. Once symbols of fanfare are now grave markers in a concrete cemetery of memories.
I lived only a block away as a young child (1964-1970) and I remember going there for Saturday matinee runs of old westerns. The place would be full of kids with about half of us running around (imitating what we saw on the screens; the staff did not seem to mind. I miss that place.