Metropole Theatre
238 W. 31st Street,
Chicago,
IL
60616
238 W. 31st Street,
Chicago,
IL
60616
3 people
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This theater opened about 1910 on W. 31st Street near Wells Street in the Armour Square neighborhood. It could seat just under 300. It continued to operate as a movie house into the 1950’s, and was later converted to retail use. The building now houses an Asian health food store.
Contributed by
Bryan
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Recent comments (view all 4 comments)
This theater is in the rear section of the four-story building at this site that doesn’t look at all theatrical. It was a hall before becoming a theater.
I’m writing a book about the history of Bridgeport for Arcadia Publishing and would LOVE a picture or two of the Wallace.
Please contact me if you have any of the Wallace or any Bridgeport theaters (I have the Ramova, The Milda and The Eagle (1991), but would love to see any and all shots of the 12-13 theaters that used to be in the neighborhood.
On a really sad note, Nancy of Nancy’s Best Little Hair House passed away his past week. The Wallace theater building has been for sale for the last few months too.
Look forward to hearing from you.
Maureen-
Konrad Schiecke’s Historic Movie Theatres in Illinois, 1883-1960 says that the Metropole Theatre at 238 W. 31st Street opened in 1923. This might be correct. An article in the March, 1909, issue of The Nickelodeon mentions the Metropole Theatre, giving its location as Wentworth Avenue and 31st Street. That’s about a block east of 238 31st, so perhaps the house simply moved to a new location about 1923.
While it’s currently hard to tell this was once a movie theater, back in the 1970s this was home to Val’s Dance Studio, and the entrance was still reminiscent of what was once a theater. There were also black and white pictures featuring some of the students in the glass cases along the entrance.