New 400 Theaters
6746 N. Sheridan Road,
Chicago,
IL
60626
6746 N. Sheridan Road,
Chicago,
IL
60626
10 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
New 400 Theaters (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Essaness Theaters Corp., Village Theatres
Firms: Grossman & Proskauer
Previous Names: Regent Theater, 400 Twin Theater, Visionary Theatres, Village North Theater
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- Feb 6, 2012 — 400 is the new 100
- Jul 7, 2009 — The 400 Theater is back
- Jan 19, 2009 — Village North/Visionary Theatre closes
- Dec 2, 2008 — Is Village Entertainment out of business?
Built as the Regent Theater, opening late-1913 in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago, this was one of its earliest movie houses and originally sat about 725 in its auditorium. It was equipped with a Kimball 2 manual 4 ranks organ. In 1930, the theater was renamed the 400 Theater.
In 1990, it was divided into four small auditoriums, three seating about 200, one only about 150. It was purchased by the owners of the Village Theater in the Old Town neighborhood and modernized, and given the name of the Village North Theater. For the last several years, the theater was operated by Village Entertainment.
In September 2008, the former Village North began operating as Visionary Theatres, but by January of 2009, the theater was closed. It was reopened again as the New 400 Theaters on July 1, 2009. The owner of the building suddenly closed the theater on August 16, 2023.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft, Ray Martinez
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Recent comments (view all 125 comments)
Let me repose the question msd01 asked on November 28, 2004. Why is it called the 400. I read through all 115 comments and couldn’t find a clue. It’s not the seating capacity. It has nothing to do with the address.
The name is probably a reference to
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Four_Hundred_(1892)
(Sorry for the non-clickable link, but the markdown syntax apparently has trouble with an URL that ends with a parenthesis.) I’ve seen this term used to suggest high society as late as the early ‘40s, so the name may have made more sense in 1930 than it does now.
Maybe it had to do with this: http://lantern.mediahist.org/catalog/variety99-1930-07_0307
Added in the “Photo” section… Article that may or may not explain the 400 theater name. Thank you Broan for finding this article.
Really tired of watching movies on your laptop? Rent a screen at the 400.
Current Reader article about the New 400’s pandemic survival.
https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/the-new-400-movie-theater/Content?oid=87466882&fbclid=IwAR1hMCaILXCUmyYwsMkDXojdj1bONqjLt5zGknCwThCSJw_HwDwyH0b4Tno
The end of the road for the New 400 may be near. According to a CBS Channel-2 news report, dated March 2, 2023, the owner of the theater said that he plans on cllosing it in 2023. Attendance has not bownced back from the 2020 Pandemic closure. The report further stated that the theater will likely become a bar, nightclub, or restaurant.
This is very discouraging news. It’s a wonderful theater with a rich history of over 100 years. They even sell alcohol and have a nice bar. It’s really sad that people are not coming back to this wonderful theater and big enough numbers to keep it open. They have good movies and it’s great you can have popcorn soda candy and if you want a beer with your popcorn that’s a lot of fun. I’ve never seen business fall off this much for movie theaters across the country. Still plenty of good movies to go see but people choose to just sit home and watch things on television that’s what is really hurting the movie theater business like never before
This final chapter in movie exhibition history - and one hopes it will be a lengthy chapter - will be challenging to witness for theatre aficionados. At the same time, it’s equally worthy of recognizing the efforts of those facing insurmountable odds to keep their theaters going as long as they can or could. Well done, Regent / New 400. We salute you.
Story here