Before TV, Computers
& Smart Phones
This post is related to another post called
Theaters Present &
another called Community Theatre
but first this one!
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An Overview:
The Financial Rewards of Theaters
in Chicago by 1908
The Evils of Electric Theater
in 1907
Popularity of all Types of Theater
in 1910
The Theater Listings
in 1914
Lake View theaters mentioned in this full page ad
Julian on Belmont Avenue
Stevens on Broadway
Esthena on Southport Avenue
Clermont on Clark Street
Halsted on Halsted Street
Victoria on Sheffield Avenue
(currently called the Vic)
Keystone on Sheridan Road
Vitagraph on Lincoln Avenue
Lake Shore on Broadway
Parkway on Clark Street - just south of Diversey
Parkway on Clark Street - just south of Diversey
The Clean Air
1914 theatre listings
1918 theatre listings
from Chicago Daily Tribune
1928 theatre listings
from Chicago Daily Tribune
1938 theater listings
1942 theater listing
Theatre Conversions
by 1960
The Old Lake View Theaters
by Name:
*One of my sources for this blog post*
image - Chicago History in Postcards
My thanks to Brian Wolf via Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
The Julian had a 766 seat capacity that opened in 1909. The theater
housed vaudeville acts as well as silent film and talkies. According to a
contributor to Cinema Treasures this theater was the home of Scandinavian talking pictures until the beginning
of World War II when distribution of materials from Europe became a issue.
1915 Chicago Daily Tribune ads
1923 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
there was a 'bachelor apartment'
to the west of the theater of the same name
photo - Cinema Treasures
via Tim O'Neil via Historic Chicago-Facebook
sign on theater reads
'closed for summer' - to the Buckingham [movie house]
via Tim O'Neil via Historic Chicago-Facebook
sign on theater reads
'closed for summer' - to the Buckingham [movie house]
a 1937 article about this Swedish movie house
Ingrid Bergman (Swedish-American) apparently
performed at the Julian. I would assume the theater changed hands several times since the buildings demolition (photos) in 2005 when the building last housed a 'house of
worship'.
a Kimball pipe organ below
Evanston Avenue = Broadway
The Sylvia Theater opened on February 17, 1912 located on north Sheffield Avenue at the corner of W. Diversey Parkway in the Lincoln Park
neighborhood. According to the Moving Picture World of that month: “The Sylvia
Theater on Diversey Boulevard and N. Sheffield Avenue was opened February 17 to
capacity business. It is an attractive, modern, cozy house built by S.
Wertheimer, with a capacity of 300. The indirect lighting system is installed
and a soft clear picture is thrown on a concave screen, with Mr. Wertheimer
thinks highly of. A high quality service is furnished by I. Van Ronkel of the
G.F. Co. Spotlight songs are also used. Mr. Wertheimer is well pleased with his
business and looks on the future as very promising. The Sylvia was named after
Miss Sylvia Wertheimer, daughter of the owner, and the popular spotlight singer
of the house.” The theater was demolished for the 1929
Diversey-Sheffield Building [located at 2800 N Sheffield Avenue] which currently stands on the site. -Cinema Treasures
The Clarendon
text - Movie Theatres of Illinois
Comet Theatre
a 1914 listing - Chicago Trib
The City
text - Movie Theatres of Illinois
The Barry
probably the corner building on northwest Lincoln/Barry?
text - Movie Theatre of Illinois
Roscoe Theatre
as of 1914
3354 N Souhport Avenue
photos - garry albrecht
and part of my private collection
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The Garden Theater
I have no further information on this theater beyond this
1923 Sanborn Fire Map that highlights a 1000 seat capacity. According to the 1950 the theater was replaced with an 'auto parking'
originally dubbed the Garibaldi Theatre in 1909
according to Urban Remains
Swedish was the language of the area
a 1914 Chicago Daily Tribune ad
1923 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
images below - Warner Printing Company
photo - Cinema Treasures
Once the location of a counter-culture shop from 1974
until 2015. The Alley had an interesting history of its own!
photo - Yelp
an actually alley entrance to back of the shop
an actually alley entrance to back of the shop
shop interior - Yelp
The building façade was saved for a new structure
photo - ABC7Chicago
The building façade was saved for a new structure
2021 photo - Garry Albrecht
2016
Gutted for a Replaement
but saving the facade!
photos - Building-Up Chicago
on the other side of the street view
later called
The Mode
3912 N Sheridan Road
3912 N Sheridan Road
1936 page - Box Office Magazine
IDOT Collection via Uptown Chicago History
The Keystone Theater operating under the Essaness theater
circuit apparently opened in 1913. These chain or circuit of theaters operated over 30 theaters by 1947. An Art-Deco façade was replace the original theater and renamed Mode
Theater. By the late 1950’s to the late 1960’s the theater was renamed again as the Festival that would show Spanish language films for a new audience later to a racer cliental.
below 1975 photo
photo- Art Instiute of Chicago via Explore Chicago
photo- Art Instiute of Chicago via Explore Chicago
the theater's less then respectable past - 1970's
photo above - Bob Rehak Photography
a 1979 advertisement - Chicago Trib
This theater had many names
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
1923
no significant change in the 1950 map
with several name changes & property owners
717-19 Sheridan Road per this 1923 Sanborn Fire Map
The 700 seat Pine Grove Theater opened under the ownership of the
Alfred
Hamburger-Lubliner Trinz theater circuit. Architect J.E.O. Pridmore redesigned
the theater when it was renamed the Panorama
by 1927, when it was then acquired by the Essaness theater chain
according to Cinema Treasures. Once
again in 1929, the theater was renamed Little
Theatre. The name was returned to the Panorama
from 1932-1939. By about the late 1950's and with another name change to the
Essex, and then once again the change to the Guild operated into the
early 1960's. The newly named Essex Theater, much
like the Guild, had a checkered history with the community. The theater was
located on a residential street which had issues with its neighbors. The Guild was demolished by 1963 to be later
replaced years later by a new type of apartment building for the era called the 4+1- that was later to be renovated in 2010's.
The Chicago Tribune articles below tell the tale of
development along North Pine Grove including a 650 theater complex. The last
article is dated before the Great Depression of 1929.
Plans Apartment Complex & Theater
in 1927
1928 Daily Tribune ad
The Ownership of the Property
did not last long
There were/are a string for other theaters along Southport Avenue such as the Mercury and Music Box. This one was built in 1913 as a
one-story brick building. This 300 seat theater was later renamed Southport Theater in 1923 according to Cinema Treasures.
1923 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
Inside the Flora Building
name later changed to
Vogue Theater
photo - Theatre Historical of America via Explore Chicago
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
1923
1919 Chicago Daily Tribune ad
photo - Cinema Treasures
The Chateau Theater entrance was located on Broadway north of Grace Street. The Flora Building (theater space within) was designed by August C. Willmanns and property owned by Russian born Albert Fuchs theater was operated by Ascher Brothers theater circuit. The building itself had several offices, a upstairs ballroom,
22 lanes of bowling, and 22 billiards tables that was next to Fuchs luxury apartment
building of the same name. In order to highlight this theater I must mention that the owner of the building also owned most of the property from Broadway to Rokeby (Fremont), Sheridan Road to Grace Street - see map above. Before converting his property to a series of buildings Mr. Albert Fuch owned a greenhouse on Broadway near the Grace according to a 1894 Sanborn Fire Map. Mr. Fuch was a horticulturist by trade owning another greenhouse on the west-side of Halsted Street north of Addison.
Largest Off-Loop Theater
in 1916
a 1921 ad - Chicago Trib
A Program Booklet
via Cinema Treasures
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Name Change to
The Vogue
The Vogue Theater by
Diane Wasserman-Drell
'When I was young, (early 1950's) it cost 25 cents to go to
the Vogue Theatre and see a movie plus the cartoons in the beginning. Sometimes
they had double features. My brother always took me with him per my parents
request. It was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. That should be Grace
Street on the right where that reddish/brownish building is. Edwards restaurant
was right near there, too on the east side of the street. My mother and I
walked everywhere up and down Broadway. We lived on Patterson Avenue, one block
north of Addison -- in-between Waveland and Addison. It was a great
neighborhood way back when. I've often regretted that my parents moved to
suburbia when I was about to turn 10 yrs. old. I loved Le Moyne School then,
too and it was amazing that Le Moyne was far ahead of the north suburban
schools back then. There was a large Woolworths store at the corner of Irving
Park and Broadway SE side of the street, and Edward's (great food) was in the
next block (east side of the street past Grace) to the north.'
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
1950
zoomed below as the Vogue Theater
The Vitagraph Theater was established by 1914 and sat
1000 patrons. In 1925 the theater was managed by Lubliner & Trinz circuit
of theaters according the Cinema Treasure.
In the 1930's The old Belmont-Lincoln-Ashland shopping district of Lake
View had a new retailer located at 3149-53 N Lincoln Avenue called the Goldblatts Department Store. Goldblatts converted the old theater during in 1929 (first year of the Great Depression) and expanded their presence south into the old theater space to 3133-41.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
1923
Goldblatts Department Store
converts theater space
further zoomed view below
1914 Chicago Daily Tribune ad
artwork - Imperial Realty Company
Goldblatts Department Store
and a few doors south was the ...
Temple Theater
1923 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map below
converted into
lofts
The Lincoln - Hippodrome was built in 1912 with an entrance address of 3162 N Lincoln Avenue. The theater was designed by a local architect named Robert C. Berlin. The theater's seating capacity was 1590 patrons by 1923. At the time it was one of the largest theaters in Chicago’s north-side. 'The Lincoln' (apparent original name)was built for W. A. Wieboldt, founder of the department store chain bearing his name that were once scattered all over Chicagoland area including the old Lake View Belmont-Lincoln District. This building originally cost $3000,000. The word 'hippodrome' is sometimes used as a extravagant name for a modern circus; a theater used for various staged entertainments. The interior of this building must have seem enormous!
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
1923
no significant change to the theater in the 1950 map
The Wieboldt Connection
text image - Lake View Saga
3033 N Lincoln Avenue
zoomed below
photo - Cinema Treasures
According to Cinema Treasures, The Strand opened in 1914 and was located on 3033 N Lincoln Avenue near Wellington. The theater seated 699 patrons. By the 1940’s the theater had been renamed the City Theater, which apparently operated into the 1960’s
1923 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
no signifcant change to the theater in the 1950 map
Google Earth View
stores in front, former theater space in the back
A Playbill
"the best photo plays in the world"
unknown date - Ebay
Buildings (theater) Replaced
in 2024
featured by
3037, 3035, 3031, 3029, and 3027 Lincoln Avenue
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'Chicago Before We Were Born' /Facebook
postcard - Ebay
Moving Picture World
Oct-Dec 1911 pages 125-6
photo - Theatre Historical of America via
Explore Chicago
1923 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
no significant changes to the theater in the 1950 map
2021 Google Maps
stores in front the former theater in back
a matchbook below
part of my collection
photos - Cinema Treasures
Community Theatres
move in
In 1981 Organic Theatre Company renovated the Buckingham
Theater on Clark Street where it worked with author Mary Renault to adapt her
book The King Must Die to the stage. This was followed by a musical adaptation
of William Kotzwinkle's book Dr. Rat by June Shellene and Richard Fire and the
company's longest running show E/R conceived by Dr. Ronald Berman according to Wikipedia
the entrance to the building was on Clark Street while the main theater space has been replaced with apartments
1891 Rascher's Atlas Map
a zoomed view below of the name of the theater
above the garage door below
Before the Theater
zoomed from above
3175 N Broadway
currently called
a 1916 view - Cinema Treasures
a 1928 interior - Cinema Treasures
via Susan Reibman Groff, LakeView Historical-Facebook
Jeff Nichols/Forgotten Chicago/Facebook
original entranceway photo below - Cinema Treasures
zoomed below
photo below - unknown source
1983 press photo - part of my collection
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Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
1923
with the main theater space faced towards an alley
1950
a garage was added south of the theater in 1926
The address of this theater was 3175 Broadway per map above with a seating capacity of 514 patrons and built in 1914 according to Cinema Treasures. Cineplex-Odeon theater company gave the old Lake Shore
Theater a renovation in the 1980 and named it Broadway Cinema until the year
2000. Due to high running costs on the aging theater, the theater was closed on April 10, 2010, but was re-opened in November
2011 as The Laugh Factory - a venue for live comedic performances. - Cinema Treasures
Saul Smaizys via Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
A testimonial
Jim Huffman on December 2, 2016
"I lived & grew up, in this neighborhood near Belmont
& Broadway from 1945 to 1970. [I] attended Nettelhorst grade school. I saw
many movies at the Lake Shore [theater] throughout that time period. Although small, it
was a very neat, well-kept theater, but without the ginger-bread, exterior had
an exterior art-deco motif back then. Curved smoothed metal siding, colors were
yellow & red. The front had a small independent 1-person ticket booth, now
removed. A small door in the rear of the booth provided access and to the front
theater doors behind. People could walk all the way around the booth, although
narrow about 3-foot wide passage with movie posters along the sides. Originally had
greater seating, but I understand some seats were removed for more stage."
unknown source & date
1991 photo - Mekong.net
and renamed once again
sources & dates unknown
and renamed once again
the latest venue below
In 2011 an Los Angeles based comedy club called the
Laugh Factory moved in the existing space converting the interior with a five million dollar renovation
that included a half million marquee
photo below - Open House Chicago
via Cinema Treasures
via Joe Jakubik, Pictures of Chicago-Facebook
via Trolley Dodge.com
1925 photo - Uraiwan Dutkiewicz via Cinema Treasures
1928 Chicago Daily Tribune ad
via Explore Chicago Collection
This theater opened in 1924 designed in Spanish Baroque style by architect Edward Eichenbaum of the firm of Levy & Klein with a seating capacity of 3,800. The theater was renamed the The Century, in honor of the Century of Progress World’s Fair that was held in Chicago in 1933.
Old Chicago
Neighborhood: Remembering Life in the 1940’s by Neil Samors and Michael
Williams
both postcards - Ebay
photo - Cinema Treasures
1950 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map
1970's photo below - Saul Smaizys via Flickr
Opened to the Public
1975 negatives - Chicago History Museum
photo - Urainwan Dutkiewics,
1982 photo - Thomas White via David Zonig
Theater to be Renovated
for Shopping in 1973
by 1976
h
Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
photo - Ken Vosburgh, Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
photo - Urainwan Dutkiewics,
Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
photo - Urainwan Dutkiewics, Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
photo - Cinema Treasures
Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
photos - C. William Brubaker Collection via UIC 1978
New Owners, New Look
in 2013
*its still pending in 2022?*
2017 photo above - Uraiwan Dutkiewicz
2016 photo below - Garry Albrecht
2016 photo below - Garry Albrecht
New Owner
2024
converted to
from the Chicago Daily Newspaper in 1924
via Chicago Public Library
text below-
Historic Movie Theater of Illinois
photos - Chicago History Museum in 1927
1929 image - Lake View Saga
The Lincoln-Belmont Theater was one of the more popular north-side Chicago movie houses for it was surrounded by a bustling retail hub and was located close to public transportation near the intersection of Belmont/ Ashland, and Lincoln avenues. The theater opened in 1925 for the Lubliner & Trinz theater circuit and was taken over by the Balaban & Katz chain in 1930. The theater was designed by
W.W. Ahlschlager, who was also the architect of the Roxy and Beacon Theatres in New York City. This 3200-plus seat palace was originally a venue for both live entertainment and movies, but later turned to movies only. It had a brief history as a bowling alley and later renovated into condos.- Cineman Treasures
According to Jazz Age Chicago, 'aside from its pretentiousness, the Lincoln-Belmont was also a
state-of-the-art theater. Its most admired features included 1,800 cushioned
seats, technically superior acoustics, ample fire exits, and indirect lighting
effects to reduce glare in the main auditorium. Also of note was the theater’s
massive air-cooling system. It was capable of pumping 2.5 million cubic feet of
fresh air into the theater every hour and, according to reports, greatly
enhanced the theater-going experience. “After seeing a performance,” observed
one visitor, “one arises from his seat not enervated, sleepy and tired, but
refreshed, intellectually awake and reinvigorated.”'
photos - Cinema Treasures
an article section - Steven Huber
1950
photos below - Theatre Historical Society of America
via Explore Chicago Collection
via Explore Chicago Collection
via Motion Picture News June 24, 1927
In the mid 1960's the movie house
was converted into a bowling alley
text image - Hidden History of Ravenswood
& Lake View by Patrick Butler
photo - Dr. Jake's Bowling History Blog
matchbook - my collection
reverse side
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inside flap
zoomed from above.jpg)
1963 advertisement
Dr. Jake's Bowling History Blog
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Dr. Jake's Bowling History Blog
and below
badge - Ebay
Only the facade could have been saved -
per seller of Ebay
From Bowling Alley
to Lofts by 2012
Just South and North
of the Community of
Lake View:
commerical space
photo above - Cinema Treasures
photo below via John Swiatek Chicagopedia-Facebook
to the left of the photo
in 1980
Closed in 1984
due to second rate movies
currently the location of a
Ruth Shriman House
affordable housing for seniors
Theatre History of America via Explore Chicago
Across the street and yards away from Irving Park Road on
Sheridan Road in the neighborhood of Buena Park and the Community of Uptown their was this theater that was built in 1927. The seating capacity of this theater was 2540. 
1928 Sanborn Fire
Insurance Map
photos below - Frank's Place blog
Theatre History of America via Explore Chicago
Photos
matchbook - Ebay
1936 image - IDOT Collection
with St. Mary of the Lake steeple in the background
photo - Calumet 412
1947 photo - Chuckman Collection
along Sheridan Road at Irving Park Road
an artist view - Ebay
The grand buildings of Chicago's theaters that once sparkled throughout the city are credited by the insight and influence of A.J. Balaban, Barney Balaban, Sam Katz, and Morris Katz who formed the Balaban & Katz Theatre Corporation in 1925. This group planned theaters like the Uptown, Diversey, Pantheon, Belmont, Rivera, among others.
with St. Mary of the Lake steeple in the background
along Sheridan Road at Irving Park Road
from a Theater
to a Synagogue
in 1951
What to do With it
in 1991
The Demo in 1994
photos - Scott Vermillion
via Living History of Illinois and Chicago-Facebook
via Living History of Illinois and Chicago-Facebook
The Other Theaters
that were in our local area
that were in our local area
My thanks to Brian Wolf via Forgotten Chicago-Facebook
Behind the Curtain
by Urban Remains
'Atmospheric theaters gained popularity in the 1920's, and
are distinguished as an architectural style that used theater design to extend
the cinematic experience, to imaginatively transport the audience with the
decor. a plain dome gave space for projections of clouds, simulating the night
sky with twinkling "star lights," and walls were decorated to appear
as an exotic locale or an outdoor space.' - Urban Remains
Post Notes:
in 2018
photo by Dean Ogren via Greg Harris
According to Uptown Update via the Chicago Tribune another attempt to save the Uptown Theater from the wrecking ball was announced in 2018. Will this time work?? While this theater is not located in Lake View I thought a honorable mention was due to its civic significance and former beauty.
in 2006
photos - Theatre Historical Society of America
photo - Chicago Public Library 1987
photos below - UIC Library via Explore Chicago Collection
1823 W Montrose Avenue
Community of North Central
Picture Palace
4439 N Clark Street
District of Lake View
1914 photo - Cinema Treasures
These posts are exclusively used for educational
purposes. I do not wish to gain monetary profit from this blog nor should
anyone else without permission for the original source - thanks!
