I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?
I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?
I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?
I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?
I still stand by my prediction that Village Theatres (aka Village Entertainment) will be no more by the end of 2008.
I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?
Remember that the link is to a blog about the Village North’s building for sale, nothing official. But it does add to my theory that Village Theatres will be out of business by next year.
That will just leave the LIncoln Village, the North Riverside, the Glenwood and the Village North. Village also has a theatre in VA and one in TN. I think that following the demise of this place, the Lincoln Village and the North Riverside will be next. Hard to say for the Glenwood and the Village North and the two in the South.
It was open until at least the late 1960s/early 1970s. I have a VHS tape called STEEL CITY TRACTION/THE SOUTH SIDE LINES, which deals with Pittsburgh streetcars. The Mount Oliver Theater is seen in a few scenes. Streetcars ran on Brownsville Road until 1971, although their descendants—Light Rail Vehicles—continue to serve other parts of Pittsburgh.
It appears that initially, Village tried to make a go of this place. Especially as an art/indie house. Up above, it is stated that Village renovated this place. What exactly were those renovations? Village always talked about doing renovations on its cinemas but almost rarely did so.
Did you ever get to see a movie here? Y'know, the funny thing is that I believed that almost ALL of the theatres which Ronny R. (a.k.a. Village Entertainment) operated HAD potential if only a good company with vision would operate them!
I was out there on Sunday, 4/15/07, photographing the place. Did you ever get photos of it?
I went over here this afternoon to take some last photos. Somehow, I don’t believe that this will ever be a movie theatre again. There was still a tied bundle of CHICAGO SKYLINE (a free weekly newspaper) from April 12 in front of the theatre.
Speaking of the SKYLINE, a front-page article in that April 12 issue dealt with the Village’s closing. The article stated that the building owners wanted an increase in rent and that Ron Rooding refused to go along with it. So he abruptly closed the theatre.
I lived in this area for a couple of years and I remember seeing HOME ALONE here. As I recall, this was one of the worst chop-jobs I’d ever seen on a sub-divided movie house.
What happened? It looks like they didn’t waste any time closing this place after the one-year lease was up. This explains why there was no answer when I tried calling to get showtimes.
Cinemark Fan and I had a “Deadpool” going as to which Village Entertainment cinema would close. We both picked the Bloomingdale Court. Boy were we wrong! The odd thing is that the Village could still draw a good crowd and still was popular with the locals.
I think that the closing of this place has sealed Village’s fate as a cinema chain. I think that the remaining Village’s will close no later than December, 2008. What say you, Cinemark Fan?
The Granada and the Uptown were both located along what is now the CTA Red Line. The Granada was about ¼ mile south of the Loyola station and the Uptown is just west of the Lawrence station. Up until 1993, the Red Line was known as the Howard-Jackson-Englewood.
The Red Line travels through the State Street Subway and the Blue Line travels through the Dearborn Street Subway. Both were begun as WPA projects in the 1930s. The State Street Subway opened in 1943 according to http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lines/red.html however World War II shortages delayed the opening of the Dearborn Subway until about 1951.
Even today, many cinemas and still-extant former cinemas are located along “L”. Excluding the Downtown Theatres, here’s a line-by-line breakdown:
Blue Line: Gateway, Logan, Congress.
Red Line: Village North, (Brew ‘n’ View at the) Vic, Victory Gardens (ex Biograph), Drury Lane Water Tower (ex Water Tower Cinemas), 600 North Michigan Cinemas, Chatham.
Brown Line: Music Box.
Pink Line: Showplace 14 at Hawthorn Works
Purple Line: Century 12 Theatres/Cine Arts 6
Green Line: Lake
I’ve probably missed a few, and I omitted closed theatres like the Esquire and the 3 Penny.
Chicago’s mass transit system is huge, much like New York’s, but on a scale appropriate for its size. Although we do have subways here, which were mainly built during the Great Depression, the soft clay here makes subways extremely expensive to build. Hence, we have a lot of our system elevated, at street level, or in highway medians. Much of the area’s “L” system is currently under renovation, so transit times are high here.
Suburbanites do come downtown. We have an excellent commuter rail system called Metra, which does run on weekends. The suburbs in Indiana are served by a different commuter rail system, the South Shore Line, which is not a part of Metra, but does run downtown also.
Unfortunately, ALL of Chicago’s rail system, “L” and commuter rail is downtown-oriented. There is still no convenient way to go across town from North to South, not even by driving. We were supposed to have had a Crosstown Expressway years ago, complete with an “L” line in the middle, but the NIMBYs (Not in My Back Yard) didn’t want it. The Uptown is and the Granada was on the North Side, both accessible via the “L”—the Red Line—but not practical for suburbanites and Northwest Siders to get there.
The downtown theatres (Chicago, Oriental, Cadillac Palace, Goodman, LaSalle Bank—formerly the Schubert—, and the Auditorium) all do well in part because of good parking, good public transportation, and the general renaissance of the downtown area. All but the Auditorium are former movie theatres.
Catherine is right, parking would be a big issue for the Uptown. It was an issue too for this place. At least that’s what the “official story” was regarding the Granada. I made a comment regarding this on my May 26, 2006 post, but I’ll repeat it here:
“In the late 1970s or early 1980s, a company called "M and M Amusements” took over this place. M and M attempted to clean the theatre up and began booking top-name entertainment at the time. Such bookings included a stage version of Rocky Horror and concerts such as Cheap Trick and Off Broadway USA (“…Stay in time boy/Don’t get out of line boy). M and M ran into trouble with the community because of the lack of parking. The community supposedly claimed that concert-goers were vandalizing the area, damaging automobiles, etc. As a result, M and M lost its liqour license and was unable to book concerts after that. It was a shame too, because it seemed that M and M really tried to make the Granada Theatre work.
Then again, there were all sorts of politics behind the liqour license suspension…."
As for the Chicago Theatre’s parking situation, since it is Downtown (The Loop), there are plenty of parking lots which will be happy to charge customers upwards of $20.00 to park. But since The Loop has seen a comeback, and it’s transit friendly, many people elect to take public transportation. All CTA L lines are close. Many suburbanites take public transportation to The Loop too. The Metra Electric and the South Shore terminate 2 blocks east of the Chicago and the other Metra lines are but a quick cab ride away.
Life’s Too Shore: I remember that parking deck at Broadway & Lawrence. When I worked for Andy Frain Ushering, which had a contract for the Uptown, I’d use that deck.
I believe that there was a car wash next to this theatre, which was also run by M&R.
Cinemark Fan
FYI, the December 20, 2002 edition of the Chicago Sun-Times shows Spirited Away (Digital Prjection Presentation!), Spirited Away, and Trapped!
I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?
I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?
I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?
I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?
Cinemark Fan,
I still stand by my prediction that Village Theatres (aka Village Entertainment) will be no more by the end of 2008.
I did some research a few weeks ago, and when Village first became a chain circa 2000-2002, the company DID advertise its cinemas and did appear to be a legitimate chain and not a “crash-and-burn-operation”. The December 20, 2002 edition of The Chicago Tribune shows the following cinemas that Village advertised and the movies playing there:
HINSDALE: Lord of the Ring: The Two Towers
GLENWOOD: Two Weeks Notice, Wild Thornberry’s, & Lord of the Rings 2
BURNHAM PLAZA: Gangs of NY, Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Empire
BLOOMINGDALE: Gangs of NY, Two Weeks Notice, Lord of The Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis, Die Another Day.
STRATFORD: Wild Thornberry’s , Lord Of the Rings 2, Hot Chick, Harry Potter & the Chambers Secrets, Analyzze That.
WATER TOWER: Personal Velocity, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, Emporer’s Club,Ararat.
BIOGRAPH: Analyze That, Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of New York.
VILLAGE: Gangs of NY, Rodger Dodger, Emporer’s Club, Man From Elysian Fields.
VILLAGE NORTH: Lord of the Rings 2, Drumline, Star Trek Nemesis.
GOLF GLEN: Two Weeks Notice, Gangs of NY, Wild Thornberry’s, Lord of the Rings 2, Harry Potter, and Analyze That.
Apparantly, Village Entertainment was promoting its cinemas and had decent bookings (although it still gets decent bookings). And Water Tower was showing art films! The questions are what happened and when did Village become a “crash-and-burn” operation?
I believe that the Tivoli in Downers Grove and the Ogden 6 in Naperville (both Classic Cinemas) charge only $3.00.
Cinemark Fan…
Remember that the link is to a blog about the Village North’s building for sale, nothing official. But it does add to my theory that Village Theatres will be out of business by next year.
Is this operated by the same folks who operate the Norwin?
Here’s the website for the bingo hall:
www.goldentiarabingo.com/
That will just leave the LIncoln Village, the North Riverside, the Glenwood and the Village North. Village also has a theatre in VA and one in TN. I think that following the demise of this place, the Lincoln Village and the North Riverside will be next. Hard to say for the Glenwood and the Village North and the two in the South.
It was open until at least the late 1960s/early 1970s. I have a VHS tape called STEEL CITY TRACTION/THE SOUTH SIDE LINES, which deals with Pittsburgh streetcars. The Mount Oliver Theater is seen in a few scenes. Streetcars ran on Brownsville Road until 1971, although their descendants—Light Rail Vehicles—continue to serve other parts of Pittsburgh.
It appears that initially, Village tried to make a go of this place. Especially as an art/indie house. Up above, it is stated that Village renovated this place. What exactly were those renovations? Village always talked about doing renovations on its cinemas but almost rarely did so.
Cinemark Fan,
Did you ever get to see a movie here? Y'know, the funny thing is that I believed that almost ALL of the theatres which Ronny R. (a.k.a. Village Entertainment) operated HAD potential if only a good company with vision would operate them!
I was out there on Sunday, 4/15/07, photographing the place. Did you ever get photos of it?
I went over here this afternoon to take some last photos. Somehow, I don’t believe that this will ever be a movie theatre again. There was still a tied bundle of CHICAGO SKYLINE (a free weekly newspaper) from April 12 in front of the theatre.
Speaking of the SKYLINE, a front-page article in that April 12 issue dealt with the Village’s closing. The article stated that the building owners wanted an increase in rent and that Ron Rooding refused to go along with it. So he abruptly closed the theatre.
Wasn’t the ill-fated Loews 20 North Versailles theatre on or near this site?
I lived in this area for a couple of years and I remember seeing HOME ALONE here. As I recall, this was one of the worst chop-jobs I’d ever seen on a sub-divided movie house.
The movie ads for this week show GRIND HOUSE as playing at the Village. It would have been appropriate.
What happened? It looks like they didn’t waste any time closing this place after the one-year lease was up. This explains why there was no answer when I tried calling to get showtimes.
Cinemark Fan and I had a “Deadpool” going as to which Village Entertainment cinema would close. We both picked the Bloomingdale Court. Boy were we wrong! The odd thing is that the Village could still draw a good crowd and still was popular with the locals.
I think that the closing of this place has sealed Village’s fate as a cinema chain. I think that the remaining Village’s will close no later than December, 2008. What say you, Cinemark Fan?
The Old Orchard was a block or two south of Old Orchard on
Skokie Boulevard.
Also, Doug D.
1947 was when the CTA took over from the Chicago Surface Lines and the Chicago Rapid Transit.
The Granada and the Uptown were both located along what is now the CTA Red Line. The Granada was about ¼ mile south of the Loyola station and the Uptown is just west of the Lawrence station. Up until 1993, the Red Line was known as the Howard-Jackson-Englewood.
The Red Line travels through the State Street Subway and the Blue Line travels through the Dearborn Street Subway. Both were begun as WPA projects in the 1930s. The State Street Subway opened in 1943 according to http://www.chicago-l.org/operations/lines/red.html however World War II shortages delayed the opening of the Dearborn Subway until about 1951.
Even today, many cinemas and still-extant former cinemas are located along “L”. Excluding the Downtown Theatres, here’s a line-by-line breakdown:
Blue Line: Gateway, Logan, Congress.
Red Line: Village North, (Brew ‘n’ View at the) Vic, Victory Gardens (ex Biograph), Drury Lane Water Tower (ex Water Tower Cinemas), 600 North Michigan Cinemas, Chatham.
Brown Line: Music Box.
Pink Line: Showplace 14 at Hawthorn Works
Purple Line: Century 12 Theatres/Cine Arts 6
Green Line: Lake
I’ve probably missed a few, and I omitted closed theatres like the Esquire and the 3 Penny.
Geo,
Chicago’s mass transit system is huge, much like New York’s, but on a scale appropriate for its size. Although we do have subways here, which were mainly built during the Great Depression, the soft clay here makes subways extremely expensive to build. Hence, we have a lot of our system elevated, at street level, or in highway medians. Much of the area’s “L” system is currently under renovation, so transit times are high here.
Suburbanites do come downtown. We have an excellent commuter rail system called Metra, which does run on weekends. The suburbs in Indiana are served by a different commuter rail system, the South Shore Line, which is not a part of Metra, but does run downtown also.
Unfortunately, ALL of Chicago’s rail system, “L” and commuter rail is downtown-oriented. There is still no convenient way to go across town from North to South, not even by driving. We were supposed to have had a Crosstown Expressway years ago, complete with an “L” line in the middle, but the NIMBYs (Not in My Back Yard) didn’t want it. The Uptown is and the Granada was on the North Side, both accessible via the “L”—the Red Line—but not practical for suburbanites and Northwest Siders to get there.
The downtown theatres (Chicago, Oriental, Cadillac Palace, Goodman, LaSalle Bank—formerly the Schubert—, and the Auditorium) all do well in part because of good parking, good public transportation, and the general renaissance of the downtown area. All but the Auditorium are former movie theatres.
Geo,
Catherine is right, parking would be a big issue for the Uptown. It was an issue too for this place. At least that’s what the “official story” was regarding the Granada. I made a comment regarding this on my May 26, 2006 post, but I’ll repeat it here:
“In the late 1970s or early 1980s, a company called "M and M Amusements” took over this place. M and M attempted to clean the theatre up and began booking top-name entertainment at the time. Such bookings included a stage version of Rocky Horror and concerts such as Cheap Trick and Off Broadway USA (“…Stay in time boy/Don’t get out of line boy). M and M ran into trouble with the community because of the lack of parking. The community supposedly claimed that concert-goers were vandalizing the area, damaging automobiles, etc. As a result, M and M lost its liqour license and was unable to book concerts after that. It was a shame too, because it seemed that M and M really tried to make the Granada Theatre work.
Then again, there were all sorts of politics behind the liqour license suspension…."
As for the Chicago Theatre’s parking situation, since it is Downtown (The Loop), there are plenty of parking lots which will be happy to charge customers upwards of $20.00 to park. But since The Loop has seen a comeback, and it’s transit friendly, many people elect to take public transportation. All CTA L lines are close. Many suburbanites take public transportation to The Loop too. The Metra Electric and the South Shore terminate 2 blocks east of the Chicago and the other Metra lines are but a quick cab ride away.
Life’s Too Shore: I remember that parking deck at Broadway & Lawrence. When I worked for Andy Frain Ushering, which had a contract for the Uptown, I’d use that deck.