My Dad used to call it the Pay-she-oh, (like ratio). Perhaps just a neighborhood affectation. In all my years on the west side, we always called it the PAT-ee-oh, just like the place where you have your barbecue grill and lawn furniture. Of course, the Hispanic customers would call it POT-y-oh (As it is pronounced in Spanish)
Some of the statuary and fountains from the Paradise went to the Chateau Royale, a banquet hall built out of the Iris Theater at 5747 W. Chicago Ave. I remember attending weddings and functions there and admiring the beautiful fixtures. The building still exists today, except as a church.
Let’s see, no parking. How about the Music Box on Southport, an artsy little theater? The Music Box arranges for parking at a local school. Patrons take cabs, hustle for street parking, even ride the bus. Where there’s a will, etc. It’s easy to point out all the disincentives, including the major one of people staying home and watching DVD’s and movies on cable.
You know, as the operator of a tourist attraction, I’m in the entertainment business, so I’m always looking for that hook, that reason to get people to come and have some fun. That’s what we need to do here. I had a guy working for me, that whenever I asked him to do something, he would give me 10 reasons why it couldn’t be done. (we’re too far away, too far from other venues,etc.) I would then ask him to give me one reason why it could be done. He couldn’t, it was more fun being a naysayer, I suppose. Guess what, he doesn’t work here any more.
By doing research marketing and targeted promotion and advertising, and scheduling special events, we have increased our visitor count annually, even in these uncertain economic times.
OK, Tim, this is my final post on this subject. Remember, getting in the last word doesn’t mean you win. Nobody wins a p….ng contest.
You know, not everyone has to drive. With the price of gas pushing through the roof, public transportation to the door of this wonderful theater is readily available. Yes, there are restaurants and bars nearby, actually a very vibrant neighborhood. Secondary screening rooms could be established in the upstairs apartments/business spaces which flank the theater.
I went to the nightclub in the 60’s, which was known as the Holiday Ballroom North. It was still very much like a movie theater inside, except that the floor was leveled for dancing. The entire block and theater was leveled in the 70’s to make room for a strip mall and the Jefferson Park Elevated station bus terminal.
I find your comment to be rather snobbish. If you would notice in my posting that there are foreign-born people living in the neighborhood, so perhaps they might like to see foreign language films. At one time, the Patio showed East Indian and Polish films, or maybe you would prefer French and Italian.
Also, people have cars and can drive to the theater or take public transportation right to the door. Perhaps you would like to check out the former Gateway Theater (now Copernicus Center), just 20 minutes from the Patio. Literally every weekend there are foreign language films, classics, etc., being shown there to a packed house. And the parking lot is filled. Mostly with the cars of middle and working class folks.
I lived in the area for nearly 10 years until recently. It is actually, a great middle and working class neighborhood, safe and clean. Neat, tidy brick homes, a lot of Eastern European immigrant families. Closest theater is far away in the burbs. It would be a good venue for art and foreign language films.
The renovation to date has only resulted in opening a video game room in the former lobby. Other work continues in the auditorium.
When it was built, it had a “swamp” roof for cooling, which was like having a small lake on top of the building. It cause a great deal of difficulty during renovation because of water damage.
The Iris closed in 1952 and was converted to a very plush banquet hall, The Chateau Royale. I attended many functions there and it was still elegant. The owners had statuary that had been in the Paradise theater previously.
After the neighborhood ran down, it became a church.
A fun place. We used to go there to see horror films, which were its specialty in the 50’s. It also was one of the only theaters where you could buy hot dogs in the lobby. What a smell would greet you when you came in the doors!
I remember this theater as the Rockne. It was renamed after Knute Rockne of Fighting Irish fame after his untimely demise in plane crash. It was always a neat place to watch a film, especially since it was one of the few neighborhood places that had a balcony.
Unfortunately, it became a porno house in the 70,s. Nice to see it’s a church now.
Excuse me, Jim, but the i in Spanish is pronounced ee (long e). it is the e in Spanish that has the long a sound.
Peace
My Dad used to call it the Pay-she-oh, (like ratio). Perhaps just a neighborhood affectation. In all my years on the west side, we always called it the PAT-ee-oh, just like the place where you have your barbecue grill and lawn furniture. Of course, the Hispanic customers would call it POT-y-oh (As it is pronounced in Spanish)
The intersecting street at Division where this theater is located, is Mayfield, not Mansfield.
I remember going to Saturday matinees at the Park in the early 50’s.
For a dime, you got 10 cartoons, newsreel, serial chapter, and a feature. Needless to say, the cartoon-a-thons on TV effectively killed this business.
John Ford’s “The Quiet Man” enjoyed a several months run in first release here, due to the heavy Irish immigrant presence in the neighborhood.
As an aside, the wading pool in Austin Park across the street, was known as the “Mud Hole”, because that’s what it was before WWII.
Some of the statuary and fountains from the Paradise went to the Chateau Royale, a banquet hall built out of the Iris Theater at 5747 W. Chicago Ave. I remember attending weddings and functions there and admiring the beautiful fixtures. The building still exists today, except as a church.
Let’s see, no parking. How about the Music Box on Southport, an artsy little theater? The Music Box arranges for parking at a local school. Patrons take cabs, hustle for street parking, even ride the bus. Where there’s a will, etc. It’s easy to point out all the disincentives, including the major one of people staying home and watching DVD’s and movies on cable.
You know, as the operator of a tourist attraction, I’m in the entertainment business, so I’m always looking for that hook, that reason to get people to come and have some fun. That’s what we need to do here. I had a guy working for me, that whenever I asked him to do something, he would give me 10 reasons why it couldn’t be done. (we’re too far away, too far from other venues,etc.) I would then ask him to give me one reason why it could be done. He couldn’t, it was more fun being a naysayer, I suppose. Guess what, he doesn’t work here any more.
By doing research marketing and targeted promotion and advertising, and scheduling special events, we have increased our visitor count annually, even in these uncertain economic times.
OK, Tim, this is my final post on this subject. Remember, getting in the last word doesn’t mean you win. Nobody wins a p….ng contest.
Peace.
You know, not everyone has to drive. With the price of gas pushing through the roof, public transportation to the door of this wonderful theater is readily available. Yes, there are restaurants and bars nearby, actually a very vibrant neighborhood. Secondary screening rooms could be established in the upstairs apartments/business spaces which flank the theater.
All you need is a vision. (And money)
I went to the nightclub in the 60’s, which was known as the Holiday Ballroom North. It was still very much like a movie theater inside, except that the floor was leveled for dancing. The entire block and theater was leveled in the 70’s to make room for a strip mall and the Jefferson Park Elevated station bus terminal.
I find your comment to be rather snobbish. If you would notice in my posting that there are foreign-born people living in the neighborhood, so perhaps they might like to see foreign language films. At one time, the Patio showed East Indian and Polish films, or maybe you would prefer French and Italian.
Also, people have cars and can drive to the theater or take public transportation right to the door. Perhaps you would like to check out the former Gateway Theater (now Copernicus Center), just 20 minutes from the Patio. Literally every weekend there are foreign language films, classics, etc., being shown there to a packed house. And the parking lot is filled. Mostly with the cars of middle and working class folks.
Remember what happens when you make assumptions.
Peace.
I lived in the area for nearly 10 years until recently. It is actually, a great middle and working class neighborhood, safe and clean. Neat, tidy brick homes, a lot of Eastern European immigrant families. Closest theater is far away in the burbs. It would be a good venue for art and foreign language films.
The renovation to date has only resulted in opening a video game room in the former lobby. Other work continues in the auditorium.
When it was built, it had a “swamp” roof for cooling, which was like having a small lake on top of the building. It cause a great deal of difficulty during renovation because of water damage.
The Iris closed in 1952 and was converted to a very plush banquet hall, The Chateau Royale. I attended many functions there and it was still elegant. The owners had statuary that had been in the Paradise theater previously.
After the neighborhood ran down, it became a church.
A fun place. We used to go there to see horror films, which were its specialty in the 50’s. It also was one of the only theaters where you could buy hot dogs in the lobby. What a smell would greet you when you came in the doors!
I remember this theater as the Rockne. It was renamed after Knute Rockne of Fighting Irish fame after his untimely demise in plane crash. It was always a neat place to watch a film, especially since it was one of the few neighborhood places that had a balcony.
Unfortunately, it became a porno house in the 70,s. Nice to see it’s a church now.