Studebaker Theater & Playhouse Theater

Incredibly, in 1917 the Studebaker was closed only 5 weeks for renovations. http://archive.org/stream/exhibitorstra00newy#page/710/mode/1up

Great news. A theater once more and not demolished or converted into some stupid retail space. :)

The newspapers were a little unclear. “The Fine Arts Theatre” and “The Fine Arts Music Hall” both appear in the Tribune from 1908-1912. I suspect the ‘music hall’ references were talking about Assembly/Curtiss Hall on the 10th floor but it’s not really clear. I’ll take it down and re-edit.

We’re not not “bitching” about bad writing; we’re mentioning the fact that the description has way too many historical inaccuracies. For an excellent piece of writing on the history of the Fine Arts Theatres, and other Downtown Chicago movie houses, pick up a copy of “Downtown Chicago’s Historic Movie Theatres”, by Konrad Schiecke. I couldn’t have written it better myself.

Yes, this is a particularly inaccurate and confusing entry.

Actually the Playhouse was University Hall until about in 1903, when it was renamed Music Hall and may have gained its balcony, renamed again in 1912, when it was rebuilt as the Fine Arts Theatre which it remained until 1917, when it was renamed the Playhouse, until it was renamed World Playhouse in 1932. Oddly, in 1917, the Studebaker was run by Jones, Linick, and Shaefer while the Playhouse was run by Alfred Hamburger, a competitor.

Here are recent views of the Playhouse and Studebaker

If anyone has any stories about going to/ working at this threatre in its adult days, I would love to hear them. I am chronicling the histories of adult theatres in the US. Please contact me at Thanks!

Another image in the lobby by the manned elevator.
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Tim,thanks for the article and your hard work putting it together one has to have worked at a theatre to want to take the time to research and write it up. Thanks.And because you worked in the business it means more to us that did work in a theatre. Has Too.

jwballer, The Studebaker was the original name of the 1200 seat theatre. It was called the Fine Arts Theatre #1 from December, 1982 until November, 2000. The smaller theatre had several different names; it was called the World Playhouse beginning in the early 1930s until December, 1982 when it was known as the Fine Arts #2 until it closed in November, 2000. When M&R Theatres re-opened these two theatres on Christmas Day, 1982, the newspaper ads had the new theatres advertised as “Fine Arts” but underneath that term, in parenthesis, it said “Studebaker/World Playhouse.”

Well now that’s some good news. Thanks for posting.

Hello, my name is Tim O'Neill. I worked as usher at the M&R Fine Arts Theatres from 1983-1985. I have to correct some information that is reported on this page. Now keep in mind, I would have to take a leave of abscence from my job in order to conduct a thourough research on the 111 year-old history of the two individual theaters located on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building. This information that I have comes from people who worked at the Fine Arts Building while I was an M&R employee. Okay, what I’ve been told or I have read about: The theater on the left opened as the Studebaker in 1898; the smaller theater on the right opened in 1901, according to THS. The smaller theater had various different names during it’s existence. I can’t remember in which order but the smaller theater has been known as the Fine Arts Theater, Orchestra Hall, the Playhouse Theater, the World Playhouse Theater, the World Theatre, and finally M&R Fine Arts 2 (later Loews, Sony, and Loews Cineplex). The Studebaker orginally opened as a concert hall. In the 1920s the interior was gutted and the auditorium was completely re-done. The only thing that survives from 1898 is the ceiling. The smaller theater has undergone changes as well and became a movie house in 1933. The Studebaker showed some movies during the silent era as well. Throughout the 30s through the 70s, the Studebaker was mainly a live stage house, while the World Playhouse was a movie house. I had heard that the World Playouse was used as a church after it closed as a movie house. In 1982, M&R Amusements took over the Studebaker and World Playhouse and began operating the two theatres as the Fine Arts 1&2. It opened on Christmas Day with MOONLIGHTING in Theatre 1 (Studebaker) and VERONIKA VOSS in Theatre 2 (World Playhouse). One year later, M&R closed Theatre 1 down for a few days and built a wall on the stage. Behind that wall they built Theatre 3 on the Studebaker stage. They converted one of the orginal dressing rooms into a projection booth. In the summer of 1984, M&R literally turned Theatre 3 around by placing the screen on the south end of the auditorium and re-sloping the floor. They built a twin booth and then built Theatre 4 on the stage of the World Playhouse. They had to build a wall on the stage of the World Playhouse. Now the Fine Arts had 4 auditorioums. Theatre 1 approx. 1200 seats; Theatre 2 approx. 550 seats; Theatre 3 240 seats; Theatre 4 158 seats. The theatres remained in business until November 2000.