Skokie Theatre
7924 Lincoln Avenue,
Skokie,
IL
60077
7924 Lincoln Avenue,
Skokie,
IL
60077
3 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 43 of 43 comments
The rebuilt marquee is pretty cool. The “SKOKIE” letters have been replaced on either side above the attraction boards.
The rapid transit station nearest to the Skokie/Niles Center Theatre was Oakton Street. To get a better idea of what the theatre’s nieghborhood looked like in the 1930s, click on the link below. This view of the only “population center” better illustrates my above point. By the 1930s, many of Chicago’s other “close-in” suburbs had been developed, yet Niles Center/Skokie was still sparse.
http://www.chicago-l.org/stations/oakton.html
It is altogether conceivable that westerns and other movies could have been shot right outside the Skokie Theatre/Niles Center Theatre. I have a booklet, written by Graham Garfield, on the re-opening of the former Skokie/Dempster railway station. In it, Garfield says that Niles Center was originally plotted (sp?) in the early 1900s and that in the 1920s, the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee RR built a new route thru Skokie Valley. Service between Dempster Street and Howard Street was to be provided by the Chicago Rapid Transit Co, a predecessor to the Chicago Transit Authority.
The idea was for the CNSM to have a bypass around its original route and to start development in the area. Although the real estate lots had been sold and the streets planned and named, the Depression of the 1930s killed this idea. World War II further delayed the development of Niles Center, which by that time was re-named Skokie. The CTA took over from the CRT in 1947 and abandoned the rapid transit route in 1948 because of low ridership (the CNSM RR hung on until 1963). Development of the area began in earnest in the 1950s and 1960s and in 1964, the CTA revived the rapid transit route.
What little development there was in Niles Center/Skokie at the time was centered around Oakton Street, not far from the theatre. Again, it is possible that the area could have been used as a movie lot. To get a good view of what Niles Center/Skokie looked like in the 1920s, click on the following link and then scroll 2/3rds the way down:
http://www.chicago-l.org/stations/crawford.html
Yes, an earlier press release from Cavalcade of Music said “The cinema, once known as the Niles Center Theater, was built around 1915 and showed silent films, some of which were shot less than 100 yards away. Chicago’s Essanay Films used Lincoln Avenue as a location in many early Western movies.” So this was probably misinterpreted by the article writer. Some of the other photos on DigitalPast note that the theater was owned by a grocer two doors down from the theater.
I’m not sure that’s right about it being a studio lot. I know that the area had been very rustic when it was first opened, so silent film crews sometimes used the street as a set for Westerns, but I don’t know that the theater itself was a studio.
That web site has pictures of the theatre before they took it apart. Makes me sad, as I remember going there as a kid. All I can say…again…is that I hope the community gets a first-class venue out of the deal.
Also the facade is terra cotta, not vitrolite. At least the lower part. View link I guess they’ll be replacing the marquee too at least
I have to wonder what, exactly, was the point of using this building for their music hall. They’ve totally destroyed any trace of the old theater besides the ceiling. I don’t see how the brick walls of this theater are any different from any other building. At least the facade is left.
Took a look myself. It’s basically been gutted from the front doors to the back wall now. The marguee has been stripped down to it’s frame as well. Looks like the auditorium ceiling and the projection booth are all that’s left. Floor has been broken up, and sidewalls stripped to brick. Interesting to note that there is apparently no basement. I don’t understand why all of this had to happen, given the stated purpose of the renovation. Maybe time will tell. I hope we get a first-class venue out of the deal.
Too bad. Another classic suburban cinema, full of community memories, is gone.
The renovation is pretty extreme, it appears. I went by today and the lobby was completely gone, although the auditorium was pretty intact, and a huge hole was ripped in the side, presumably for stage doors. It will be very interesting to see the end result.
I’m glad to see someone is making use of the Skokie theatre. It was always small but it was a nice theatre in a nice location.
Oh, that’s good to hear. I never got around to seeing a movie there when it was open.
Based on location. Skokie has had 31 Screens built in the last few years. Also i’ve heard rumblings that a retirement home may be built there. The location is in downtown skokie, and it’s prime for redevelopment, with a good amount of open space. Also of note is that the theater was run by Jim Burrows, who operates the 3 Penny and in the past has operated many old theatres on the north side.
Why is it quite likely to be demolished? What’s the news? Seems like it could be a viable building.
Here is the new link for the Skokie as the Niles Center, here here in context, and Here is how it looked in 1963. At closing, it looked largely the same, except that all neon was removed, as were the “Skokie” signs. The marquee was painted burgandy with cream highlights to match the facade. Recent photos are on Cinematour. It seems quite likely that it will be demolished.
Does anyone know why the theater closed? It really filled a niche and I for one will miss it.
If some movie lover were smart, they’d buy it and open it back up again. With Skokie’s diverse population, I bet money could be made showing a different ethnic film each night of the week. (For example Mandarin Monday, Tagalog Tuesday, then Hebrew, Hindustani, Russian, etc. with maybe a second run or art film on the weekend.) There would be no competition and a broad local market. It would likely even draw crowds from srrounding towns. I remember coming out of an early evening Hollywood movie there and seeing crowds lined up for that nights' Bollywood production.
Maybe even the city, the public library (which already rents videos and shows movies) or some other public interest group – or an association of groups – could take this on in the interests of diversity and quality of live in Skokie. The city of Chicago puts on movies in the parks during the summer. Skokie could be known for thier ongoing foriegn films festival and be recognized not only for it’s diversity of people, but for it’s cultural offerings as well.
The Skokie Theatre is now closed (again)
Here is a picture of the Skokie in its (mostly) current form, from 1963