Comments from Paul Fortini

Showing 551 - 575 of 654 comments

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Apollo's 2000 on Apr 4, 2006 at 6:10 am

In the book UNEXPECTED CHICAGOLAND by Carmilio Jose Vergara and Timothy Samuelson (ISBN: 1565847016, December 2001, New Press, The)
the signpost rammed thru the face of the goddess is described as
“Chicago’s Pinnochio”. If you look closely at the photo above, you can see it. It is the bottom post at the bottom “0”.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Nortown Theater on Apr 3, 2006 at 8:06 am

When and how did they tri-plex this theatre? Did they divide the theatre into three auditoriums? Or did they make two auditoriums for the 1st floor and a 3rd one out of the balcony.

Also, I beleive that Plitt and later Cineplex-Odeon owned/operated the Nortown.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Paradise Theater on Mar 30, 2006 at 10:11 am

JG,

For decent photos of the Chicago Tivoli Theatre, you can find them in history books about Chicago. An excellent example is LOST CHICAGO by David Gerrard Lowe (ISBN: 0823028712). It was in reading that book in 1981 that I discovered how much the PARADISE THEATRE album cover resembled the Tivoli.

If you look closely at the marquee on the STYX album, you’ll see how it resembles a genie’s hat. The artist may have, however, used the basic archeitecture of the Granada for his model.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Paradise Theater on Mar 30, 2006 at 5:02 am

It was said that the artist who painted the cover to Styx’s PARADISE THEATRE used the Granada Theatre (which was extant and hosting concerts at the time) as his model. However, the Granada had a modern marquee by that time.

However, I’ve always thought that if you look at the marquee for the Tivoli (the demolished on in Chicago, not the one in Downers Grove), you’ll notice some striking similarities.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Adelphi Theatre on Mar 8, 2006 at 4:08 pm

If you look at the comments under the Beekman Theatre in New York (Manhattan), you’ll find a comment that says we seem to be regressing back to the bad old days of tearing down anything old. He is right. As land values go up, we will continue to see dollar signs flicker in the eyes of the developers. These people see no value in anything cultural or dare I say in individual and humanistic. The Gateway Theatre, even though it is profitable, has been threatned by condo development. In that theatre’s nieghborhood, Jefferson Park, the heart was ripped out of the shopping district for a new CVS.

I’m not opposed to condo development. Look at how Arlington Heights redeveloped its downtown with condos. BUT, they also included a performing arts center and a movie theatre. Culture was taken into consideration. And in my area, the South Loop, as I’ve said elsewhere, it has made sense to put condos into what was formerly a desolate area.

But what I see going on in Chicago, and I’m sure other cities, is the equivalent of what has happened in our suburbs. In the suburbs, people buy houses as “tear-downs” and replace them with “McMansions” that are not at all harmonius with their neighbors and their lot sizes. In the city, these new condo developments are going in with no sense of scale or harmony to the surrounding community. It’s sort of like wedging a Hummer into a parking space for a Ford Focus!

I’m waiting for the day when the developers deem that the land the Art Institute or the Chicago Historical Society sit on to be “too valuable.” Sadly, I say this only half-jokingly.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Regal City North on Mar 7, 2006 at 10:30 am

I should say that the Target store will be at the corner of Broadway & Wilson, the site of a former CTA rail yard. The complex was to have been called “Wilson Yards.”

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Regal Webster Place 11 on Mar 7, 2006 at 10:29 am

I should say that the Target store will be at the corner of Broadway & Wilson, the site of a former CTA rail yard. The complex was to have been called “Wilson Yards.”

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Regal Webster Place 11 on Mar 7, 2006 at 10:28 am

Per a 2/28/06 article in CRAINS CHICAGO BUSINESS, Keresotas Theatres has abandoned its plan to build atop a new Target store. They cited the cost as being too high. Instead, the chain will try to acquire the City North 14 and the Webster Place from AMC/Loews.

Here is the article

View link

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Regal City North on Mar 7, 2006 at 10:22 am

Per a 2/28/06 article in CRAINS CHICAGO BUSINESS, Keresotas Theatres has abandoned its plan to build atop a new Target store. They cited the cost as being too high. Instead, the chain will try to acquire the City North 14 and the Webster Place from AMC/Loews.

Here is the article

View link

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about McClurg Court Cinemas on Mar 6, 2006 at 7:27 am

Then this was not a part of Plitt or Essaness? I thought that at one point it was. I plan on getting over to the Chicago Public Library (Harold Washington Library) to research old movie ads between 1975 and 2005. That way, I can determine who owned what.

It’s a shame what Cineplex-Odeon and Loews-Cineplex did to once fine theatres such as the McClurg, the Biograph, Chestnut Station, the Fine Arts, etc in their final years (i.e. showing sub-standard fare).

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Clark Theatre on Mar 5, 2006 at 5:40 am

So there were two theatres on Clark Street named “Adelphi!”

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about McClurg Court Cinemas on Mar 4, 2006 at 9:47 am

Cinemark Fan,

I thought that you could call your chain “Cinemart”, a combination of “cinema” and “art.” But that sounds too much like the convience store on the SIMPSONS, “Kwik-e-mart.” However, you could split the words and call it “Cinema Art.”

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Loews 20 North Versailles on Mar 3, 2006 at 6:48 am

Yet another good article

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/05216/548357.stm

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Loews 20 North Versailles on Mar 3, 2006 at 6:45 am

Found an article on this place

View link

And an article with a photo

View link

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Loews 20 North Versailles on Mar 3, 2006 at 6:36 am

Does anybody have photos of this place or know of any photos? I’d like to see what it looked like when it was in business and as it is now.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Paradise Theater on Mar 3, 2006 at 4:19 am

Jim Rankin, if one tries finding the photos on the link you indicated, they are not on the website. To be specific, one actually has to go to the Theatre Historical Society in Elmhurst, IL (it’s in the same building as the York Theatre).

Thanks for the information. I have every other Friday off from work and I’ll be sure to visit the Society.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Tivoli Theatre on Mar 3, 2006 at 3:55 am

From JAZZ AGE CHICAGO, here is an interesting article about a black dentist who sued the owners of the Tivoli.

View link

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Morton Grove Theatre on Mar 1, 2006 at 8:04 am

The comment above confirms what I’d rather suspected. As I recall, the theatre always did great business. Just what the community needed—another boring shoe outlet selling footwear that falls apart after a couple of months.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Deerbrook Cinema on Mar 1, 2006 at 7:50 am

Per Jeff K’s comment above, this theatre can easily be seen from the Edens Spur (I-94), which connects the Edens Expressway with the Tri-State Tollway.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Paradise Theater on Mar 1, 2006 at 5:51 am

Getting back to the subject of actual movie theatres, and not just CDs about movie theatres, I recall reading that the basement or possibly the foundation of the Paradise Theatre was re-used in the construction of the supermarket.

Does anybody remember which chain (I.e. Jewel, National, A&P) the supermarket belonged to, if any?

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Paradise Theater on Mar 1, 2006 at 5:48 am

I recently had the chance to “re-visit” Styx’s PARADISE THEATRE CD and I know I have the old LP lying around somewhere. While it was a great trip during memory lane—I was a senior in high school when it was released—I don’t think that the CD has aged well. This is in common with a lot of 70s album rock. But I do give Styx credit for what they were trying to say with the album and it certainly was an ambitious project for its time. I recall that the local music charts in late 1980 and early 1981 were dominated by just two albums, both by Illinois bands: PARADISE THEATRE and REO Speedwagon’s HI INFIDELITY.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about McClurg Court Cinemas on Feb 28, 2006 at 9:11 am

Cinemark Fan,

I wish you a lot of luck if you can re-open a place like this. You will have some pretty stiff competition with a certain theatre a block away from the McClurg (one that bears the number “21”). For other mainstream fare, you would be in competition with the nearby 600 North theatre and for the “arty-er” fare, you’d be up against the Esquire.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about AMC Desert Star 15 on Feb 22, 2006 at 5:34 pm

I was in this theatre recently. I was stuck in the Wisconsin Dells/Lake Delton area because my Amtrak train to Chicago was almost 5 hours late. This is one of the best multiplexes I have ever been in! The auditorium I was in had terrific sightlines and one of the largest movie screens I have ever seen.

If you have any further information on this theatre, please contribute it!

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Berwyn Theatre on Feb 21, 2006 at 8:24 am

A friend of mine who has lived most of his life in Cicero told me that after the Berwyn closed as a film theatre, its owners tried to use it as a concert hall. He vaguely remembers Kris Kristofferson playing there.

Paul Fortini
Paul Fortini commented about Lincoln Village 1-6 on Feb 16, 2006 at 1:21 pm

The L-V is in a very large building. It is located next to the North Shore Channel, which is a man-made canal (and known as the
“S – – t River” because it serves the Metropolitan Sanitary District). You can actually see the L-V from the Church Street bridge (if you look hard enough) over the channel. Church Street is some 3 ½ miles north of the L-V.

Also, does Village have any upgrades planned for this theatre as it does for the North Riverside?