Golf Mill Theatres 1-2-3

I got back from seeing “Casino Royale” at the new Showplace 12 a while ago. I found the theatre to be really great for a megaplex. The design is a departure from Kerasotes older designs, which is a good thing if you ask me. The box office and entrance is around the back of the mall. The entrance and ticket booth is very identical to River East, the lobby is very spacious and has a lot of cream color and a bit of brown in there(from what I can remember right now). The bathroom’s got a lot of toilets and stalls to make sure nobody has to wait. And now for the auditoriums: I was in theatre 1, one of the “big units”. The screen could’ve been a lot larger, but that could’ve cut into the parking spaces. The seats are indentical to River East(red cushion, black backs), except Showplace 12’s are a bit wider and longer. The walls have red and black drapes/padding with lights on them. The sound was perfect, just what I hoped for. “Happy Feet” was in theatre 2, the second “big unit”. Before we left, I snuck into #3, which was playing “let’s go to Prison”. That room is almost like a medium screen at Randhurst or River East. I’ll post more in a few.

Guess it’s time for someone to submit a new entry

Good point. But Friday’s showtimes even look like 10 or 11 screens.

Notice this is only 10 screens, so 2 must not be finished. I’m guessing it’s the two 500-seat “Big Units”

Actually, CinemarkFan, there’s a preview day today with 1 dollar seats all day. Charity for Big Brothers-Big Sisters. Not new releases, though.

Thanks again for the great details, Mr. Jensen. I was under the presumption that the new Glen theater had incorporated some of the old Naval structure. You would certainly know better than me. It is, however, right next to the Hangar One area.

I grew up in the area from the early 70s on, so that was a little before my time. I’m sure much of it was still the same in the 70s. I grew up with a hundred acres of cornfield in my backyard and beyond that was the base runways. The thing I miss most are the summer air shows. I’d park up with friends along Euclid Ave to watch them every year, including the last one in ‘94.

Glenview/Northbrook is certainly not a bad place to live today by any means. But I have come to the realization that it little resembles the community I knew growing up (this is the same phenomena that happened with my dad and Oak Park). As far as Golf Mill and Niles goes…Yikes! I think there’s no question that it was a nicer place then. It did, however, begin getting a somewhat seedy reputation by the late 70s, at least in comparison to Glenview.

Listen, I tracked down an old Chicago Tribune scan for that fire. It was on happened on the morning of May 13, 1967, so your memory serves you well! Apparently, it took out the entire recreation facility (bowling alley, et. al.) If you’d like me to email it to you, just let me know:

I don’t see why base theatres are not counted. Mason Rapp did work in creating an auditorium at Great Lakes where they still show movies (or at least did the last time I saw it ten years ago).

As a general rule base theaters aren’t counted here, along with civic auditoria, always-legitimate theaters, etc.

Those are some great recollections, Mr. Jensen. Thanks for sharing that. You must’ve been stationed there in the 1960s? That may have been a little before my time. I never knew the Naval base had a movie theater. It’s funny, because in many ways the contents of the base seemed so mysterious to many of us. It’s also strange how things come back around again; the Glen development that took over the base has a great movie theater. It is housed, incidentally, in one of the base’s older remaining stuctures (I think where the control tower was).

In a way, I feel a little bit sad reading about how Golf Mill once was, and upset about how it’s changed. I guess if there’s one certainty in life, it’s that nothing stays the same. Oh well. One can’t dwell in the past.

I was stationed at the nearby U.S. Naval Air Station At Glenview, which had a movie theatre, till it burned down, so I went to the Golf Mill Theatres (about 3 miles away) often. The name comes from the name of the two main roads that go by the shopping center, Golf Road and Milwaukee Avenue. I saw Kate Smith at the Mill Run Theatre (as mentioned above, a theatre in the round).
The Golf Mill was a really nice theatre and a first class act back in those days. I don’t think any of the theatres ever got split, they just built new theatres attached to the existing building. I remember seeing part of The Sound of Music in one of it’s reruns. We had a big storm and the power went out, they had no choice, but to cancel the movie.
Who was the fella from the theatre who Wally Phillips of WGN Radio used to always talk to (I think about new movies that would be opening?). He had someting to do with the Chicago Variety Club? What was his name?

The enclosure of Golf Mill in the 1980s ruined a lot of it’s old aesthetic. I hated it at the time even. The mill pond was removed then. Most of the “improvements” done at the mall over the past 20 years have been extrordinarily tacky. The Mill Run Theater was roughly where Kohl’s stands now.

The area has changed a lot since those glory days in the 60s & 70s. First of all, the demographic has gotten heavily immigrant (mainly Latino & Korean). Other factors have hurt Golf Mill over the years, amongst them, the decline of Sears. The exterior of this still-operating store once reflected classic late 1950s/early 1960s decor. The front doors were in the center (they were moved to the sides for some reason later on). The canopy over the door had a series of small flag poles along its top edge. The Sears logo was in black script. It was a very nice store with a toy section I loved as a kid. Another factor is a declining public interest in enclosed malls. If the theater helps business, they really should consider restoring this to an outdoor mall, a la Old Orchard, with modern ammenities. Lastly, competition has grown fierce, even within the area of Golf Mill itself, which once had open areas across Milwaukee Ave.

On the other hand, the new Wal Mart (former site of Venture, then KMart) on Golf Road seems to be doing booming business, which may actually help the other competing business around it by virtue of bringing more people to the area. The controversial off-track betting club opened in the former site of Circuit City seems to be doing quite well. Hopefully, this new theater will only add to the improvements.

Russell Phillips Photos:

Lobby, 1985
Golf Mill Auditorium

I have not been inside the theatre personally, only a few theatre people have. They are still working on the punch list as we speak. I was supposed to be in on Tue, but it now looks like Friday. I will see what I can do about posting sizes once I get a feel for the place. From what I have seen though from the open doors, it looks great though.