Sheridan Theatre
4036 N. Sheridan Road,
Chicago,
IL
60613
4036 N. Sheridan Road,
Chicago,
IL
60613
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Showing 51 - 59 of 59 comments
Hi Charles,
Sorry for the delay in sending the pictures. Please forward your email address and I’ll send the pictures within a day or two after I receive your email address. Everything is scanned in and ready to go.
Hi Richard G.
As you requested – it’s time to start hounding you about sending me the photos mentioned in your April 23rd mail!
In the early to mid-1980s, I beleive, the Sheridan made one last attempt at showing mainstream movies. This theatre was easily seen from Wrigley Field’s upper deck, 1st base/right field side.
Hi Richard! Yes, will do! That’s great! No, I never ate at the barbeque place north of the Mode. But that cinema used to be my main movie theatre as a – I’ve written a lengthy comment on the Mode at that site. I remember there was a Raggedy Anne “supermarket” on the corner north of the Mode – was the barbeque in between? I’m pretty good on naming the stores north of the Mode on Sheridan (particularly left and right of the “L”) but what I don’t recall is, what stores were south of the Mode – I believe an Army Surplus store? And wasn’t there a place called the Lipstick Lounge? Or is that the name of the Barbeque you’re referring to? You wouldn’t, by any chance, have photos of the Mode – I read on its site that it was demolished at the beginning of April this year! Where was the Essex? Also in that vicinity? I used to frequent the Uptown and the Riviera a lot in the 60’s. And also go to the Avalon Ballroom with my parents. Those sites are all still around I believe.
Looking forward to the photos – Thanks!
Hi Charles, I’d be happy to email you some pictures. Please email me at If I haven’t emailed them to you within 3 weeks after you email me, please start hounding me. Did you ever eat at the Barbeque place in the Mode’s storefront just north of the theatre’s entrance? I never did but it always smelled good inside ( I was a very nosey kid and looked inside of almost every door that would open) and I remember it had this great looking cherry stained half log paneling. Memory tells me it closed not long after I started going ti the Mode. Where you ever inside the Essex?
I walked by the Sheridan theatre everyday on my way to St. Mary of the Lake School from 1960 until 1968. It was a synagogue then and sometimes the doors were open and I would wander in to have a look at the interior – I only remember being very impressed by the size of the place and even as a child realizing that it was a historic cinema.
Richard G. I would love to see your vintage pictures – is there anyway you could scan and digitaly transfer them to me?
Sorry, I was wrong about the Sheridan being part of the Mitchell Bros. chain. It was actually part of the Ascher brothers chain who had it only for a short time. It was then sold to Fox and later to B&K who shuttered it in 1951. Most of the other information I submitted above is correct. The Sheridan opened on February 12, 1927. This fabulous palace lasted just 24 years as a movie showplace.
The tenting on the ceiling was not original and actually the auditorium was very ornate. Evidently, the Anshe Emet Synagogue who bought the theatre from B&K felt the interior was much too ostentatious for a place of worship. The “refurbishing” removed most of the ornate interior friezes and artwork as well as much of the magnificant exterior. The synagogue lasted for 15 years — only 9 years less than the Sheridan showed Hollywood releases. After the Anshe Emet Synagogue moved to new facilities, the Sheridan remained vacant until becoming the Palacio Teatro which is when I saw its interior for the first time.
I have some vintage pictures of the Sheridan and wow, it sure was spectacular. Although its marquee was flush, the building with its several stories high columns (removed by the synagogue) and integral signage “Sheridan” at each side of the front were most impressive.
I was probably nine or ten when I first discovered the Sheridan and by that time it was already a synagogue. I remember asking my parents about the theatre and they told me it was a “white elephant.” Boy, now I was really confused. I knew the building was white but really — an elephant. Anyway, they explained and I became determined to find out more about “the white elephant” that nobody, even “the big guys” like Ascher, Fox and B&K could run profitably.
The Sheridan was the flagship theatre of a small Chicago chain run by a wealthy Greek businessman. Although it was the chain’s flagship theatre, it was the weakest link in the chain and the first of the group to close. In just a mere 25 years or so after opening, this movie palace would close and shortly afterward begin a new life as a synagogue. I believe it remained a synagogue for a longer time period than it was a movie theatre. Eventually, the building was born again as a movie theatre— this time showing Spanish language films. Memory tells me this would be the mid 1980’s. Although I tied for over 20 years to see the inside of the Sheridan, it wasn’t until it’s reopening in the mid 80’s that I succeeded. In size it was comparable to the B & K movie palaces but the auditorium was very plain. The ceiling was “tented” with a gray fabric and just below that, parallel to the ceiling, spanned a 50 to 60 foot Menorah. The Menorah, no doubt, a left over from the synagogue days. I don’t know if the “tenting” was original or not. The Menorah stayed intact, I’m sure, because it would have taken a massive crane to remove this huge heavy object. The huge balcony was closed but I ventured up anyway. After a few minutes if surveying the scene, I was greeted by the friendly Mexican projectionist who proceeded to give me a tour of the projection booth. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to provide any information about the theatre’s history. The night I toured the theatre there were maybe 30 people in attendance. For the theatre historians, other theatres owned by this chain included: on the northside, The Vogue, North Center, Patio, and Sheridan; on the southside, The Marquette, Hiway, and Colony.
I worked at Cubs park during the late 80’s & early 90’s & I used to park right across from this theater. It was painted all white on the outside & it no longer had a marquee to speak of. I don’t recall the theater being open, but it was not boarded up for a long time (meaning that the regular doors were the only thing keeping people out). I did enter the theater during when it was being torn down. The Roman columns were still intact & the balcony went up very high. I could clearly make out the Roman motif on the ceiling. The seats were also long gone. I believe the theater was still there until 1992 or 1993. The neighborhood is now yuppiefied with new condos on the same street.