Lincoln Village 1-6
6341 McCormick Boulevard,
Chicago,
IL
60659
6341 McCormick Boulevard,
Chicago,
IL
60659
7 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 187 comments
All:
Thanks for the advice, and the referral to the Village Arts page. I meant no offense by suggesting C worked for Village Entertainment. Based on this theater owner’s response(s) to Paul, I not sure just yet if he is a wanna-be-decent owner who is ‘fighting the fight’ on behalf of the small theatre venue in the face of his many recurring business challenges, or someone who simply is manipulating his ‘facts’ to make it appear that way. Google Rod Rooding and tell me what you think….he doesn’t have much going for him in the credibility department. Whatever the case may be, he still cannot be allowed to operate his businesses in a manner that jeopardizes his patron’s health, safety and property. I deal with these issues all the time in my line of work…if the City doesn’t hold him accountable then shame on all of us.
Catherine,
You said it, my dear friend, I wouldn’t trust Village with my credit card and if I ever go back, I’d go incognito because one of their employees had some unkind words to say to me on this site. I also hadn’t realized how decrepit this place had become.
GS,
If you can’t fight ‘em on the towing situation, do go after them with all of the other things you noted. I have predicted that this chain will be out of business by the end of 2008 anyways.
GS,
Read my comments above. You’ll know that I definitely do not work for Village Entertainment. I think that they are the WORST theatre company around. I was just sayin' that you may not have any legal recourse against them!
My husband and I used to go to the Village Art a lot because the prices were cheap. We never had any quibbles with the employees that worked there, so I didn’t know about patrons being assaulted. We went to the L-V right after they took over from AMC-Loews, so while it was a masoleum, it still didn’t appear to be in bad shape. My brother and I went to the Village North over the summer and the employees there seemed to be a bunch of stoners. It wasn’t pleasant but it wasn’t horrible either. But I won’t go back there.
I’ll admit that I didn’t know how bad things were at the LV. The thing is, IT COULD BE A GREAT THEATRE. It’s certainly distinct. It’s got a great location with no real competition for miles around.
Read the retort that Village Entertainment gave my friend Paul F. on the Village Art’s page and you’ll see more! Believe me, because of the comments I’ve made above about Village Entertainment, my name is probably persona non grata around there (DiM is the start of my last name). Same for Paul F, so if we ever tried to use our credit cards there, no doubt we’d be shown the door. But I wouldn’t give that outfit anything but cash if I did go.
So, you see GS, I don’t work for Village and I wish that Classic Cinemas or someone else reputable would take this place over and renovate it. I’m saying you might have an uphill battle ahead of you and I certainly wish you the best with it!
All:
Thanks for the comments. I’m taking it up with the Village Theatre, The Metropolitan Water District and Alderman Stone. Regarding Catherine DiM’s comments, you are right that the towing company was just doing their job. However, it is clear that Village is THE only party that CAN be held responsible, and your comments sound suspiciously sympathetic to the owner…do you work for Village Entertainment? With respect to the theatre, THEY advertise and solicit customers to attend to the movies and so it is completely incumbent upon them to provide for their customer’s health and security if the customer chooses to partake of their services. If Village Entertainment thinks they have NO responsibility to provide for this then they are flying in the face of numerous City and Fire department regulations and deserve to be shut down (as they have in a few other cities). As I mentioned in my previous post, the box office was closed on this night (due to lack of heat), their warning signs regarding parking were not clearly posted and were not visible because the doors had been propped open to let customers through to the concession stand where the tickets were being sold. The ticket attendant standing in the vestibule said nothing about parking regulations, and the same was true for the concession stand attendants. I went back the next day to inspect the warning signs (and took photographs) and I can assure you there are no warnings on the main marquee. The warning signs in the parking lot simply say that unauthorized persons will be towed, and who would not think that the only accessible parking lot immediately adjacent to the theatre that has a connecting sidewalk leading straight up to the box office was not intended to serve the theatre??? I am a first (and last) time visitor – if you were in this situation, what would you have suspected? Village Theatre has a long history of operating their properties in this manner; all you have to do is Google Ron Rooding and you will find a treasure trove of information of past legal action and negligence: bounced checks, operating a theatre without a working fire alarm, patrons being assaulted by theatre employees. Lincoln Village 1-6’s violations were clearly evident the night I was there: no working elevator (a fire and handicapped accessibility violation), emergency doors that had been disabled and locked from the inside (I personally observed this), fabric and carpet that was torn and unsanitary, concession facilities and equipment that were broken and unsanitary. Just these four items alone represent violations of both City and Federal law. It would be quite easy to make a case against Village for recklessness and negligence, which I fully intend to do if necessary to get them to reimburse me for the towing charge. If this forces the theatre to close down, so be it. This theatre is a public nuisance and an eyesore and has been allowed to limp along for far too long. From what I am reading on this and many other websites, I am not alone in this opinion.
GS,
I found out that the towing company has every right to collect on that towing charge. Please make good on that credit card. You’ll be out $125.00, but you will save yourself a possilbe whole lotta legal troubles and legal fees. I think that you are going to have to just take the loss on this one. Easier said than done, I know, but I’ve been there too. My car was (I thought) unjustly towed one time, but the towing company was doing as they were told by the owner of the lot. I simply paid them and took it up with the owner of the lot. I lost.
I believe there are numerous signs to that effect throughout the lot you parked in as well as on the marquee signs for the theater. Best of luck, but I think you’ll have trouble.
Oh, boy GS!
Unfortunately there seems to be little you can do about this situation. You see, I don’t believe that Village Entertainment is responsible for what happened to your car. Village can always say that no one forced you to see the movie that night. They can rightfully say that what you do with your car is your own business and that they are not responisible.
Furthermore, I believe that you can be a whole lotta trouble for denying your own credit card to the towing company. The towing company was after all contracted by the owner of the lot you parked in to remove unauthorized vehicles. Believe you me, they want to be paid for their efforts. Ever hear the song LINCOLN PARK PIRATES from Steve Goodman? “Hey, hey tow them away/The Lincoln Park Pirates are coming your way.” This city is known for towing! I really think you are going to have to make good on your credit card charge to the towing company and I think you haven’t much recourse with the theatre company either.
All:
I had the misfortune of going to the Village Theatre last night Dec 1 ‘07 and got caught in the parking fiasco which has been allowed to develop there by Village Entertainment. I have never been to this theatre before so and had to drive around the theatre/block several times to find a suitable parking lot. I settled on the one that had a connecting sidewalk that lead straight to the box office. I was unaware at the time that NONE of the parking lots adjacent to the building are meant to serve the theatre. The box office itself was closed, allegedly due to a lack of heat and the severe rain/snow storm taking place at the time. Consequently, if there was any signage posted at the box office to warn patrons where to park (or not), it was missed by anyone attending a movie that night. No other sign or verbal warning was given by the ticket-taker at the main door vestibule or the ticket sellers at the concession stand. During the movie my car was towed to a south chicago tow company lot. I don’t know how they (B & M towing; 1716 S. Western) identified my car with the theatre, but they towed it anyway. I am going back to Village today to get a refund of my movie ticket; and would like to do the same for the towing charges. I have already told my credit card company to deny the $125 towing charges, but hope instead to ultimately resolve this situation by getting a reimbursement from Village Entertainment. Judging from this website postings, I am doubtful a company like Village will offer to reimburse me; however they are clearly the ones at fault. Their “parking plan” is a sham…it is non-existent and it exposes their patrons to real and substantial threats (stranded, with family, and with no phone and no way to travel 20+ miles to south chicago to retrieve the car…in a severe snowstorm no less!!). Expecting patrons to 'know’ that they must park 2-3 blocks off-site on other’s unsupervised property (Home Depot or Thillens Stadium) where your car is equally subject to towing and more subject to vandalism is beyond absurd. Does anyone here have a suggestion on what to do or how to contact Village Entertainment? Has anyone else had this experience? Should I contact the alderman or the metropolitan water district for their support? The towing company has my address and license number – what are their rights when they find out their charge to my credit card has been denied?
Whoops, I didn’t know about the Fox Lake. I guess I have more to learn.
Please understand that I would really rather see Village Entertainment succeed because I think that most of the theatres could have remained viable. Okay, so maybe the property owners of the Biograph and the Water Tower received good $$ to turn them into playhouses (and I’m glad that they remained entertainment venues).
But the company doesn’t seem to invest $$ in its properties, yet always finds ways to take over other cinemas.
Is it the plan for this company to take over a theatre, run it awhile and move on to the next one? Sort of taking the path of least resistance?
8 years, closed because people came to gamble and not watch movies. However the Fox Lake was built by classic too. Built as 5 screens, now 9, open for 12 years and running.
I forgot about the Casino. But if I’m not mistaken, it lasted less than 10 years.
Actually Classic did have a new build, the Casino, and has built many screen additions in adjacent properties, effectively the same as a new build, which Village has not.
LTS,
I’ve only been on this site a year or so, and I’ve learned so much about Chicagoland cinemas. I did a poll earlier this year on Village Entertainment vs. Classic Cinemas and the results were most enlightening. Think about it. Niether chain has ever had a new cinema built for it—both have taken over cinemas from other chains. Yet CC manages to make successes out of most of its cinemas, whereas VE seems to run theirs into the ground. Both face the same problems vs the big chains, yet CC somehow manages to obtain good movies and run good theatres.
VE has closed cinemas like the Burnham, the Water Tower, the Biograph, all of which, given proper management, could have succeeded. If you believe Truth Revealed’s posts above, you’d almost believe that VE was a front for other business dealings I’m not making any assumptions about the latter here without substantial proof, but doesn’t it seem plausible considering the chain’s track record?
LOL, that is brutal. You guys are practically dancing on their grave.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not complaining.
Tick, tick, tick…that’s time running out for Village Theatres!
OMG, there’s actually an ad for the Lincoln Village in the Sun-Times today!
The building was donated to Lubavitch Chabad to be turned into a girls' school; it is not hearsay. See “Movie Theater to Close over Rent Dispute,” Crain’s Chicago Business, 9/4/07. They plan on adapting the existing building.
Truth Revealed,
Woah!
That’s why I’d like to see someone do an expose on this company!
Catherine,
Haha, if someone did an expose on Village Entertainment, I’m sure a few people would be going to jail because of the information revealed about the illegal operations inside theatres and corporate headquarters.
Paul,
I am not at liberty to divulge that information. But, I can tell you that it is a credible source as he worked for Loews/Village and talked directly to the DM of Loews at the time and talked with AMC officials when they visited the theatre for the merger. But then again, you still may write it off as hearsay.
As for the Bloomingdale Court, Village Theatres no longer involves itself in operations there. The other company kept the staff, but they are now in charge of operations. Hence the Indian movie playing there. You might retort: “Well, what about the lincoln village theatre-they have "Om Shanti Om?” Well sir, Village Entertainment worked out a deal with the company involved. They pay the man for box office sales and in return, he pays Village rent for use of the theatre. And my source is credible as this info comes from the company itself.
Someone should do an expose on Village Entertainment. It would be fascinating to find out about this company.
Truth Revealed,
What are your sources for why AMC Loews unloaded this place? Also,I called the Bloomingdale Court theatre today. Per the recording, it is a Village Theatre still and it is still playing movies.
After reading these comments, I must clarify a few assumptions about this theatre:
1.) During negotiations for the AMC-Loews merger, AMC had to choose which theatres to keep and which to dump because of monopoly laws governing businesses. Thanks to a Loew’s district manager who didn’t like individuals working at Lincoln Village at the time, she suggested that the LV be one of the theatres to dump.
My opinion: if AMC had known the opportunities present at LV, they most definitely would’ve kept the theatre, while providing the necessary updates and renovations currently in desperate need today.
2.) It is not the building’s managers that are to blame, it is the company/owner of Village Entertainment that are to blame. If they believed that investment leads to profit, then L V wouldn’t not be as shabby as it is today (those pictures make the theatre look a lot better than it really is). The company is too cheap to provide basic repairs.
3.) The real story on the parking lot- The city only asked one requirement for the lot to be re-opened: to re-pave the lot to rid it of the many potholes. The owner didn’t want to spend any money, so the lot is closed.
4.) Actually, Bloomingdale has already switched owners: It is now owned by an Indian movie company. Don’t know details of that switch of hands.
5.) Lincoln Village has entirely too much potential to be run into the ground, but Village Entertainment managed to make it fail, those comments were true.
Currently, the problems at Lincoln Village:
No working escalator or elevator
No heat
No working water fountains
No parking lot
Torn and ragged carpet
Dirty carpet
And I’m sure there are other problems unknown to me. Unfortunately for customers, none of these inconveniences will be corrected for the duration of the theatre’s existence. The company doesn’t care enough. It isn’t up to the management of the theatre itself to make the decisions as they don’t have the money to pay for these repairs, but the company, including owners, don’t care enough to fix anything. They just want to see how much money they can make before the theatre gets shut down.
North Riverside is currently closed, but will re-open in about two weeks.
Village North will stay open for a while.
Glenwood will stay open too. It’s more of a community theatre. No real competition there. But it doesn’t do much business.
The fate of Lincoln Village will be revealed by Nov. 30th. But I suspect it will be shut down by the city sometime soon.
There is hearsay about the theatre being turned into a School for Jewish Girls, but I remain unsure about that fate.
And Village Entertainment likes to find ways to avoid contacting them as they would surely get more complaints and continue to do nothing. Even if you get the number to a corporate office, it will lead you to a voicemail.
There’s no hope with Village. It’s going down. It needs to be put to rest. There has been enough suffering. Customers have been neglected long enough.
I re-reviewed BW’s photos above and it looks like this place is in fairly decent, if not spectacular, shape. Nothing that some general renovations couldn’t fix.
Someone else stated that the nearby Lincoln Village Shopping Center has been recently renovated and is now doing well. Why can’t this theatre fare just as well? Between the LV Shopping Center and the Home Depot across the street (and that the theatre building is enormous), it’s not like this place is hidden.
I wonder why AMC-Loews gave up on the place.
I stopped in last night. They are open and playing current films (30 Days of Night, Dan in Real Life). The employees do not know when the theater will close.