Well, it appears to be poised for another opening, and that’s what they’re calling it this time around. Avalon never made much sense anyway – a name left over from an earlier English-inspired Eberson design- and Regal is what the marquee has said since 1987. It’s supposed to open around October. Operating as a not-for-profit. Exciting! http://www.chicagoregal.com/
Cool looking facade. The box office looked like it must have been clad in vitrolite at some point. Storefronts have obviously been extensively remodeled from their original appearance. Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid5912/
There did not appear to be a lot of work going on presently at the theater, but there was a scissors lift in the lobby and a front end loader in back, so perhaps something is going on. This looked like by far the coolest of the three theaters along this street, and seems to retain an abnormal amount of decor, at least in the lobby. The chandeliers are particularly fantastic. I hope this project pulls through, it looks like a very worthy theater!
Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid3205/
This seems like a cool late deco/streamline design. The church is called the Antioch International Assembly. Mount Vernon seemed to have a big surge following the construction of its large deco/streamline courthouse. The town also has a cool railroad depot I didn’t get a chance to look closely at as well as what appeared to be an older courthouse. Photos of the Stadium are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid3206/
The correct address is 118 S. Ninth. It does not appear that much work has gone on since 2005. The lower half of the theater appears to be entirely gutted, but most everything above where the drop ceiling would have been is intact. The theater appears to have been quite narrow. Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid9989
Cooley High was a good one for seeing the city. There was a sun-times article on this a couple weeks ago. [url= View link
sbank.com:NewsBank:CSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11A
48B33E85F28C8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F07CF62AEE793E4]Link[/url]
This obviously was not a Plitt theater in 1998, since that chain had long since been absorbed into Cineplex. At the time of closure in 1998 it was operated by Classic Cinemas.
I would say that the Classic Cinemas comment was out of line as it said “in the very recent past”; in reality, they have not close a single theater since 2003. Paul’s list omits theaters closed between 1998-2001; namely the Sterling, Tivoli South, and Springhill. Since 2002, they have, however, built 5 screens at the York; 2 at Elk Grove and one screen with kodak Digital; 4 at the Fox Lake with a renovated lobby and all-digital sound; a renovated lobby and 50-foot screen with 8-channel SDDS at the Cinema 12; a screen with Real-D at the Lake; at the Lindo, a new concession stand and box office, with 4 new screens under construction; at the Ogden 6, extensive renovations; the Tivoli was totally reseated with top of the line seats, extensive lobby refurbishment, and a complete sound system; added 2 screens at the Woodstock, and renovated lobby facilities.
I can see all this because their attractive website uses good marketing and demonstrates that they care about their customers experiences, and enumerates the improvements they make. They show their customers that they are valued (through the investments to their theaters) and offer an experience the larger chains fail to provide, and are rewarded with loyalty.
In addition to these improvements, CC patrons tend to enjoy such benefits as free soda refills, good lighting, clean auditoriums and restrooms, and continued maintenance that goes beyond moving equipment from one theatre to the next.
If Village really wants to improve its image on this web site, perhaps Ron Rooding should do as Willis Johnson did and hold an interview with Michael Zoldessy on the front page.
The Marina Cinemas, as I said before, were located in former meeting room space below the WFLD studios, which now make up the Music Hall portion of the House of Blues. The cinemas space now makes up part of the restaurant and shop of HOB.
On an odder note, I came across July 1970 ads saying the “Marina Tower” would open with Hello Dolly, which obviously didn’t happen until September. That name makes me wonder if UA might have originally have planned this as a single and changed course during construction. The fact that the Marina Cinemas were so detested by the projectionists union is rather ironic given that the Marina City project was designed as an investment for the Janitors and Elevator Operators union.
I don’t know why this would be listed as Open, there is a lot of inconsistency. For example, the Gold Mill (gutted; fitness center), Calo (intact; retail), and Central Park (intact; church) are all listed as Closed, while the Water Tower (upper theaters retail; lower partly gutted and converted back to live theater) are Open. However, I don’t see what’s open about the Marina Cinemas any more than the 900 N Michigan; they’re within a complex and no trace is apparent.
It shows art/indie films frequently as part of the After Hours Film Society, special events such as ballets, and most of the time big releases some time after they’re out. For example, it is currently playing Shrek the Third.
Yeah. Maybe something like preserving the lobby section and building a new, compatible structure on the auditorium section – something like the proposal for the Hyde Park theater – would have worked.
Well, it appears to be poised for another opening, and that’s what they’re calling it this time around. Avalon never made much sense anyway – a name left over from an earlier English-inspired Eberson design- and Regal is what the marquee has said since 1987. It’s supposed to open around October. Operating as a not-for-profit. Exciting! http://www.chicagoregal.com/
Cool looking facade. The box office looked like it must have been clad in vitrolite at some point. Storefronts have obviously been extensively remodeled from their original appearance. Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid5912/
The facade is strangely asymmetrical. There did not appear to be any activity. Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid6841
Its current facade is certainly not much to look at. It seems to be in use as storage presently. Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid8225/
There did not appear to be a lot of work going on presently at the theater, but there was a scissors lift in the lobby and a front end loader in back, so perhaps something is going on. This looked like by far the coolest of the three theaters along this street, and seems to retain an abnormal amount of decor, at least in the lobby. The chandeliers are particularly fantastic. I hope this project pulls through, it looks like a very worthy theater!
Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid3205/
This seems like a cool late deco/streamline design. The church is called the Antioch International Assembly. Mount Vernon seemed to have a big surge following the construction of its large deco/streamline courthouse. The town also has a cool railroad depot I didn’t get a chance to look closely at as well as what appeared to be an older courthouse. Photos of the Stadium are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid3206/
The correct address is 118 S. Ninth. It does not appear that much work has gone on since 2005. The lower half of the theater appears to be entirely gutted, but most everything above where the drop ceiling would have been is intact. The theater appears to have been quite narrow. Photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ctid9989
The facade is currently about half down.
the other is Wilco, Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
Stranger Than Fiction was in fact set in New York. They just did a very poor job of making Chicago look like it.
My earlier description is inaccurate. The building in question is actually this one: LINK
Cooley High was a good one for seeing the city. There was a sun-times article on this a couple weeks ago. [url=
View link
sbank.com:NewsBank:CSTB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=11A
48B33E85F28C8&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated4&req_dat=0F07CF62AEE793E4]Link[/url]
Perhaps english did not realize the dateline was July 17, 2007.
The fire was later determined to have been started when ashes from an incinerator were dumped into a cardboard box. Brilliant idea.
It’s not really unusually deep. That’s just result of a wide-angle lens.
This obviously was not a Plitt theater in 1998, since that chain had long since been absorbed into Cineplex. At the time of closure in 1998 it was operated by Classic Cinemas.
I’ve heard that the ground floor tenant will be a bank.
I added more photos including many of the interior to the site linked in my Dec. 3 comment.
I would say that the Classic Cinemas comment was out of line as it said “in the very recent past”; in reality, they have not close a single theater since 2003. Paul’s list omits theaters closed between 1998-2001; namely the Sterling, Tivoli South, and Springhill. Since 2002, they have, however, built 5 screens at the York; 2 at Elk Grove and one screen with kodak Digital; 4 at the Fox Lake with a renovated lobby and all-digital sound; a renovated lobby and 50-foot screen with 8-channel SDDS at the Cinema 12; a screen with Real-D at the Lake; at the Lindo, a new concession stand and box office, with 4 new screens under construction; at the Ogden 6, extensive renovations; the Tivoli was totally reseated with top of the line seats, extensive lobby refurbishment, and a complete sound system; added 2 screens at the Woodstock, and renovated lobby facilities.
I can see all this because their attractive website uses good marketing and demonstrates that they care about their customers experiences, and enumerates the improvements they make. They show their customers that they are valued (through the investments to their theaters) and offer an experience the larger chains fail to provide, and are rewarded with loyalty.
In addition to these improvements, CC patrons tend to enjoy such benefits as free soda refills, good lighting, clean auditoriums and restrooms, and continued maintenance that goes beyond moving equipment from one theatre to the next.
If Village really wants to improve its image on this web site, perhaps Ron Rooding should do as Willis Johnson did and hold an interview with Michael Zoldessy on the front page.
The Marina Cinemas, as I said before, were located in former meeting room space below the WFLD studios, which now make up the Music Hall portion of the House of Blues. The cinemas space now makes up part of the restaurant and shop of HOB.
On an odder note, I came across July 1970 ads saying the “Marina Tower” would open with Hello Dolly, which obviously didn’t happen until September. That name makes me wonder if UA might have originally have planned this as a single and changed course during construction. The fact that the Marina Cinemas were so detested by the projectionists union is rather ironic given that the Marina City project was designed as an investment for the Janitors and Elevator Operators union.
I don’t know why this would be listed as Open, there is a lot of inconsistency. For example, the Gold Mill (gutted; fitness center), Calo (intact; retail), and Central Park (intact; church) are all listed as Closed, while the Water Tower (upper theaters retail; lower partly gutted and converted back to live theater) are Open. However, I don’t see what’s open about the Marina Cinemas any more than the 900 N Michigan; they’re within a complex and no trace is apparent.
Perhaps you mean the Norshore, /theaters/964/
JEO Pridmore was the architect for the Nortown. What is your source?
The House of Blues is on the upper part of the building, which used to be television studios, and the theaters are gutted. The status is correct.
It shows art/indie films frequently as part of the After Hours Film Society, special events such as ballets, and most of the time big releases some time after they’re out. For example, it is currently playing Shrek the Third.
It was removed first. The terra cotta is still intact underneath, however.
Yeah. Maybe something like preserving the lobby section and building a new, compatible structure on the auditorium section – something like the proposal for the Hyde Park theater – would have worked.