McClurg Court Cinemas
330 E. Ohio Street,
Chicago,
IL
60611
330 E. Ohio Street,
Chicago,
IL
60611
20 people
favorited this theater
Showing 126 - 150 of 155 comments
As a union projectionist I managed to weasel my way into the booth when it was a single screen. It had a pair of Cinemeccanica V8 35/70’s with Orcon Xenon Lamps, no automation. I saw Fiddler, Entertainment Pt1 & Return of A Man Called Horse all in 70mm. Horse was a terrible film, but in 70mm at this house even it had a WOW factor. The theatre had stadium seating way before that became a trendy idea. The sound system was outstanding, very crisp & clear, even bad movies sounded good! It was a crime when they tri-plexed it.
On that photo, I can see Black Hawk Down playing on theatre 1,(Why did I have to see BHD at Ford City?) and Big Fat Liar on 3. I can’t make out what’s playing on 2.
Thanks for the photo, but I was looking for one before Cineplex Odeon took over. Maybe I’ll search though some Microfilm.
Thanks Paul. If I make it, I plan to put new padding in the seats, a cafe like eating area, two for the price of one movie specials, one second run film on one of the screens, a cry room for parents with babies, classic film festivals, movie premiers, and a cinema de lux style seating in the evening with non alcoholic drinks such as beer, wine and other stuff etc… I think I might make it with this. And if I do, I also plan to turn Oakbrook 1-4 into a luxury art house like this.
Say, do you have any suggestions for a theater corp name? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Cinematour has a picture of the marquee, can’t quite make out the films to date it (but it’s recent).
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.
Does anyone have any pictures of this place before CO bought it? And who owns the theatre space now? I’m getting my theatre corp off the ground very soon and I’d like to turn it into an art house with some first run movies on occasion.
Was their a showing of one of the “New” starwars movies at this theatre. I think it was “a new hope”?
I’ll always remember that huge, slightly curved screen. It was the first time I’d ever seen one and it really immersed you in the movie-going experience. (In fact, as I recall, if you sat too close at just the right angle, the effect was rather dizzying!) My dad and I went there to see “Fiddler on the Roof,” a reissue of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “That’s Entertainment,” a Robert Blake film called “Electra Glide in Blue,” a reissue of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and “Logan’s Run,” amongst others. The last movie we saw there was “Moonraker” in 1979. By that time, we were living in the western suburbs, and it actually would have been closer for us to see it at the UA Cinema in Oak Brook. But we were big James Bond fans and we’d never seen a 007 film at the McClurg Court. So we made the trek into the city. I’m glad we did. It’s one of the lesser Bond films in terms of quality, but it makes up for that in spectacle—which made it perfect for the McClurg Court.
I’ll always remember that huge, slightly curved screen. It was the first time I’d ever seen one and it really immersed you in the movie-going experience. (In fact, as I recall, if you sat too close at just the right angle, the effect was rather dizzying!) My dad and I went there to see “Fiddler on the Roof,” a reissue of “2001: A Space Odyssey,” “That’s Entertainment,” a Robert Blake film called “Electra Glide in Blue,” a reissue of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” and “Logan’s Run,” amongst others. The last movie we saw there was “Moonraker” in 1979. By that time, we were living in the western suburbs, and it actually would have been closer for us to see it at the UA Cinema in Oak Brook. But we were big James Bond fans and we’d never seen a 007 film at the McClurg Court. So we made the trek into the city. I’m glad we did. It’s one of the lesser Bond films in terms of quality, but it makes up for that in spectacle—which made it perfect for the McClurg Court.
wow, first i read the Fine Arts is closed, now this! damn! this theater was awesome.
although i saw the star wars re-releases here (was third in line for one of them) where i was with 15 of my closest friends i’ll always rememeber this theater for a movie i saw by myself, which i rarely do. i saw the restored 70mm print of Vertigo at this theater and until that point i did not truly understand hitchcock’s genuis. that print was so beautiful, vibrant, and detailed that it made you forget it was a movie made years ago and it made you understand the difference between a film and a movie.
that understanding is the gift McClurg Ct. gave to me. i’ll never forget it.
CinemarkFAn: I hope you can do it. A lot of people live within walking distance of the theater. I once did myself at 505 N. Lake Shore. I loved the McClurg.
Since I want to own movie theatres very soon, I’d like to turn this place into a art house or something. I miss McClurg Court with a passion.
Mindhunter 55 is right about the health club “issue”. There had been, and still is, a health club in the same building for years along with the movie theaters, and the club is still there, but the theater itself is just closed. I live nearby and never saw anything being moved out or changed in any way, so I’ll bet it’s pretty much intact inside.
It’s quite sad that this theater closed. I haven’t lived in Chicago since 1996, but made several trips to McClurg since then to see particular films. Today a friend of mine visiting Chicago and asked where a good theater was, without delay I responded McClurg Court, only to discover it is out of business.
I saw the rerelease of Star Wars there, when it was one of a handful of THX auditoriums in Chicago, the level of excitement and crowd participation was awesome. When Star Wars Episode I and II came out, McClurg court was the only DLP projection, THX certified auditorium in Chicago.
The main auditorium had a somwhat unusual oval shape, seemingly wider than it was deep.
I saw Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon there on new years eve 2000, sadly the theater was even then falling into disrepair. The screen and sound were still good, but the seats were threadbare, and the auditorium dirty.
I walked past the McClurg Court Cinemas today and it has not been converted into a health club.The front marquee is still up.(Though it is covered by a for lease banner.) I looked through the glass windows and I could see the entrance to theatre 2. I could also see down the stairs that go to theatre 1. Poster cases are still on the walls and the carpeting is the same as it was when I last visited. It’s as if nothing has been touched since the theatre was closed two years ago.
I believe the seating was 1,189 after its conversion to a triplex. Can’t figure where the additional 189 seats came in.
The McClurg will be lamented. I saw so many blockbuster movies there! The sound and projection were the best in the city. In fact the sound was sometimes almost painful to listen to! I even asked that the sound in Godzilla be turned down. The lines in front of the theater were always expected. I was lucky enough to go here a couple of times before it was divided. I saw The Color Purple here and (I can’t believe I’m admitting this) Can’t Stop the Music. In the last couple of years the theater wasn’t being upkept. The bathrooms were really bad. The upstairs theaters were just “ok.” Not terrible…but the sound and projection were no comparison to the main theater.
John: Thanks for this update, sad as it is. Like yourself, I really liked the McClurg Court. In the seventies when I was just out of school, I had a studio apartment nearby and could walk there—a real luxury. As you say, yet another health club. :–( When I lived there, the McClurg Building had club and pool near the second level deck, possibly.
I drove by the theater the other day and the building now houses yet another health club that the city already has too many of. I imagine they took everything out that resembled a theater and its chances of ever being used in that capacity again are now gone. What a shame.
Wow…I’m embarassed to say that I wasn’t aware that McClurg had closed. For the 10 yrs I lived in the City, everytime a special-effects laden movie would come out, it simply meant Theatre 1 @ McClurg. While I’m in the burbs now, the imminent release of Episode III gave me the same thought, and I was keen to revisit the site of so many enjoyable evenings. Given the demise of this treasure, is there any other theater in Chicagoland that stands out and is worthy of being a destination for big-time movies like Theatre 1 once was? Please advise.
Greg: I just reread above, and see that it was a tri-plex.
Greg: Into how many screens did they divide the theater? What a disaster.
By far the best theater in the Chicago for my formative years (now 39). Apocalypse Now stands out as the most awesome experience ever there, before it was chopped up. I recall being mesmerized by 2001 and Altered States as well. The multiplexing to me was blasphemy and it’s final demise a dark spot in my Chicago theater experience
I used to live a few blocks away from the McClurg in Lake Point Tower in the mid-1970s. I only saw a couple films there, even though it was an easy walk. I saw a revival of 2001. Sound and projection were suberb. I’ve heard it rumored that it was designed for single lens Cinerama. I think I recall the screen had some curve to it. By the time I’d moved to Chicago, the three-projector Cinerama theater had closed.
The final three engagements booked into the McClurg Court Cinemas were ‘Finding Nemo’, the remake of ‘The Italian Job’, and ‘The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen’.