I have seen interior pictures of this theater on a site called Forgotten Detroit. It is in ruins…and the term is not used lightly. I cannot believe that anyone will put forth the gigantic investment necessary to restore it.
Sad to say…I think this one is a lost cause.
That being the case, a city with something like the Fox Theater can only complain so much.
I suppose it is an obvious statement…and, I am with you on the issue of realism. I wish I had the time to organize, plan & motivate…instead of being an arm chair quarterback.
When an aging cinema in marginal shape (especially one with little decoration like the Milford) comes down, I see it as a sign of the changing world. But this place has an outdoor ceiling…and has been restored. I hope somebody steps up.
Yeah…it’s gone. The internet doesn’t stay the same for very long. It was a passing reference contained in a discussion of the Evanston Theater. It added figures to what I described. The project was estimated at $10-11 million, if memory serves. Something like $7 million was accessible. This large funding gap led them to look at other options. I wonder how much of that cost would have been associated with adding a real stage to the place. 2500 seats, opened in 1926…no working stage. I can’t figure that one out.
I would also be curious to know how many current Evanston residents know what that building really is.
Seems like a good sign that the owner was willing to at least look into the matter of an arts center.
Regarding Evanston’s Varsity, I have two concerns:
1) I think you need to be careful with words like, “gutted”. I have been around architecture my whole life, and every time that word has been used, it was to refer to a building that had been stripped to the four exterior walls. Current information on the Varsity suggests that 75-90% of the interior exists.
2) I suspect that, because you do have so much to look after, you sometimes post facts that have not been properly confirmed. I know the place never had one retail tenant, although a pharmacy may now move into one of the stalls. I don’t think there were 2600 seats in the Varsity either, although it was big. But I fully admit my uncertainty there. Those THS guys could confirm this number, I suppose.
And that’s really the point. If a statement cannot be properly confirmed (and there is only one way to do that), a disclaimer should be attached. This site comes up in search engine results all the time, and is often the only available internet reference. I think it is reasonable to assume that members of the media, and potential developers find their way in here on a pretty regular basis. That being the case, I think you have a responsibility to report your facts in the proper manner. Misinformation has the capacity to act as an enemy of historic preservation.
Regarding corrections, Paul appears to have sent you a formal request in November, and posted several related messages. I think you could have gotten to it in that span of time…especially when Paul is diligently working out there to make his building a living part of the community. It’s not like someone asked you to correct the demolition year of some nickelodeon.
Now that I have given you a hard time, I will say: keep up the good work! You have created a valuable forum.
I think Paul is right. It seems the people running this web site are prone to slapping together a story, in the name of having something posted (Varsity Theater, Evanston, IL for instance). I think the effort to create this forum is great, and the designers deserve recognition. But, to post unverified facts and refuse to change them upon request of those involved with legitimate reuse efforts makes the preservation community look disorganized, and ultimately hurts the cause.
Is it very much intact? Realism is the cornerstone of preservation. I looked into the lobby around 1990, and there was obvious water damage. Has anything been done to stabilize the building since then? This place is worthy of attention…I just wonder if the auditorium ceiling is lying on the seats.
It would be ridiculous to see this building demolished. If the Chicago preservation community ever had a cause to rally around, this is it. It is a true movie palace, and has been restored. It shouldn’t be allowed to slowly decline over the next fifteen years (as so many of these buildings have), to the point where it is unusable. The same is true of the New Regal.
I thought I knew of all the major classic theaters in the US…but this is a new one on me. It looks great…and you have so many bookings!! Unbelievable!! Well done!!
I saw a movie here in the 90’s. It was a dump while it was still running…smelling, dark, musty, dirty. No vintage decoration remaining, that I could see. It sounds like it has gotten worse. Is this place really worth the effort? Why not put energy toward the Patio…not far away. That’s a bona-fide movie palace, with one screen, in great shape, and an uncertain future.
Preservation efforts should be focused and intelligent. Battles must be chosen wisely. The Gateway is down Milwaukee Avenue a few blocks…a functioning vintage screen in great shape. How many old theaters can Jefferson Park support, and how many millions would it take to fix the Portage up? Chicago preservationists have more important things to worry about…the Uptown, the New Regal, the Patio, the Ramova. The best remaining part of the Portage is the exterior. I wouldn’t think twice if CVS dropped a drug store inside the auditorium.
The big missing piece of history here is that it was the home of the Northlight Theater Company for many years, in between careers as a movie house and a concert hall. They spent a good amount of money to convert it…and it worked well for their purposes. I saw some unremarkable play there with my family during this period. I’m not sure why they moved out…maybe the city got on their case about something…or they built a new building. It did well with the concerts after Northlight moved on…had some great ones. But, the residents around there were nervous about the crouds that came out of the place at night…and that was the end of that. It sat around for a few years…and eventually was replaced by a condominium building, in keeping with the redevelopment angle that city government is pushing. This was a building that, while unremarkable, had a lot of history and certainly could have been reused. If nothing else, the crown-shaped sign out front was great!
That’s too bad…here’s my great Publix memory: a street person trying to sell me reefer in front of the building around 1990. For the record…I declined…looked like it was about to fall down at that time.
But, I don’t think Boston has done badly. If you live in Houston or Cincinnati…I will listen to your complaints.
By the way…this is a great site. I haven’t had the time to keep on preservation efforts much in the last ten years…and this makes it possible. Good job!
Boy, was it a dump by 1999…smelled musty, sticky floors…the whole nine yards. I remember taking my first girlfriend to see JFK there…a mistake. People still flocked to the place, though…it had parking. The Century put an end to all that…and, I must admit, I think it’s a better place to see a show. The Evanston never worked with four screens. The cinemas were oddly shaped…although the single screen down the street was OK. Nevertheless, generations of us went to the movies there. I guess if they could retrofit the Coronet for live shows, they could make the Evanston work. So, maybe it has another round to go…
Man, this place was the greatest. Hands down, the best theater in the area back in the 70’s & 80’s.
I think gutted is probably too strong of a word. People who worked in the building during the 90’s said the balcony…and everything else above the first floor was still there. In fact, your receipt from Musicland (long-time tenant) had “Varsity Theater” printed on it. Further evidence lies in the fact that all the fire doors above the first floor are still visible…although they took down the escapes after a small fire (maybe ten years back). It was never a pharmacy…always multiple tenants. I’m not sure…but, you may be giving it a few too many seats.
Most surprising is the fact there was consideration given to renovating it as a performing arts center four or five years ago, although it proved to be cost-prohibitive. Maybe it will come out of hibernation some day. Here’s an article:
Most of this is news to me. The most surprising part of the article is that they were thinking of reopening the Varsity, in downtown Evanston. The Varsity was the best place in town…and people who have worked in the building within the last fifteen years say that it is intact above the retail space on the first floor. Maybe it will come out of hibernation some day.
Central St. Performing Arts Center — Feasible?
By Beth Demes
Evanston Round Table
Volume IV Number 12
June 6, 2001
Performing arts organizations in Evanston are keeping their fingers crossed – twice.
First, that the City Council approves a grant to study converting the old Central Street movie theaters into a performing arts center. And, second, that the study proves the dream feasible.
City Council is expected to consider the $56,100 grant, requested by Light Opera Works and Dance Center Evanston, the two main tenants of the proposed performance venue, at its June 11 meeting. The Economic Development Committee approved the grant at its May 23 meeting after much discussion.
If City Council approves the grant, David Woodhouse Architects, a design firm that specializes in cultural and recreational centers, will assess the feasibility and cost of converting the former Evanston Theater, 1702 Central Street, for use by the two proposed tenants. They will also look at how the space might accommodate other Evanston performing arts groups, such as the Evanston Symphony Orchestra, Piven Theatre, Next Theatre and Organic Theater. “It’s in our best interest to sublease as much of the space as possible [to other performing arts groups],” said Bridget McDonough, general manager of Light Opera Works. The study might determine, she added, that there could be a third theater in the space, potentially allowing a third main tenant for the building.
Gordon Magill, trustee for the owners of the building, said the theater was built in the 1920s as a movie house and was used at one point for live performances. Before being cut into smaller movie theaters, the property had two auditoriums in two separate buildings. The larger auditorium, the original movie house called the “west theater,” now broken into four theaters, is actually located at 1716 Central St. The smaller “east theater,” a former gym converted to a movie theater in the early 1970s, has the 1702 Central St. address.
Light Opera Works is interested in the west theater, which holds 1,200 to 1,500 seats. Dance Center Evanston is looking at the 600-seat east theater for studio and flexible performance space. “I believe in the project, and I believe in the people who are committed to make it happen,” Mr. Magill told Economic Development Committee members at the May meeting.
He said he would hold off marketing the building, vacant since Loews Theaters closed in late February, to other tenants as long as there is steady progress on the project and “light at the end of the tunnel.”
“[Converting] the Central Street theaters from a movie house to a working performing arts center…would ensure that two of our City’s leading cultural institutions would be with us for a long time to come,” Carol Daskais Navin, a Dance Center Evanston Board member, told the Committee.
Both performing arts groups had already outgrown their present quarters and were looking for larger spaces when the Central Street theaters became vacant. But retrofitting the old movie theaters for major live productions will not be easy. The greatest challenge, said Ms. McDonough, may be adapting the west theater for Light Opera Works' needs, which include an orchestra pit large enough for 35 pieces, a fly loft and wing space.
Several Economic Development Committee members were concerned about the cost of the conversion and ongoing operation and who would foot the bill.
Ms. McDonough pointed out that her organization and Ms. Rashid’s would be signing leases for the space and have already discussed possible rents with Mr. Magill. Both groups, she added, would rely first on their donor bases to raise money for the rehab, before approaching the larger community. She would not say what their fundraising limit might be, or whether the City may be needed to fill a gap, preferring to wait for the results of the study first. The City has also been non-committal about subsidizing such a project. It has not been willing to consider sizable funding in the past for performing arts centers.
Two years ago, as part of the plan for the downtown Church Street Plaza development, the architect hired by developer Arthur Hill estimated that the construction cost for a second-level performing arts center above a new Levy Senior Center would be about $13 million. As an alternative, the City looked into rehabbing the former Varsity Theater on Sherman Avenue; that also proved to be expensive at $10 million. With estimates of private fund-raising capacity limited to $4 million and the City’s inability to fill the funding gap, that proposed performing arts center fell apart.
An earlier attempt in the late 1980s for an Evanston performing arts center to house the Northlight Theatre also failed because of cost and funding difficulties.
In a separate interview, Ms. McDonough said she thought the Central Street proposal would be different. Compared to the Varsity Theater, the Central Street theaters are in better condition and should not be as expensive to retrofit. She also said that instead of creating a new non-profit to raise the funds and operate the building, as the Church Street Plaza plan contemplated, two existing, established arts organizations would take the lead, making the fundraising easier.
Scheduling multiple groups for the space, always a challenge in a single performing arts venue, might also be easier because of the inherent priority of the organizations leasing the space.
Some City officials have pointed out that Evanston already has a performing arts center – the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St.
Ms. McDonough and others in the arts community say the Noyes Center is very supportive and valuable because it offers space to arts organizations at reduced rent, but it has limitations.
Joyce Piven, artistic director of the Piven Theatre Workshop, told the RoundTable they juggle holding classes and performing shows in their space at the Noyes Center.
“If we are able to put out one or two [of our four shows per season] in another venue, it would give us room to breathe,” explained Ms. Piven. That is why the Central Street proposal is so appealing. Ideally, she said, they would be looking for a house with 200 to 250 seats.
“We seem to have a burgeoning of very solid performance groups in Evanston that have already received city-wide recognition, either through the [Joseph Jefferson Awards] committee, or through Chicago newspapers, or through the gathering audiences that we have here,” Ms. Piven continued. “We feel that a performance center of some kind would really be a stunning thing for the North Shore. It’s something that is waiting to happen.”
Wow!! I grew up at this place…saw E.T. there. Seeing a sold-out show in the main theater was great. I had no idea it was once one screen…or that there was a bowling alley & amusement park. It became part of Meridian Theaters as a condition of the Loews Cineplex merger…which was fine with Loew Cineplex…they just gave Meridian a lot of their older sites. Loews Cineplex then promptly sank into reorganization bankruptcy…anybody want my stock certificate? Meridian was seeded with a couple million in venture capital money: they wanted to create an entertainment company serving inner-city movie-goers. it didn’t pan out for whatever reason…and now, near as I can tell, the organization has completely liquidated. It was a shame to see the place come down…a lot of North Shore history went with it.
Wow…I hope the Warner is not in real danger. It looks to be unusually original…and it is serving the community well. The web site listed above has instructions on how to make donations. It is difficult to imagine that anyone viewing this content cannot spare $10.
I have seen interior pictures of this theater on a site called Forgotten Detroit. It is in ruins…and the term is not used lightly. I cannot believe that anyone will put forth the gigantic investment necessary to restore it.
Sad to say…I think this one is a lost cause.
That being the case, a city with something like the Fox Theater can only complain so much.
Woody…you need a password to use that link, brother.
I suppose it is an obvious statement…and, I am with you on the issue of realism. I wish I had the time to organize, plan & motivate…instead of being an arm chair quarterback.
When an aging cinema in marginal shape (especially one with little decoration like the Milford) comes down, I see it as a sign of the changing world. But this place has an outdoor ceiling…and has been restored. I hope somebody steps up.
Have the banquet hall people shown respect for the building’s interior?
The sign in question also carried M&R’s logo.
Yeah…it’s gone. The internet doesn’t stay the same for very long. It was a passing reference contained in a discussion of the Evanston Theater. It added figures to what I described. The project was estimated at $10-11 million, if memory serves. Something like $7 million was accessible. This large funding gap led them to look at other options. I wonder how much of that cost would have been associated with adding a real stage to the place. 2500 seats, opened in 1926…no working stage. I can’t figure that one out.
I would also be curious to know how many current Evanston residents know what that building really is.
Seems like a good sign that the owner was willing to at least look into the matter of an arts center.
I appreciate the job you do.
Regarding Evanston’s Varsity, I have two concerns:
1) I think you need to be careful with words like, “gutted”. I have been around architecture my whole life, and every time that word has been used, it was to refer to a building that had been stripped to the four exterior walls. Current information on the Varsity suggests that 75-90% of the interior exists.
2) I suspect that, because you do have so much to look after, you sometimes post facts that have not been properly confirmed. I know the place never had one retail tenant, although a pharmacy may now move into one of the stalls. I don’t think there were 2600 seats in the Varsity either, although it was big. But I fully admit my uncertainty there. Those THS guys could confirm this number, I suppose.
And that’s really the point. If a statement cannot be properly confirmed (and there is only one way to do that), a disclaimer should be attached. This site comes up in search engine results all the time, and is often the only available internet reference. I think it is reasonable to assume that members of the media, and potential developers find their way in here on a pretty regular basis. That being the case, I think you have a responsibility to report your facts in the proper manner. Misinformation has the capacity to act as an enemy of historic preservation.
Regarding corrections, Paul appears to have sent you a formal request in November, and posted several related messages. I think you could have gotten to it in that span of time…especially when Paul is diligently working out there to make his building a living part of the community. It’s not like someone asked you to correct the demolition year of some nickelodeon.
Now that I have given you a hard time, I will say: keep up the good work! You have created a valuable forum.
I think Paul is right. It seems the people running this web site are prone to slapping together a story, in the name of having something posted (Varsity Theater, Evanston, IL for instance). I think the effort to create this forum is great, and the designers deserve recognition. But, to post unverified facts and refuse to change them upon request of those involved with legitimate reuse efforts makes the preservation community look disorganized, and ultimately hurts the cause.
Is it very much intact? Realism is the cornerstone of preservation. I looked into the lobby around 1990, and there was obvious water damage. Has anything been done to stabilize the building since then? This place is worthy of attention…I just wonder if the auditorium ceiling is lying on the seats.
It would be ridiculous to see this building demolished. If the Chicago preservation community ever had a cause to rally around, this is it. It is a true movie palace, and has been restored. It shouldn’t be allowed to slowly decline over the next fifteen years (as so many of these buildings have), to the point where it is unusable. The same is true of the New Regal.
I think you are right, Ken. My comment could have been more carefully worded…and Paul, I applaud your efforts in Wheaton.
I thought I knew of all the major classic theaters in the US…but this is a new one on me. It looks great…and you have so many bookings!! Unbelievable!! Well done!!
I saw a movie here in the 90’s. It was a dump while it was still running…smelling, dark, musty, dirty. No vintage decoration remaining, that I could see. It sounds like it has gotten worse. Is this place really worth the effort? Why not put energy toward the Patio…not far away. That’s a bona-fide movie palace, with one screen, in great shape, and an uncertain future.
Preservation efforts should be focused and intelligent. Battles must be chosen wisely. The Gateway is down Milwaukee Avenue a few blocks…a functioning vintage screen in great shape. How many old theaters can Jefferson Park support, and how many millions would it take to fix the Portage up? Chicago preservationists have more important things to worry about…the Uptown, the New Regal, the Patio, the Ramova. The best remaining part of the Portage is the exterior. I wouldn’t think twice if CVS dropped a drug store inside the auditorium.
See page 13 of this PDF file:
View link
What an astounding building…great…
…and JC, I’ll bet you were a good-looking candy girl…
The big missing piece of history here is that it was the home of the Northlight Theater Company for many years, in between careers as a movie house and a concert hall. They spent a good amount of money to convert it…and it worked well for their purposes. I saw some unremarkable play there with my family during this period. I’m not sure why they moved out…maybe the city got on their case about something…or they built a new building. It did well with the concerts after Northlight moved on…had some great ones. But, the residents around there were nervous about the crouds that came out of the place at night…and that was the end of that. It sat around for a few years…and eventually was replaced by a condominium building, in keeping with the redevelopment angle that city government is pushing. This was a building that, while unremarkable, had a lot of history and certainly could have been reused. If nothing else, the crown-shaped sign out front was great!
That’s too bad…here’s my great Publix memory: a street person trying to sell me reefer in front of the building around 1990. For the record…I declined…looked like it was about to fall down at that time.
But, I don’t think Boston has done badly. If you live in Houston or Cincinnati…I will listen to your complaints.
By the way…this is a great site. I haven’t had the time to keep on preservation efforts much in the last ten years…and this makes it possible. Good job!
What a cheap way to do business. Huang will get his. What goes around comes around…though not always as fast as you might like.
Boy, was it a dump by 1999…smelled musty, sticky floors…the whole nine yards. I remember taking my first girlfriend to see JFK there…a mistake. People still flocked to the place, though…it had parking. The Century put an end to all that…and, I must admit, I think it’s a better place to see a show. The Evanston never worked with four screens. The cinemas were oddly shaped…although the single screen down the street was OK. Nevertheless, generations of us went to the movies there. I guess if they could retrofit the Coronet for live shows, they could make the Evanston work. So, maybe it has another round to go…
Man, this place was the greatest. Hands down, the best theater in the area back in the 70’s & 80’s.
I think gutted is probably too strong of a word. People who worked in the building during the 90’s said the balcony…and everything else above the first floor was still there. In fact, your receipt from Musicland (long-time tenant) had “Varsity Theater” printed on it. Further evidence lies in the fact that all the fire doors above the first floor are still visible…although they took down the escapes after a small fire (maybe ten years back). It was never a pharmacy…always multiple tenants. I’m not sure…but, you may be giving it a few too many seats.
Most surprising is the fact there was consideration given to renovating it as a performing arts center four or five years ago, although it proved to be cost-prohibitive. Maybe it will come out of hibernation some day. Here’s an article:
View link
I wonder who owns the building, and what they think of all this…
Most of this is news to me. The most surprising part of the article is that they were thinking of reopening the Varsity, in downtown Evanston. The Varsity was the best place in town…and people who have worked in the building within the last fifteen years say that it is intact above the retail space on the first floor. Maybe it will come out of hibernation some day.
Central St. Performing Arts Center — Feasible?
By Beth Demes
Evanston Round Table
Volume IV Number 12
June 6, 2001
Performing arts organizations in Evanston are keeping their fingers crossed – twice.
First, that the City Council approves a grant to study converting the old Central Street movie theaters into a performing arts center. And, second, that the study proves the dream feasible.
City Council is expected to consider the $56,100 grant, requested by Light Opera Works and Dance Center Evanston, the two main tenants of the proposed performance venue, at its June 11 meeting. The Economic Development Committee approved the grant at its May 23 meeting after much discussion.
If City Council approves the grant, David Woodhouse Architects, a design firm that specializes in cultural and recreational centers, will assess the feasibility and cost of converting the former Evanston Theater, 1702 Central Street, for use by the two proposed tenants. They will also look at how the space might accommodate other Evanston performing arts groups, such as the Evanston Symphony Orchestra, Piven Theatre, Next Theatre and Organic Theater. “It’s in our best interest to sublease as much of the space as possible [to other performing arts groups],” said Bridget McDonough, general manager of Light Opera Works. The study might determine, she added, that there could be a third theater in the space, potentially allowing a third main tenant for the building.
Gordon Magill, trustee for the owners of the building, said the theater was built in the 1920s as a movie house and was used at one point for live performances. Before being cut into smaller movie theaters, the property had two auditoriums in two separate buildings. The larger auditorium, the original movie house called the “west theater,” now broken into four theaters, is actually located at 1716 Central St. The smaller “east theater,” a former gym converted to a movie theater in the early 1970s, has the 1702 Central St. address.
Light Opera Works is interested in the west theater, which holds 1,200 to 1,500 seats. Dance Center Evanston is looking at the 600-seat east theater for studio and flexible performance space. “I believe in the project, and I believe in the people who are committed to make it happen,” Mr. Magill told Economic Development Committee members at the May meeting.
He said he would hold off marketing the building, vacant since Loews Theaters closed in late February, to other tenants as long as there is steady progress on the project and “light at the end of the tunnel.”
“[Converting] the Central Street theaters from a movie house to a working performing arts center…would ensure that two of our City’s leading cultural institutions would be with us for a long time to come,” Carol Daskais Navin, a Dance Center Evanston Board member, told the Committee.
Light Opera Works has offered musical theater in Evanston for the past 20 years and produces four shows a year, three in Northwestern University’s Cahn Auditorium and one in the YMCA Child Care Center Auditorium. The non-profit arts organization draws about 29,000 patrons a year and has 2,700 subscribers. Dance Center Evanston, 610 Davis St., opened in 1994 as a dance school for students ages three and older. The school, under owner and director Bˆ©a Rashid, has grown from 70 to 500 students who take classes in ballet, modern dance, jazz and tap. The non-profit Evanston Dance Ensemble is a civic dance company that draws from the school.
Both performing arts groups had already outgrown their present quarters and were looking for larger spaces when the Central Street theaters became vacant. But retrofitting the old movie theaters for major live productions will not be easy. The greatest challenge, said Ms. McDonough, may be adapting the west theater for Light Opera Works' needs, which include an orchestra pit large enough for 35 pieces, a fly loft and wing space.
Several Economic Development Committee members were concerned about the cost of the conversion and ongoing operation and who would foot the bill.
Ms. McDonough pointed out that her organization and Ms. Rashid’s would be signing leases for the space and have already discussed possible rents with Mr. Magill. Both groups, she added, would rely first on their donor bases to raise money for the rehab, before approaching the larger community. She would not say what their fundraising limit might be, or whether the City may be needed to fill a gap, preferring to wait for the results of the study first. The City has also been non-committal about subsidizing such a project. It has not been willing to consider sizable funding in the past for performing arts centers.
Two years ago, as part of the plan for the downtown Church Street Plaza development, the architect hired by developer Arthur Hill estimated that the construction cost for a second-level performing arts center above a new Levy Senior Center would be about $13 million. As an alternative, the City looked into rehabbing the former Varsity Theater on Sherman Avenue; that also proved to be expensive at $10 million. With estimates of private fund-raising capacity limited to $4 million and the City’s inability to fill the funding gap, that proposed performing arts center fell apart.
An earlier attempt in the late 1980s for an Evanston performing arts center to house the Northlight Theatre also failed because of cost and funding difficulties.
In a separate interview, Ms. McDonough said she thought the Central Street proposal would be different. Compared to the Varsity Theater, the Central Street theaters are in better condition and should not be as expensive to retrofit. She also said that instead of creating a new non-profit to raise the funds and operate the building, as the Church Street Plaza plan contemplated, two existing, established arts organizations would take the lead, making the fundraising easier.
Scheduling multiple groups for the space, always a challenge in a single performing arts venue, might also be easier because of the inherent priority of the organizations leasing the space.
Some City officials have pointed out that Evanston already has a performing arts center – the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St.
Ms. McDonough and others in the arts community say the Noyes Center is very supportive and valuable because it offers space to arts organizations at reduced rent, but it has limitations.
Joyce Piven, artistic director of the Piven Theatre Workshop, told the RoundTable they juggle holding classes and performing shows in their space at the Noyes Center.
“If we are able to put out one or two [of our four shows per season] in another venue, it would give us room to breathe,” explained Ms. Piven. That is why the Central Street proposal is so appealing. Ideally, she said, they would be looking for a house with 200 to 250 seats.
“We seem to have a burgeoning of very solid performance groups in Evanston that have already received city-wide recognition, either through the [Joseph Jefferson Awards] committee, or through Chicago newspapers, or through the gathering audiences that we have here,” Ms. Piven continued. “We feel that a performance center of some kind would really be a stunning thing for the North Shore. It’s something that is waiting to happen.”
Wow!! I grew up at this place…saw E.T. there. Seeing a sold-out show in the main theater was great. I had no idea it was once one screen…or that there was a bowling alley & amusement park. It became part of Meridian Theaters as a condition of the Loews Cineplex merger…which was fine with Loew Cineplex…they just gave Meridian a lot of their older sites. Loews Cineplex then promptly sank into reorganization bankruptcy…anybody want my stock certificate? Meridian was seeded with a couple million in venture capital money: they wanted to create an entertainment company serving inner-city movie-goers. it didn’t pan out for whatever reason…and now, near as I can tell, the organization has completely liquidated. It was a shame to see the place come down…a lot of North Shore history went with it.
Wow…I hope the Warner is not in real danger. It looks to be unusually original…and it is serving the community well. The web site listed above has instructions on how to make donations. It is difficult to imagine that anyone viewing this content cannot spare $10.