The theatre seems to have been known as the Clermont for most of its life, although a few early ads refer to it as Clearmont. The Claremont name only appears once. It seems to disappear from listings around 1927, and was a cabinet shop by the fifties.
In fairness, Shepardson does have a reputation for doing beautiful, fabulous work, but also for having inflated budgets that get broken.
Also, from what i’ve gathered, the Annoyance fiasco was related to the Uptown-Broadway Building, not the Uptown theatre, although Mr. Warshauer was removed from there as well.
In any event, i’m pretty sure Mr. Shepardson has a better reputation, especially since he is willing to discuss his past projects, successful or not.
Ron, are you using Firefox? I do and I frequently have this problem. I’ve mentioned it to Brian Krefft in the past but it’s been doing this as long as i’ve used FF. I’m not sure exactly what causes it.
This is absolutely absurd. Everyone is disregarding prior, unaddressed criticisms and just repeating the same arguments ad nauseam with no regard to accuracy nor truth. It’s like an incredibly obnoxious broken record. It’s clear that you’re all full of spin. There is no sensible reason to continue this bickering. Go do something productive.
The renovation is pretty extreme, it appears. I went by today and the lobby was completely gone, although the auditorium was pretty intact, and a huge hole was ripped in the side, presumably for stage doors. It will be very interesting to see the end result.
Apparently, the seating was much greater than that. The theater opened with nearly 2,500 seats, later reduced to about 2,200 when a third balcony was closed off. This is from a December 5, 1949 article detailing its history, including an interior photo. It was indeed torn down for the Kennedy. It was built in 1887.
Architect for the renovated/rebuilt Echo, 1925, was Elmer Behrens. A December 5, 1925 article from the Chicago Tribune describes it as a 750 seat playhouse with a black and silver interior, with ‘several novel electric lighting features". This major renovation, claiming to only use one wall from the old theatre, was no doubt in response to the competition from the Des Plaines Theatre, opened only two months prior to this article. The article also says the Echo would open in late January, only two months from the article’s publishing. The original theatre was built around 1913, in fact, and was looking like the older nickelodeon it was. A retrospective article from the 1980s describes the interior as including a seated allegorical figure on a ceiling mural. The lobby remains intact, for now, although the auditorium was removed in the 1960s. The stage house also still stands, used as architect’s offices for some time. The building is currently under renovation for use as a post office branch. The facade looks nearly the same as it did when it opened, except for modernized storefronts from a 1980s renovation and the removal of 4 lanterns which were atop the roof.
But you could have such a wonderful view of the Kennedy here! Plus two sets of commuter train tracks (obviously the main appeal). I think there are condos going up directly across from the Gateway too, on two different streets. And to further dispute the assertion that Copernicus couldn’t keep running it, i’ll bet they could build condos just in their parking lot to fund any necessary retrofits to the theatre.
Sounds like a copout to me. There are plenty of other former movie theatres like the Vic, Riviera, Congress, Apollo’s 2000, Admiral, etc that remain in operation. They’re probably just trying to make themselves not look like the bad guys for selling it out.
Well, maybe they meant the largest intact NYC theatre? There’s nothing wrong with nitpicking, people come here to learn more about a given building. Accuracy is a good thing.
Well, certainly, Jim. But he’d already posted that on several other pages here. I could see why he’d post it at the Lawford, or eben at the Wheaton (both of which he did), but it looks like it’s here merely because Warshauer posted here once. Posting the same information to a bunch of irreleveant pages…. brings me back to the days we had Michael roaming this site.
Word has it that it’s set to come down soon for condos. It was more than just paint; most of that ornament is hidden behind drywall and the screen, the results of a few unfortunate modernizations. I just purchased that photo moments ago, incidentally.
You sure like the falling bricks example. If the village held on to the property for 5 years, wasn’t it their responsibility to secure the building and spend the few thousand basic tuckpointing would cost?
Address was 118-126 S. Myrtle. Style was Tudor Revival. Chain was Lynch Theaters. Architect was William B. Betts. Firm was Betts & Holcomb. Opened 1927. Seating may have been up to 1,000 with provision for 400 more, according to a May 15, 1927 article from the Chicago Daily Tribune. Some of the same interests behind the Glen theatre were behind this.
Yes, that’s him. I’d suggest doing a google search on “Richard Nickel”. His work often appears in books on Sullivan’s architecture, Chicago architecture, and there is also a great book about Nickel titled “They All Fall Down”. He’s a personal hero of mine.
Architect was JEO Pridmore (Chicago Tribune, June 14, 1936)
Architect for the Stadium was JEO Pridmore (Chicago Tribune, June 14, 1936)
The theatre seems to have been known as the Clermont for most of its life, although a few early ads refer to it as Clearmont. The Claremont name only appears once. It seems to disappear from listings around 1927, and was a cabinet shop by the fifties.
In 1914, ads refer to the theater as ‘Fullerton’. Perhaps the Crest name came later.
In fairness, Shepardson does have a reputation for doing beautiful, fabulous work, but also for having inflated budgets that get broken.
Also, from what i’ve gathered, the Annoyance fiasco was related to the Uptown-Broadway Building, not the Uptown theatre, although Mr. Warshauer was removed from there as well.
In any event, i’m pretty sure Mr. Shepardson has a better reputation, especially since he is willing to discuss his past projects, successful or not.
Ron, are you using Firefox? I do and I frequently have this problem. I’ve mentioned it to Brian Krefft in the past but it’s been doing this as long as i’ve used FF. I’m not sure exactly what causes it.
Childish.
This is absolutely absurd. Everyone is disregarding prior, unaddressed criticisms and just repeating the same arguments ad nauseam with no regard to accuracy nor truth. It’s like an incredibly obnoxious broken record. It’s clear that you’re all full of spin. There is no sensible reason to continue this bickering. Go do something productive.
View link
“Stratford Square Theaters 1-4 are currently closed.
We are excited to bring our customers a completely renovated, state of the art theater experience in 2006.
Check back for updates on this new and exciting entertainment venue!"
According to movie listings, the Bloomingdale 1-4 is now closed.
The renovation is pretty extreme, it appears. I went by today and the lobby was completely gone, although the auditorium was pretty intact, and a huge hole was ripped in the side, presumably for stage doors. It will be very interesting to see the end result.
Apparently, the seating was much greater than that. The theater opened with nearly 2,500 seats, later reduced to about 2,200 when a third balcony was closed off. This is from a December 5, 1949 article detailing its history, including an interior photo. It was indeed torn down for the Kennedy. It was built in 1887.
I guess I must have forgotten to post this earlier – Here is a 1930s photo of the Villard from the Villa Park historical society.
It doesn’t map quite properly on google for some reason. It is/was located on the NW corner of Kenilworth and Myrtle, just off Villa.
Architect for the renovated/rebuilt Echo, 1925, was Elmer Behrens. A December 5, 1925 article from the Chicago Tribune describes it as a 750 seat playhouse with a black and silver interior, with ‘several novel electric lighting features". This major renovation, claiming to only use one wall from the old theatre, was no doubt in response to the competition from the Des Plaines Theatre, opened only two months prior to this article. The article also says the Echo would open in late January, only two months from the article’s publishing. The original theatre was built around 1913, in fact, and was looking like the older nickelodeon it was. A retrospective article from the 1980s describes the interior as including a seated allegorical figure on a ceiling mural. The lobby remains intact, for now, although the auditorium was removed in the 1960s. The stage house also still stands, used as architect’s offices for some time. The building is currently under renovation for use as a post office branch. The facade looks nearly the same as it did when it opened, except for modernized storefronts from a 1980s renovation and the removal of 4 lanterns which were atop the roof.
But you could have such a wonderful view of the Kennedy here! Plus two sets of commuter train tracks (obviously the main appeal). I think there are condos going up directly across from the Gateway too, on two different streets. And to further dispute the assertion that Copernicus couldn’t keep running it, i’ll bet they could build condos just in their parking lot to fund any necessary retrofits to the theatre.
Sounds like a copout to me. There are plenty of other former movie theatres like the Vic, Riviera, Congress, Apollo’s 2000, Admiral, etc that remain in operation. They’re probably just trying to make themselves not look like the bad guys for selling it out.
Well, maybe they meant the largest intact NYC theatre? There’s nothing wrong with nitpicking, people come here to learn more about a given building. Accuracy is a good thing.
Well, certainly, Jim. But he’d already posted that on several other pages here. I could see why he’d post it at the Lawford, or eben at the Wheaton (both of which he did), but it looks like it’s here merely because Warshauer posted here once. Posting the same information to a bunch of irreleveant pages…. brings me back to the days we had Michael roaming this site.
Please, lay off already. People don’t come to these sites to read about Paul Warshauer, they come for the theaters. Keep it relevant, or… go away.
Word has it that it’s set to come down soon for condos. It was more than just paint; most of that ornament is hidden behind drywall and the screen, the results of a few unfortunate modernizations. I just purchased that photo moments ago, incidentally.
That’s from March.
You sure like the falling bricks example. If the village held on to the property for 5 years, wasn’t it their responsibility to secure the building and spend the few thousand basic tuckpointing would cost?
Address was 118-126 S. Myrtle. Style was Tudor Revival. Chain was Lynch Theaters. Architect was William B. Betts. Firm was Betts & Holcomb. Opened 1927. Seating may have been up to 1,000 with provision for 400 more, according to a May 15, 1927 article from the Chicago Daily Tribune. Some of the same interests behind the Glen theatre were behind this.
Yes, that’s him. I’d suggest doing a google search on “Richard Nickel”. His work often appears in books on Sullivan’s architecture, Chicago architecture, and there is also a great book about Nickel titled “They All Fall Down”. He’s a personal hero of mine.
Well, we still have e-mail notification!