I went past this place recently. Other than the marquee, there is little evidence that this was a cinema. And the marquee appears to be used for public service announcements.
Per Catherine’s comment above, I wonder why an “art house” would not be successful in the Gold Coast neighborhood. It would seem like the right area for it. The 900 North, the Carnegie, the Cinema, the Esquire, and the Water Tower all tried their hands at it at one time or another.
Has anybody been to this theatre since Village took it over. The only time I was ever in here was to see the Bond flick “Tomorrow Never Dies”. The theatre was only about 7 years old at the time, but was NOT well-run.
WOW was that restaurant ever GAUDY! I don’t think I’d ever be comfortable in a place like that.
Greenpoint,
No, those projects were likely Cabrini-Green on the city’s Near North Side. Fortunately, over the past decade, Cabrini-Green has largely been torn down.
The Deleware Building across Dearborn Street from the Woods looks better today than it ever has. I believe it is one of the oldest buildings in the Loop.
I thought that the re-opening of the Hollywood might also help garner interest in getting this place re-opened. Now that the Hollywood failed, will that hurt this place’s chances too?
What a shame that Village operated that way. When they took over a lot of local theatres in the early 2000s, those sites were almost all still potentially good theatres. They were even still getting decent bookings into the Water Tower Theatres.
At the beginning, it appeared that Village Entertainment could have been a successful firm. A Projectionist, you certainly did try to breathe life into the Village Art. Given the right film, the location could still draw a big crowd. The last three films I saw at the Village, “Stranger Than Fiction”, “Venus”, and “Children of Men” certainly had decent sized crowds.
The Village could still make money today with the proper management.
I didn’t realize that. I went to the Thursday night free film program almost every week and noticed that the auditorium was nearly full. Plus they staggered the show times so that the regular movies would not start anywhere around the 8pm starting time. The last free movie I saw there was the original “Exorcist” and so many free tickets were issued, it was played in the biggest auditorium, which was full.
I’m not doubting you though—I’ll bet a few people did try to sneak into the other films.
The La Grange will be raising it’s admission prices to $3.50 to help cover the costs of renovations. I wonder if that will affect the attendance at this second run house.
From the theatre’s website:
‘Remember When…
The Blues Brothers were on a “Mission from God"
"ET Phone home” made you cry
You were shocked that Vader was Luke’s Father
These were playing the last time La Grange Theatre raised ticket prices! Starting April 2nd, we will be raising our ticket price to $3.50, to help in the continued renovation of our theatres.'
Please continue to patronize this theatre everybody. The owners are making an earnest attempt to stay in business.
The telephone message for this theatre is now warning people where NOT to park. The message is also telling people that their cars will be towed by Lincoln Towing and is also giving Lincoln Towing’s phone number and address out.
Before Loews and AMC merged, the 600 North Michigan Theatre in Chicago used to have a free movie every Thursday night at 8:00pm. Of course, you’re talking about a major chain able to afford to do that every week.
What a shame. I bet that if Keresotas took over this place, they would do well with it like they did with the Webster Place. The Norridge can still draw large crowds from what I understand.
I haven’t been here since the late 1980s. What’s this place like? How is the movie-going experience here?
Interesting what Movie534 said about chains in the above post. I’ve liked what Kerasotes has done here in the Chicago area. And we also have Classic Cinemas too. I’ve been taking my business to Kerasotes and Classic Cinemas a lot lately.
You are right about that. Lincoln Village still has the waterfall curtains, although I understand that they are no longer in use.
You are right and C-O did try to modernize the movie-going experience for theatre patrons. I just find it interesting that so many of the theatres that they built between 1985 and 1990 in the Chicagoland Area are now closed. The Grove has even been demolished after standing for only 15 years or so.
I went past this place recently. Other than the marquee, there is little evidence that this was a cinema. And the marquee appears to be used for public service announcements.
The website is now http://www.lansingcinema8.com/
One thing that hurt it was, as Cinemark Fan said, lack of advertising. It was advertised only half-assed, under the full ad for the Lansing.
Per Catherine’s comment above, I wonder why an “art house” would not be successful in the Gold Coast neighborhood. It would seem like the right area for it. The 900 North, the Carnegie, the Cinema, the Esquire, and the Water Tower all tried their hands at it at one time or another.
Has anybody been to this theatre since Village took it over. The only time I was ever in here was to see the Bond flick “Tomorrow Never Dies”. The theatre was only about 7 years old at the time, but was NOT well-run.
BK,
Per your description above, I thought M&R was the last operator of the Oriental?
BW
WOW was that restaurant ever GAUDY! I don’t think I’d ever be comfortable in a place like that.
Greenpoint,
No, those projects were likely Cabrini-Green on the city’s Near North Side. Fortunately, over the past decade, Cabrini-Green has largely been torn down.
The Deleware Building across Dearborn Street from the Woods looks better today than it ever has. I believe it is one of the oldest buildings in the Loop.
I thought that the re-opening of the Hollywood might also help garner interest in getting this place re-opened. Now that the Hollywood failed, will that hurt this place’s chances too?
LTS
Yes, Meridian went under because they failed to pay city and county amusement taxes.
What a shame that Village operated that way. When they took over a lot of local theatres in the early 2000s, those sites were almost all still potentially good theatres. They were even still getting decent bookings into the Water Tower Theatres.
At the beginning, it appeared that Village Entertainment could have been a successful firm. A Projectionist, you certainly did try to breathe life into the Village Art. Given the right film, the location could still draw a big crowd. The last three films I saw at the Village, “Stranger Than Fiction”, “Venus”, and “Children of Men” certainly had decent sized crowds.
The Village could still make money today with the proper management.
Destinta really did a number on Pittsburgh Area theatres.
You remember Omni? Wow! I think they merged into Safeway/Dominick’s sometime in the 1990s.
John,
I didn’t realize that. I went to the Thursday night free film program almost every week and noticed that the auditorium was nearly full. Plus they staggered the show times so that the regular movies would not start anywhere around the 8pm starting time. The last free movie I saw there was the original “Exorcist” and so many free tickets were issued, it was played in the biggest auditorium, which was full.
I’m not doubting you though—I’ll bet a few people did try to sneak into the other films.
Does Linen & Things still occupy the building? I heard that Linens & Things went bankrupt and will close several locations.
Interesting tale of the Esquire’s last day: View link
The La Grange will be raising it’s admission prices to $3.50 to help cover the costs of renovations. I wonder if that will affect the attendance at this second run house.
From the theatre’s website:
‘Remember When…
The Blues Brothers were on a “Mission from God"
"ET Phone home” made you cry
You were shocked that Vader was Luke’s Father
These were playing the last time La Grange Theatre raised ticket prices! Starting April 2nd, we will be raising our ticket price to $3.50, to help in the continued renovation of our theatres.'
Please continue to patronize this theatre everybody. The owners are making an earnest attempt to stay in business.
That’s an interesting ad, Ken MC. Only the Catlow and the Liberty 1&2 remain open, all of the others have been closed.
Robin,
The telephone message for this theatre is now warning people where NOT to park. The message is also telling people that their cars will be towed by Lincoln Towing and is also giving Lincoln Towing’s phone number and address out.
Before Loews and AMC merged, the 600 North Michigan Theatre in Chicago used to have a free movie every Thursday night at 8:00pm. Of course, you’re talking about a major chain able to afford to do that every week.
What a shame. I bet that if Keresotas took over this place, they would do well with it like they did with the Webster Place. The Norridge can still draw large crowds from what I understand.
I haven’t been here since the late 1980s. What’s this place like? How is the movie-going experience here?
I think it’s an excellent idea. The area needs more 2nd run houses.
MP775,
Have they announced a closure date yet?
Interesting what Movie534 said about chains in the above post. I’ve liked what Kerasotes has done here in the Chicago area. And we also have Classic Cinemas too. I’ve been taking my business to Kerasotes and Classic Cinemas a lot lately.
BW
You are right about that. Lincoln Village still has the waterfall curtains, although I understand that they are no longer in use.
You are right and C-O did try to modernize the movie-going experience for theatre patrons. I just find it interesting that so many of the theatres that they built between 1985 and 1990 in the Chicagoland Area are now closed. The Grove has even been demolished after standing for only 15 years or so.