Living as I did much closer to the Highland (my dad owned a gas station at 77th and Ashland), I only went to the Capitol once or twice, but I do vividly remember the incredible decor which my parents talked about seeing in earlier years. There were “imitation stars” on the celing, of which all but a few were burned out by the time I got there—– perhaps 1959 or so, at which time I would have been 11.
My family was part of the “white flight” (over which, being just a kid, I had no control!), so all my memories predate 1966 or there abouts. But being apartment dwellers, we left rather late (since property values were of no concern to us). For quite a while our building was mixed race, in fact. But rightly or wrongly (I think wrongly) my mother became fearful of some of the guests to other units, and we moved to a “wonderful” neighborhood called Marquette Park a few miles away (although the Lithuanians who predominated there probably weren’t that fond of Poles like my mom, or Irishmen like my dad, or “mixed nationality” mongrels like me :).
In any case, I remember the neighborhood around the Capitol theatre very well. A couple of blocks further East on 79th Street was a Chicago Public Library branch of which I have fond memories, going back to the time I was about 5. Also, kitty corner from the Capitol and a few doors north (I think a tobacco store was on the corner), was Mutual bamk, at which my parents had an account. I rode with my dad there hundreds of times as a toddler. By the time I was 12, I made that daily trek myself with a bicycle (we all though 1 mile was a heck of a long ride, back then. One “crazy lady” we knew actually walked it now and then! :).
I also remember the Woolworth on Halsted, and the noticably less fancy (and less nice smelling) SS Kresge (owned by the company that later became K Mart) half a block further down. A block still further down was Star Electronics, at which I bought filter capacitors to fix old tube radios, tubes, and my first 2N107 germanium transistor in about 1959 (yeah, I was a proto goeek back then :).
In brief, this was a great place for me to grow up as a kid, and the Highland and the Capitol theatres were all part of that overall experience. So too was the “neighborhood change” other have here mentioned. I say this because it was in no small part because of that experience that I figured out, early on, that African Americans were basically just folks like anyone else— only with, on averge, somewhat better senses of humor. ;)
As a kid growing up in the mid 50s, I saw “25 Cartoons” in this theatre (for 25 cents, as I recall) on many school holidays. This was always a great day, in part, because they opened all three balconies to accomodate the huge crowd of early Boomers.
I remember a hugh theatre organ wish I always wished someone would play, but nobody ever did. Last movie I remember seeing there was Circus of Horrors, which the internet tells me was released in 1960. I was 12 then, and really didn’t like the movie—– a bid gory for my tastes then and even now. It did have a memorable theme song called “look for a Star,” which strangely enough, the tune and lyrics I can remember to this day:
A rich man, a poor man, a beggar
No matter whoever you are
there’s a friend who’s waiting to guide you
Look for a Star
Given the overall backdrop (the song would play during the circus performer who was about to be brutally murdered) a found it a bit sarcastic and cynical. So that somewhat ruined the song for me http://www.poofcat.com/oldies7.html (I found this link after typing the above)
Living as I did much closer to the Highland (my dad owned a gas station at 77th and Ashland), I only went to the Capitol once or twice, but I do vividly remember the incredible decor which my parents talked about seeing in earlier years. There were “imitation stars” on the celing, of which all but a few were burned out by the time I got there—– perhaps 1959 or so, at which time I would have been 11.
My family was part of the “white flight” (over which, being just a kid, I had no control!), so all my memories predate 1966 or there abouts. But being apartment dwellers, we left rather late (since property values were of no concern to us). For quite a while our building was mixed race, in fact. But rightly or wrongly (I think wrongly) my mother became fearful of some of the guests to other units, and we moved to a “wonderful” neighborhood called Marquette Park a few miles away (although the Lithuanians who predominated there probably weren’t that fond of Poles like my mom, or Irishmen like my dad, or “mixed nationality” mongrels like me :).
In any case, I remember the neighborhood around the Capitol theatre very well. A couple of blocks further East on 79th Street was a Chicago Public Library branch of which I have fond memories, going back to the time I was about 5. Also, kitty corner from the Capitol and a few doors north (I think a tobacco store was on the corner), was Mutual bamk, at which my parents had an account. I rode with my dad there hundreds of times as a toddler. By the time I was 12, I made that daily trek myself with a bicycle (we all though 1 mile was a heck of a long ride, back then. One “crazy lady” we knew actually walked it now and then! :).
I also remember the Woolworth on Halsted, and the noticably less fancy (and less nice smelling) SS Kresge (owned by the company that later became K Mart) half a block further down. A block still further down was Star Electronics, at which I bought filter capacitors to fix old tube radios, tubes, and my first 2N107 germanium transistor in about 1959 (yeah, I was a proto goeek back then :).
In brief, this was a great place for me to grow up as a kid, and the Highland and the Capitol theatres were all part of that overall experience. So too was the “neighborhood change” other have here mentioned. I say this because it was in no small part because of that experience that I figured out, early on, that African Americans were basically just folks like anyone else— only with, on averge, somewhat better senses of humor. ;)
As a kid growing up in the mid 50s, I saw “25 Cartoons” in this theatre (for 25 cents, as I recall) on many school holidays. This was always a great day, in part, because they opened all three balconies to accomodate the huge crowd of early Boomers.
I remember a hugh theatre organ wish I always wished someone would play, but nobody ever did. Last movie I remember seeing there was Circus of Horrors, which the internet tells me was released in 1960. I was 12 then, and really didn’t like the movie—– a bid gory for my tastes then and even now. It did have a memorable theme song called “look for a Star,” which strangely enough, the tune and lyrics I can remember to this day:
A rich man, a poor man, a beggar
No matter whoever you are
there’s a friend who’s waiting to guide you
Look for a Star
Given the overall backdrop (the song would play during the circus performer who was about to be brutally murdered) a found it a bit sarcastic and cynical. So that somewhat ruined the song for me
http://www.poofcat.com/oldies7.html (I found this link after typing the above)