Olympic Theater
6134 W. Cermak Road,
Cicero,
IL
60804
6134 W. Cermak Road,
Cicero,
IL
60804
12 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Olympic Theater (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Nokimos Theaters
Styles: French Renaissance, Neo-Classical
Previous Names: Concordia Theatre, Olympic Theatre
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
773.283.7422
Nearby Theaters
News About This Theater
- May 24, 2007 — Olympic Theatre restoration
The Olympic Theatre is a moderate-sized theatre housed within a larger building. The façade is in an understated Neo-Classical style and the interior is reminiscent of French Renaissance. It opened in 1927, originally as a ballroom. On November 19, 1937 it was converted into a movie house playing Alice Faye in “You Can’t Have Everything” & Pat O'Brien in “San Quentin”. It remained as a movie theatre until closing in 1993, after falling in disrepair.
The Olympic Theatre briefly reopened in 1994 as a venue for a live theatre production, but closed again in less than a year, sitting vacant for a handful of years.
For a couple years in the early-2000’s, the theatre was renamed the Concordia Theatre and hosted mainly acts catering to the Latino community.
Now under new management, the theatre returned to its original name, the Olympic Theater, and reopened on March 8, 2008. The theatre hosted concerts, comedy shows, pageants, plays and other live entertainment. The Olympic Theater has undergone renovations including state of the art audio and visual components. It was closed in 2018 due to smoke damage from a fire. It was announced in January 2023 that it will reopen May 7, 2023 screening Humphrey Bogart in “Casablanca” and to continue with more classic movies and live concerts. As of April 2023 the theatre remains closed.
Contributed by
Eric Muniz, Jim Pontrelli
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Recent comments (view all 38 comments)
Does anyone recall Laura Branigan doing a show there back in the 80s?
I recall going to see E.T. back in the 80s and being allowed to go in on my own and I was a preteen.
Back in the 70s my dad took me to see Live and let die and they wouldnt allow me in.
“LIVE AND LET DIE” was PG can’t understand why they would not let you see it.
From the 1980s a close up of the Olympic Theatre sign in Cicero.
My mom was a pretty happening woman, culture-wise, during the two years we lived in Chicago in the ‘60s. On the Monday morning of our spring break away from school in 1968, she said she had a surprise for us: the matinee of a movie that had just opened at the Olympic Theatre in Cicero called 2001: A Space Odyssey. We filed into the car for the short hop over from Oak Park, and she let us off at the curb before going off shopping. I’m talking about me and six brothers, all of whom were under 18; I’m surprised the theater management let our little ensemble in. Once inside, though, we found that the grand hall was deserted, so where did we decide to sit? In the balcony, of course! The viewing of cinematic masterpiece at the Olympic remains one of the greatest experiences of my life. The film was so crisp looking and the sound was pretty glorious for the time. Seeing 2001 at the Olympic, I feel, established it as my favorite movie of all time. I’ve viewed it many times since, including a remastered 70-millimeter print at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, Calif back in 1995. All pale in comparison to my remembrances of being at the Olympic on that one Monday in April 1968. I tell my wife that I’m overdue for a visit back to Chicago, with or without her. When I go, I’ll definitely swing by the Olympic. As for my memories, if only there was some time machine I could step into…
Beautiful building.It’s nice to see this building is still being kept up. I grew up in Cicero and I can remember mom attending beauty school in the building next to the theater. Back then it was safe to leave the kids in the car and we knew once mom went inside we were free to roam the area and that we did playing hide and seek crossing the street to go to the bank and get free candy. All the fun we had and we managed to get back into the car before mom got out of class. It was a treat for us to go see a movie here Never by ourselves it was always a family event.
This venue has been closed at least since last year.
2017 Urban Remains link and John Mallin link both with photos that somehow did not get shared here.
https://www.urbanremainschicago.com/news-and-events/2017/07/17/documenting-ciceros-historic-olympic-theater-1927-cut-short-by-heat-exhaustion-plans-to-revisit-in-the-making/?fbclid=IwAR02QXslKqjogFk-pF5O0zAHakdBce1n83CpYY0ZbDX4znr1ILTtT4ylhPk
https://johnamallin.com/project/olympic-theater-ballroom/?fbclid=IwAR3RPiswXALT1jwaHZ1H56B55kj0aVFbCgnIyqOZNfVyUBeYUhwxacaWkrE
The website is showing events, including classic films, beginning May 7 2023 forward. Looks like it’s re-opening.
Facebook link with 43 photos.
https://www.facebook.com/decayingmidwest/posts/pfbid0ikcjjD5D3d7dAHybQ6zB9vvrBFLxV41BbvLK8FisEwEnHy1gPh4Lpt4fpuTEXnXNl
This theatre has been closed due to fire smoke damage. The building has been evacuated since 2018 and has been becoming rundown. Drive past it a lot nothing going on here. The website for theatre is old