Music Box Theatre
3733 N. Southport Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60613
3733 N. Southport Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60613
69 people
favorited this theater
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Pluto TV will bring back its award-winning ‘Free Movie Weekend’ program this summer to support independent theatres by offering complimentary movie tickets on select weekends. Pluto and director Sean Baker (a champion of independent theatres) celebrate the theatre-going experience as an invaluable part of the film entertainment ecosystem.
Pluto TV’s ‘Free Movie Weekend’ originated after the Covid pandemic to encourage patrons to return to theatres, now including 50 free weekends at theatres in 30 states.
Director Sean Baker (“Anora” )partnered with Pluto TV to nominate local theatres, saying “Free Movie Weekend is a meaningful initiative that shares a cause close to my heart. Local cinemas are cultural touchstones, they are gathering places where communities come together to experience stories as they were meant to be seen: on the big screen. I’m honored to partner with Pluto TV to help spotlight the independent theaters that play such a vital role in sustaining the art of cinema.”
For this year’s ‘Free Movie Weekend,' Sean Baker nominated Los Angeles local theater Gardena Cinema. Gardena Cinema is the last family-run independent single-screen indoor walk-in movie theater in South Los Angeles that was built in 1946 and has been operated by the Kim family since 1976. Daughter Judy Kim continues to manage the 800 seat cinema after the matriarch, Nancy Soo Myoung Kim died on Mother’s Day in 2022 from complications of uterine cancer.
The list for this year’s ‘Free Movie Weekend’:
Gardena Cinema, Los Angeles: June 7-8
Tara Theatre, Atlanta: June 14-15
Music Box Theatre, Chicago: June 21-22
Redford Theatre, Detroit: June 28-29
Colonial Theatre, Phoenixville, PA: July 5-6
Please update total seats 770 as per website.
Theatre 1 700
Theatre 2 70
Main auditorium will be closed August 12-September 5 for renovations, including new seats. Block Club Chicago story here.
I added a newspaper ad in the photo section of the Chicago newspaper ad for THE DRAGON LIVES; a kung fu movie that appears to be the last movie at the Music Box Theatre before closing. Friday, November 24, 1978. It more than likely was playing on a double feature; however, the Music Box did not advertise in the Chicago Tribune during its final year of operation before becoming an Arab-operated business.
Reopened 40 years ago yesterday, August 5, 1983. Photos added credit Anne Cusack, Chicago Tribune.
Chicago International Film Festival logo projected on the facade of the Music Box, October 12, 2022. Credit Robert Loerzel on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/robertloerzel/status/1580390347212922880/photo/1
Video about how the Music Box coped with the pandemic.
TimeOut Magazine named Music Box one of the 50 most beautiful cinemas on the planet.
https://www.timeout.com/chicago/news/a-chicago-institution-was-named-one-of-the-worlds-most-beautiful-movie-theaters-030321?fbclid=IwAR1hNcoPX9T_dYJuO6hqcHg-6UYkWoNkHLisvOzUoX-hNfIyw3FRNxMoFx4
Flickr link with a 1970’s black marquee photo.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/lowellbeyer/2660219769/
The new marquee was created by Landmark Sign Group of Chesterton, Indiana. Art director was Jerry Lefere. Senior Technical Engineer was Terry Ambrosini. Many of the zinc castings were supplied by W. F. Norman Corp. of Nevada, Missouri and were identical to the originals. The center urn and scrolls were salvaged from the original marquee and reinstalled on the new structure.
Still works for me. You have to left click to highlight, and right click to Open Link in New Tab or New Window.
Link to news story about the new marquee with video.
http://abc7chicago.com/entertainment/music-box-theater-restores-marquee/3024849/?sf181172480=1
Yes, and many other films in 70mm in this year’s festival. Hook. Sleeping Beauty. Top Gun. The Agony and the Ecstasy. Spartacus. Interstellar. Lord Jim. West Side Story. Short Cuts. Kong: Skull Island. Top Gun. West Side Story. https://musicboxtheatre.com/events/the-music-box-70mm-film-festival
The Music Box will be showing “2001:A Space Odyssey” in 70mm June 30-July 6.
This opened on August 5th, 1983. Its grand opening ad can be found in the photo section. No ad found on August 22nd, 1929.
Haven’t been here in years. But my memory is that the concession stand was designed to blend with the lobby design. Hopefully whatever they put in during this renovation fits just as well.
It also looks like Louis I. Simon was really more of a structural engineer so Edward Steinborn may deserve more credit as design architect.
Must have been a typo, it was actually August 21. It’s not in that archive – not a complete archive – but I’ve posted it in the photos section.
Broan: I found the August 30, 1928 article in the tribune archives http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1928/08/30/page/19 but I cant locate the October 28 article, do you have a link to it?
http://archive.org/stream/exhibitorsherald97unse#page/n727/mode/2up Very interesting article and original blueprints
MCHarper: In this comment from 2005, Cinema Treasures contributor Broan cites two 1928 Tribune items naming Louis I. Simon as the architect.
Yes, the concession area is now on the opposite side of the lobby than before and is now more of a counter
I just read the article about the renovations. I can’t tell from the photos if the concession area has been redesigned, etc…
Can someone help me clear up the confusion over Louis I. Simon (not A) being the architect of the Music Box? and where can I go to get documentation?
This article outlines the expansion plans for the Music Box.
http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140430/lakeview/music-box-add-lounge-tear-down-concession-stand-featured-curly-sue