Roxy Theatre
3245 Grove Avenue,
Berwyn,
IL
60402
3245 Grove Avenue,
Berwyn,
IL
60402
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Additional Info
Previously operated by: Schoenstadt
Previous Names: Auditorium Theatre
Nearby Theaters
Opened in 1921 as the Auditorium Theatre, in the western Chicago suburb of Berwyn, this theater was renamed the Roxy in 1929. Originally operated by the Schoenstadt circuit, it could seat around 1100.
After the Roxy closed in the mid-60s, it was later used for many years by a labor union as a meeting hall, but has since been torn down and replaced by offices.
Contributed by
Bryan Krefft
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Recent comments (view all 7 comments)
It is amazing how many theatres are named ROXY in imitation of the once famous name of the New York City panjandrum of the movie palace: Samual Lionel Rothapfel = “Roxy”. His namesake was the famous ROXY THEATRE in NYC, which outlasted him by only 25 years when it was demolished in 1960. The whole story is in that landmark book “The Best Remaining Seats: The Story of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace” by the late Ben M. Hall in 1961. Various editions of it are sometimes available from www.Amazon.com, but only the first edition contains the color plates.
Condos stand here now. – What else? :(
No one seems to have any pictures of The Roxy – nor do I think The Theatre Historical Society has any info.
CHARLES DuPONT, I found 2 photos of this theatre in
ARCADIA'S
IMAGES of AMERICA
BERWYN
by Douglas Deuchler
they are on page 67
The top one is of The Auditorium in about 1921, when it showed silent movies. On the modest marquee it states:
WED & THURS
D.W. GRIFFITH'S
“WAY DOWN EAST”
The theatre building had 3 stores to the left of the entrance. I can’t make out what the first store is. The middle store has a sign on the window and on the awning “AGNES BEAUTY SHOP”. The store to the left of the beauty shop (and the last store in the buiilding) has printed on the awning “AUDITORIUM BARBER SHOP”.
The bottom photo is of the now wired for sound ROXY. On a much grander marquee it shows:
DOROTHY LAMOUR IN
“MOON OVER BURMA” AND
“FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT"
Under the marquee and centered under the ticket booth is another smaller marquee that reads:
WEDNESDAY
JACKPOT
100 DOLLARS
It also offered:
a cartoon
a newsreel
a short subject
and they gave away dishes on Thursday nights!
All for 25 cents!
Stores had been added to the right of the theatre. I can sorta make out CENTRAL UTILITIES APPLIANCES.
I read somewhere that it had 800 seats and a 4/11 Robert Morton Pipe Organ. Anyone know what happened to the organ?
“Gee Dad, it was a WurliTzer, I mean a Robert Morton!”
Thanks again, AKC :) Where was this Doug Deutchler guy when I was doing all my research? :)
The first photo is a postcard of the Auditorium in the 1920s. The second photo shows the Roxy in 1940:
http://tinyurl.com/3cenl2
http://tinyurl.com/2p3kdc
In 1962 a foreign film buff friend, and I looked into reopening this place to show imported movies. This place had neat sliding seats and we would have been a challenge to Chicago’s World Playhouse and Surf Theater being close to Oak Park, Riverside, and with free parking. Did a personal survey trying to see what support we could get from local resturants. Ans “we don’t want dirty movies around here”. Chalked it off…..good thing
The Roxy now houses offices. No condos unless the offices are condos. The condos are a separate building next door.
At one time it was a banquet hall (Berwyn Butcher Association I believe?) and my wife and I were married there in 1973.