Esthena Theatre
3709 N. Southport Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60613
3709 N. Southport Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60613
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Additional Info
Previous Names: Southport Theatre
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There’s not much information on this theatre. It opened in 1913 as the Esthena Theatre. It was renamed Southport Theatre in 1923, but this was short lived as it closed later that year.
It spent the last several years as Crown Liquors. I have a 1914 photo copy of a Chicago Herald newspaper movie section in which the Esthena Theatre is listed. The 1929 opening of the Music Box Theatre down the street was a contributing factor to this theatre ever reopening. When the theatre was torn down in 1999, the sidewalk was ripped up and underneath it was a marble sidewalk that read "Esthena Theatre."
Contributed by
timoneill
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
There was a comment on this theater that it was also called the Esthena, but that was at 3745 N. Southport.
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Ken, I am looking at the 1914 movie ad right now. The Blaine is listed at 3743 N. Southport. Esthena at 3709 N. Southport. The Rex Theatre is at 3448 N. Southport. The Star Theatre is listed at Fullerton and Southport. Interestingly, the Fullerton is listed at 2424 N. Lincoln, which would later be known as the Crest and then later the 3-Penny. I can’t seem to get 3-Penny Cinema anymore on this web site anymore. Do you know why? Thank you much, Tim O'Neill
Tim; The former 3 Penny Cinema is now listed on Cinema Treasures under its current operating name Lincoln Hall.
In the 1960’s I worked at the Music Box as an usher. I remember the Crown Liquor Store at this location very well. Crown had a deliveryman named “Frankie” who made all his deliveries with a special bicycle equipped with a very large basket in front of the handlebars, supported by a large triangular kickstand. Frankie used this bike in all types of weather- I never saw him drive a car. It was rumored that despite appearances, Frankie was quite well-off financially. He was one of the many colorful Southport Avenue citizens my parents “Whitey” and Dolores knew for many years. Whitey worked at the Music Box from 1929, Dolores from the 1950’s.
Demolished in 1999.