Hamilton Theatre

2150 E. 71st Street,
Chicago, IL 60649

Unfavorite 2 people favorited this theater

Additional Info

Previously operated by: National Theaters Corp., Warner Bros. Circuit Management Corp.

Architects: Hal Pereira, William L. Pereira

Firms: Pereira and Pereira

Styles: Art Deco

Nearby Theaters

Hamilton Theater

The Hamilton Theatre was opened in 1916, for the Cooney Brothers National Theaters Corp. circuit, in the heart of the South Shore neighborhood’s 71st Street retail district. It sat just under 1,000.

Like the nearby Jeffery Theatre, the Hamilton Theatre was later run by Warner Brothers in the 1930’s and 1940’s. In 1936, the theatre received a remodel by the firm of Pereira & Pereira. Both the Hamilton Theatre and Jeffery Theatre continued to be popular first-run neighborhood houses for decades, though both theatres were shuttered for many years.

In 2002, the Hamilton Theatre was demolished.

Contributed by Bryan Krefft

Recent comments (view all 17 comments)

brianlewis
brianlewis on March 14, 2007 at 8:11 am

Thanks ! LTS for the info. I was unable to locate any pix on the
http://www.historictheatres.org/
link of the Hamilton or Jeffrey….probably my lack lack of search savvy :)
thanks again !

Life's Too Short
Life's Too Short on June 5, 2007 at 9:13 pm

No problem. FYI: the Hamilton and Jeffrey are probably too obscure to be featured on the THS web site. But if you call the archive, using contact info on their web site, I am sure they can arrange for you to get your hands on some nice material.

Broan
Broan on June 7, 2008 at 2:37 pm

1936 modernization by Pereira & Pereira. Marquee, Box Office, Lighting, Lounges.

Englewood
Englewood on November 4, 2008 at 10:27 am

Need help here. I have an advertisement from the Englewood Economist, dated Tues., October 19, 1909 which reads:

Hamilton Theatre
High-Class Vaudeville
6811-13 South Halsted Street
CHANGE OF PROGRAM
Monday & Thursday
Admission 10 Cents
Sunday Evenings: Reserved Seats
20c Sunday Mat. Children 5c
2 Shows a Night – Sunday Matinee

Another Hamilton theater – in Englewood? I found a 1910 ad for the Blue Mouse Theatre (also a vaudeville house) listed as 69th and Halsted. Did the Hamilton later become the Blue Mouse?

rjacobsonmd
rjacobsonmd on July 3, 2009 at 2:49 pm

Thanks for those pics Ken

They should be sent to the site manager to be posted at the top.

I lived a few blocks from the Hamilton. Saw Disney’s “Song of the South” there twice, 1948, and 1956. admission was 5 cents m-f, 10 cents on weekends.
went to O'Keeffe School, grad 1955.

regards

richard jacobson
granada hills, ca

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on March 16, 2012 at 7:40 am

The principals of Pereira & Pereira, the firm that did the 1936 remodeling of the Hamilton Theatre, were William Pereira and Hal Pereira. Percival Pereira was an older architect who was never a member of this firm.

Songb33
Songb33 on September 27, 2013 at 12:52 pm

Does anyone remember a theater that was across from a park in the mid-60’s; south side somewhere, could have been the Hamilton or the Jeffrey. Remember seeing Sound of Music there several times.

brianlewis
brianlewis on September 30, 2013 at 3:07 pm

no park across from either theater. you may be thinking of a theater on Stony Island, which is across from Jackson Park.

You must login before making a comment.

New Comment

Subscribe Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.