Windsor Theatre
1225 N. Clark Street,
Chicago,
IL
60610
1225 N. Clark Street,
Chicago,
IL
60610
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Circa November 1935 photo courtesy David Sadowski in below link. Scaffolding for then upcoming art deco facade completed by 1937.
https://theclarktheater.wordpress.com/2020/08/01/the-windsor-theater/?fbclid=IwAR3syZ-XI4G94o_b-g9ih-9aqJUH0UJyoaQlyNS-56op1mCUZJ4Iq07dGDg
September 20th, 1886 and May 9th, 1914 grand opening ads are in the photo section.
Article. There are plans to move the archives to newspapers.com.
Found on Newspapers.com
Here is a THSA photo of the art deco exterior.
January 8, 1938 marquee photo in an Adler Sign print ad added, courtesy of Frank Dutton.
https://books.google.com/books?id=1qFXAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22george%20l.%20rapp%22%20theater&pg=PA130#v=onepage&q=%22george%20l.%20rapp%22%20theater&f=false
Looks like this would have been one of the earliest Rapp & Rapp theaters with a cantilevered balcony.
An article about the closing and impending demolition of the Windsor Theatre appeared in the May 14, 1961, issue of the Chicago Tribune (Tribune archives.) The original Windsor opened on September 20, 1886, and later suffered two major fires. It was after the second fire that the house was rebuilt and reopened as a movie theater in 1914.
The Chicagology page has one exterior photo. Copy & paste to view.
http://chicagology.com/goldenage/goldenage040/
Movies I saw at the Windsor;
King Kong
Rodan
The Giant Claw
I lived on Wells street when I was a kid back in the 1950’s
We would walk to the Windsor on Saturday afternoon.
Does anyone have any photo’s of the outside…or the inside?
I used to go to the Windsor when I was a kid in the “old neighborhood”. Saw “Imitation of Life” with Lana Turner and the whole audience was sobbing at the end. LOL. Was also there the last day it was open – they had a really bad magician on stage.
The principals of Pereira & Pereira, the firm that did the 1936 remodeling of the Windsor Theatre, were William Pereira and Hal Pereira. Percival Pereira was an older architect who was never a member of this firm.
In 1934 a modernization in a chinese theme by Pereira & Pereira was announced but not carried out. In 1936 a more extensive, $70,000 plan by the same firm was used,
“Gay colors and new materials will be features of the exterior. Blue will be the prevailing hue. The interior will be entirely rebuilt, with new seats and a new lounge and restrooms in a space acquired for that purpose. The present boxes will be removed. An enlarged air conditioning system will be installed.”
The Windsor featured a balcont and stage.
It was built on the site of a nickelodeon, the Lincoln, that had burned down.
According to records at the Chicago Historical Society, this was one of Rapp & Rapp’s earliest projects.
Yep—it was on the east side of he street. Right to the south of it was “The Shooting Gallery” which was equivalent to the videogame rooms of today. I worked in the ticket counter/popcorn concession.
Wasn’t the Windsor on the east side of Clark Street? If so there are condos and a Blockbuster store. The Jewel is on the west side of the street.