Lincoln-Belmont Theatre

Broan on November 21, 2021 at 8:37 am

“The new Lincoln Theatre, located at Lincoln and Belmont Avenues, is by far the finest house in the outlying district of Chicago. There are even some big loop theatres that can not compare. The house is undoubtedly the most modern and carefully constructed in the city. A wonderful ventilating system brings the house to the top of the ladder where the comfort of patrons is concerned. The stage is also one of the largest and best equipped in Chicago, there being no known vaudeville act too large nor elaborate for production on it. The house has been opened about two and a half months and has been a great financial success from the opening night. It la the largest family theatre in the city and plays only the highest class of refined vaudeville.” -https://archive.org/details/sim_billboard_1912-03-23_24_12/page/18/mode/1up?view=theater

It was managed by Anderson & Price initially and booked with WVMA vaudeville.

Broan on January 17, 2016 at 3:34 pm

Here is a THSA photo.

DavidZornig on September 6, 2008 at 11:15 pm

I drove by the Lincoln-Belmont Theatre building today. On the Ashland Ave. side there is scaffolding spanning most of the elevation. Must be maintainence or brick work or something. The balconies are unique on the Ashland Ave. elevation, as they are actually recessed into the building. In between columns so they do not hang over the sidewalk. They hang over their own property. Essentially protected from downward elements. This also could have once saved money for developers. As the city’s “air rights” over the sidewalk may have been averted.

The Lincoln Ave. elevation has long had a “Lincoln Theatre Lofts” for sale or rent sign attached to it. There was also a Walgreen’s tucked inside on the Lincoln Ave. side, in late 1989.

For the record, and unrelated to Lincoln Theatre, the City of Chicago has had a “Critical Inspection” mandate since about the year 2000. When terra cotta started falling off of a major building downtown, and they apparently had to chase down the owners.

Essentially this then meant any building over aprox. 80 feet, must undergo a costly, independent critical inspection of/on it’s facade. The cost of this inspection & the firms that do it, are on the backs of any given condo associations for the residential ones. Potentially financially crippling to some smaller buildings with fewer units, but yet tall enough to qualify.
Part of this inspection apparently includes randomly drilling into brickwork. One would think the inspection itself would undermine structural integrity. But then again how else is it gonna get done.
I’m sure the city is just being thorough.

I always wondered why the Lincoln-Belmont Theatre was called that, and not the Lincoln-Ashland Theatre.
Cause technically only the North triangular point of the building, faces Belmont. Where as the building is actually ON the other two streets.
With even a small traffic island in between the Northbound point & Belmont, the building is clearly not on Belmont. But Belmont Ave. has the elevated CTA train station, so that could be why.

Broan on December 3, 2006 at 9:12 pm

Here are photos of this theater.

Broan on November 27, 2006 at 7:23 pm

The article I read noted that “only the outer walls and supporting columns were left standing” but also that “a second ceiling topping the store’s main and mezzanine floors was suspended by steel hangers from the theater’s old ceiling, leaving a 40 foot empty space between the two ceilings”. So probably yes, the original ceiling likely remained and I imagine that the mezzanine level of the store was the old upper lobby. I know that large amounts of the old Belmont theater were discovered intact behind the bowling renovation when that was demolished in the 90s, too.

Broan on November 27, 2006 at 3:18 pm

It actually closed around 1950. In 1952 it was gutted and converted to a May Sons Women’s Apparel store.