UA Cinema

1111 W. 22nd Street,
Oak Brook, IL 60523

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: United Artists Theater Circuit Inc.

Architects: George K. Raad

Firms: George Raad & Associates

Previous Names: UA Cinema 150

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News About This Theater

UA Cinema 150 screen (85 foot x 33 foot)

The UA Cinema 150 opened June 19, 1968, in southwest suburban Oak Brook. The opening movie was Glark Gable in “Gone With the Wind”

It was one of the only Chicago-area movie houses to feature the Dimension 150 process. In its earliest days, the Cinema 150 played roadshow films, like “Oliver” (in 1969) to reserved seating.

In December 1972, the theater was twinned, and the Dimension 150 projection equipment and screen were removed. It was also renamed the UA Cinema.

The UA Cinema closed in 1983, and was demolished to make way for the eight-story 1111 W. 22nd Street building designed by Holabird & Root constructed on the site of the theater in 1984.

Contributed by Bryan Krefft

Recent comments (view all 18 comments)

Sauce
Sauce on October 20, 2006 at 10:58 pm

I used to go there a lot as a kid. My mom took us every Tuesday because it was the cheap day. I saw “The Spy Who Loved Me” and they had the Lotus “submarine” car on display. I remember when it was demolished and was sad to see it go.

You can see the property if you exit I-88 after the Oakbrook toolbooth. It’s the parking garage on the right.

chrisgreen
chrisgreen on December 10, 2007 at 10:07 pm

I took pictures this weekend of the UA Cine in Dallas.

View link

Joe Vogel
Joe Vogel on August 21, 2009 at 11:45 pm

As noted in the article to which Lost Memory linked above, the UA Cinema 150 in Oak Brook, like its counterparts in Dallas and in Santa Clara, California, was designed by San Francisco architect George Raad, George Raad & Associates. However, the Boxoffice article also lists the firm of Keys & Hestrupp alongside Raad for the Oakbrook project only. This was probably a local firm that supervised the construction for Raad’s distant office.

Also, I have a suspicion that Boxoffice might have misspelled one of the names (Hestrupp might actually have been Hestrup) but I’m not positive. What I can find is a .pdf about architectural resources in the village of Glen Ellyn, Illinois, which mentions a firm called Keys & Hestrup, and an error in Boxoffice seems more likely than an error in a local architectural survey.

MPol
MPol on August 22, 2009 at 8:56 pm

the UA Cinema 150 looked like a beautiful theatre. Too bad it was twinned, and then, ultimately closed down.

Cliff Carson
Cliff Carson on June 20, 2012 at 6:58 pm

A great theatre for a big film like OLIVER!

rivest266
rivest266 on June 24, 2012 at 11:09 am

This opened on June 19th, 1968. I uploaded its grand opening ad in the photo section.

gxceb0t
gxceb0t on October 12, 2021 at 3:51 pm

I remember seeing ‘For Your Eyes Only’ and ‘Clash of the Titans’ here. Sad to see it go.

MSC77
MSC77 on December 26, 2023 at 8:21 am

Fifty years ago today THE EXORCIST opened here. UA Cinema I was among only two-dozen cinemas in twenty-one North American markets to play the film at release launch.

johnjdumas
johnjdumas on July 7, 2024 at 3:17 pm

I remember my father going there to see a closed circuit Muhammad Ali fight.

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