Guild Theatre
717 W. Sheridan Road,
Chicago,
IL
60613
717 W. Sheridan Road,
Chicago,
IL
60613
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Reopened as Panorama on December 21st, 1919. Ad posted.
LakeView Historical Chronicles link with additional history, floor plan of the Pine Grove and others.
http://www.lakeviewhistoricalchronicles.org/2011/05/theaters-past.html?fbclid=IwAR3JroNfxVrQ7kN1kOz4IzeDb9jBslhge4QWOFIO6lm0uP9GB1qzC-6qJ34
May 11, 1937 photo added credit IDOT Chicago Traffic Photographs (University of Illinois at Chicago). It is an enlargement courtesy of Neil Arsenty, from the below original link with full size photo.
http://collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/uic_idot/id/541/rec/10
The Pine Grove Theatre opened in 1915, and the April 17 issue of Motography provided this effusive description of the new house:
Last ad for the Guild in the Tribune looks like February 22, 1964, with “Lost Souls” and “Nature’s Playmates” on the screen. By April the venue was presenting live theater as the Hull House Sheridan, which appears to have lasted only through the end of that year.
Concerning the closing date, the Guild was still open when my family moved around the corner on Pine Grove in October 1961, though I believe it had closed by the time we left the neighborhood in 1969. Offhand I can only recall seeing one film there, a re-release of /The Mouse That Roared/.
Concerning the location (see 9/11/08 comment), the theater was on the south side of Sheridan Road (which runs east-west at that point) between Broadway and Pine Grove, closer to the latter. Pine Grove is parallel to Broadway, one block east.
Thanks BWChicago & Bryan Krefft for clarifying the Guild/Essex locale & history. Though it apparently was not in the building I originally thought it was, I’ll have to take a look next time I’m down there.
My recollection is that Pine Grove starts/intersects off of Broadway North of Sheridan. So if the building was supposedly between the two streets, I’m not sure how or where. Unless I’m mistaken and Pine Grove is West of Broadway at that point. I always get Pine Grove & Clarendon mixed up. But I think Clarendon is East of Pine Grove.
If the Essex closed in the mid 50s, it reopened in the late 50s. This theatre was operating at least through May 1963 under the name GUILD. From the Chicago Sun Times movie listings, Wed. May 1, 1963: GUILD 717 W. Sheridan Rd. 549 0117 ORIGINAL UNCUT VERSIONS- Adults Only At 7:00 “LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES” “LA DOLCE VITA” At 8:55.
It opened as the Pine Grove Theatre for the Alfred Hamburger circuit. It was not named Panorama until 1920. It was renamed “Little” upon acquisition by Essaness in 1929. It then returned to the Panorama name from 1932-1939, and became the Essex from then on.
An august 18, 1927 article says architect JEO Pridmore did an addition bringing this building to the sidewalk. Probably after this it was renamed.
While a youngster in grammar school I stumbled upon this theatre during one of my many exploratory bicycle trips. Located on Sheridan Rd. it like the Sheridan, Lakeside, and Pantheon had no protruding marquee. It was small by my “youngster” standards. The ticket window was between the entrance doors. During this time period this neighborhood was struggling and not considered very desirable. My pre-teen mind was convinced that all I had to to make this closed theatre profitable was to operate a shuttle service from Marine Drive to the theatre. The shuttle solved all the problems of apprehension about patrons parking their cars and walking to them after the movie. I couldn’t, however, overcome the fact though that at twelve I couldn’t drive them nor did I have money to buy the theatre.