Clark Theatre

In 1912 the Clark Theatre was one of five neighborhood houses in Chicago owned and operated by by F. H. And E. A. Franke. The September 7 issue of Moving Picture World said that the pair had just bought the Bell Theatre on Armitage Avenue and also owned the California Theatre on 26th Street. They had just closed a contract to erect a new, 300-seat movie house on Grand and Monticello Avenues, slated to open around November 1. I’ve been unable to discover if that project was completed, but the nearest house we have listed to that location is the New Rex, opened in 1913 as the Lawndale Theatre.

The “Building Permits” column of the January 8, 1910, issue of The Economist included a brick theater, 58x117 feet, at 4533-4535 N. Clark Street. The architect was Albert S. Hecht.