Lincoln Hall
2424 N. Lincoln Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60614
2424 N. Lincoln Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60614
11 people
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1988 photo via Tumbler.
https://old-chicago.tumblr.com/post/29014613616/1988-biograph-theatre-lincoln-near-fullerton
The members of the FBI who killed John Dillinger, did it from the roof of the Lincoln Hall(then called Fullerton Theatre).
Here is a post with rare interior photos of the 3 Penny before it was completely gutted. The Lincoln must have been an unusually elaborate nickelodeon in its day.
December 25, 1971 Tribune movie section, showing it was named “Capri Cinema” at that time. So it reverted from and back to 3 Penny Cinema again after that. Should be added to the Overview.
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1971/12/25/page/29/article/display-ad-27-no-title
This opened on May 29th, 1968. Its grand opening ad can be found in the photo section. 2 screens in 1989.
A recent article about events, including free movie showings (probably video or digital projection) at Lincoln Hall, including a picture of the exterior as it is now:
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Another article about the former 3 Penney’s conversion to a concert venue:
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Looks like the lost the proscenium and terrazzo somewhere along the way, too bad. Otherwise it looks like an awesome venue
Shaping up nicely. Good to see they tore off that ugly wood facade.
Must be big money into it by now.
If I remember correctly, they had the 3 Penny outfitted to look like a hotel for the filming of “Public Enemies. They hung a retro distressed neon HOTEL sign over the doorways in DarkRefrain’s above picture.
Scaffolds are now down. The front of building’s first floor is still covered up during whatever remodling is ongoing. However there are new Marvin windows installed on the second floor overlooking Lincoln Ave. Shouldn’t be much longer.
Still surrounded by scaffolds.
I just remembered the 3 Penny Cinema opened it’s doors as a cooling station, during the annual “Taste Of Lincoln Avenue” street festival maybe 10 years ago. They allowed people to stp into the A/C, and to utilize the restrrom facilities.
It would have been difficult to operate normally as a theater during those 2-3 days. As Lincoln Ave. is blocked off for only those paying a hefty “donation”. And multiple band stages are set-up throughout the fair at street ends. The main entrance stage a mere 25 feet or so from the 3 Penny. People would actually scale the 3 Penny’s rooftop to see the last band of each night. Usually a big name band like Wilco, Cowboy Mouth or Big Head Todd.
Excerpt from 2-5-09 Chicago Tribune, article “Director Ken Kwapis talks about the blizzard of ‘79 and Gene Siskel”
Director Ken Kwapis, a Belleville native, took time while promoting “He’s Just Not That Into You,” starring Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck and a host of others, to talk to the Tribune about his formative years in Chicago and directing the late Gene Siskel on “The Larry Sanders Show.”
“For quite a while, I managed the Three Penny Theater on Lincoln Avenue, right across from the Biograph,” Kwapis said. “I managed the theater during the blizzard of 1979. We were running John Carpenter’s film ‘Halloween,’ and like many theaters during the blizzard, we didn’t change the feature, because there was no point.
“So I could basically set my clock to ‘Halloween.’ Sitting in the lobby, I would play a game with myself. Without looking at my watch, I’d say, ‘Jamie Lee Curtis is just about to scream,’ then I’d open the door and she’d scream. I knew the film down to the quarter of the minute.”
Kwapis said the management running the Three Penny couldn’t make up its mind about the theater’s focus.
“The schedule was absurd. One week we’d show a new art film, say a Werner Herzog film, and the next week we’d run a porno feature. And the owner could never understand why we couldn’t develop an audience. I said, ‘Well, they’re totally confused, nobody knows what we’re showing.’ ”
-via David E. Zornig
I swung by there tonight. Apparently it will be a music venue and bar called Lincoln Hall run by the owners of Schubas. Should be cool.
I was never in the 3 Penny when it was a single-screener. The two times I was in there, I was very uncomfortable. I was getting claustrophobia in there—something that normally never happens to me.
I drove by the old 3 Penny Cinema this afternoon. The entire first floor has been boarded over with a white painted plywood box enclosure. A developer’s sign & logo is mounted in the center.
Next time I’m down there, I’ll try and see if there’s any indication yet of what type of build-out is occuring.
I only saw a few films at the 3 Penny Cinema. Even back then it was in varied states of disrepair. Buckets on some of the seats, no concessions, etc. I seem to remember they too had a cat at one time.
I want to say “Zandy’s Bride”, “The Immigrants”, “Freebie & The Bean” and some Marx Bros. double features were among those I’d seen there.
I’d forgotten “Charlie & The Chocolate Factory” from my Biograph post. I’m pretty sure it was there and not the 3 Penny. Gene Wilder, the original Willy Wonka was the draw at the time.
I’m surprised it took as long as it did to finally close it’s doors. Whether forced to or not.
In early 1972 it operated as a porn house called the Capri Theater
I was there when the 3-PENNY ran Woody Allen’s “Melinda & Melinda” and the film jammed in the projector gate (during Bach’s beautuful Prelude #1, IIRC), and (naturally) I had to be the doofus walking over to snack counter telling them “pardon me but in theatre #3…..”. Apparently their machinery didn’t incorporate auto-shutdown if film breaks, and they never ran that title again. At least they gave me a free return pass, which I used there later for Spielbergs “War Of the Worlds”.
I admit over the years I only went to the 3-Penny because sometimes they were the only place (‘art house’) in town showing a particular film I had to see. I.E., “The Beach Boys – An American Band”, “Animal Crackers” (a very poor 16mm print I believe), “Looking For Comedy In The Muslim World”.
This place was only re-opened as a theatre (the 3-PENNY) around 1972(?), probably because business at the BIOGRAPH directly across Lincoln Ave had been better than average in the few yrs leading-up to that time; before that it had been many years since it showed films as the CREST. Under any name, it was a small venue, and that was B4 they ‘plexed’ it.
The 3 Penny is down to the bare walls. It looks like the plaster ceiling must have been removed before as there are ceiling fans suspended. However, surprisingly, the proscenium is still mostly intact, as are the surrounds to the screen-side exit doors. Presumably these features will be retained, ironically making the 3 Penny better-preserved than the Biograph. The former snack shop space next door has been totally gutted, with the roof off, and multiple window and door openings have been cut into the 3 Penny’s north wall. This should be a very interesting project to watch.
The 3 Penny is now apparently being gutted for retail use of some sort
Here is an interesting review of this theatre:
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Here are photos of this theatre.
who owns the theatre and what will be its fate and can it be bought for a cheap price??