Chicago Theater

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Chicago Theater
National Register of Historic Places
View from west of the entrance of the Chicago Theater; On the left is the Page Brothers Building, behind it you can see the tower of the Jewelers' Building

View from west of the entrance of the Chicago Theater; On the left is the Page Brothers Building , behind it you can see the tower of the Jewelers' Building

Chicago Theater (Illinois)
Paris plan pointer b jms.svg
location 175 N State Street, Chicago , Illinois , United StatesUnited StatesUnited States 
Coordinates 41 ° 53 '6.9 "  N , 87 ° 37' 39.9"  W Coordinates: 41 ° 53 '6.9 "  N , 87 ° 37' 39.9"  W.
Built 1920-1921
architect Cornelius Ward Rapp , George Rapp
Architectural style Neo-baroque , classicism
NRHP number 79000822
The NRHP added June 6, 1979

The Chicago Theater (formerly: Balaban and Katz Chicago Theater , commonly known as The Wonder Theater of the World ) is a theater in the city of Chicago in the US state of Illinois .

The building was originally built as a cinema in 1921 ; today it is the oldest preserved theater in town.

The Chicago Theater is one of the landmarks of Chicago and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places .

It is located on the east side of State Street between Randolph Street and Lake Street . On the northwest corner of the block, the Chicago Theater encloses the NRHP-listed Page Brothers Building , Chicago's only remaining building with a cast-iron facade .

history

Construction and opening

The brothers Abe and Barney Balaban and Sam and Morris Katz founded the cinema chain Balaban & Katz in 1916 , which operated several cinemas in the greater Chicago area and other cities in the Midwest . In 1919, they commissioned the architect brothers George and Cornelius Rapp , who had already built cinemas for Balaban and Katz in previous years, to design a cinema at the intersection of State Street and Lake Street . Announced at the project stage under the names The Ambassador and The Capitol, it was announced in June 1921 that the cinema should open in October of the same year under the name Chicago Theater . This is remarkable insofar as a (competing) cinema called The Chicago had recently opened just a few streets further south at the intersection of Wabash Avenue and 8th Street ; there had also been several other cinemas with the same name in various locations in the city.

After several postponements, the opening finally took place on October 26, 1921; the construction had cost a total of 4 million US dollars. The company had raised part of the capital required for this through the public issue of bank-backed corporate bonds .

Opening was Brenon - silent film The Sign on the Door with Norma Talmadge shown; accompanied by a Wurlitzer - cinema organ ( "The Mighty Wurlitzer") and a fifty-member orchestra and accompanied by a stage show.

In addition to the publicly accessible theater space, the building also housed Balaban & Katz's corporate headquarters, as well as other departments that support the entire cinema chain. With the “Little Chicago” there was also another (much smaller) cinema on the top floor.

Stage shows in the 20s and 30s

The cinema had 3,861 seats at the time of opening - this size was also enormous for the conditions at the time: Less than 10% of the cinemas in the United States had more than 1,000 at the time; less than one percent over more than 2,000 seats. With its size and its elaborate and luxurious design, it was the prototype for the movie palace, known as the Movie Palace , of this decade and numerous other cinemas built by Rapp & Rapp , alongside the Tivoli Theater .

At approx. 53 × 10 m, the stage was considered one of the largest of its time, which is why the New York theater production company The Shubert Organization became aware of the building shortly after it opened. From 1922, vaudeville performances were held regularly . From 1921, under the name Syncopation Week, there were regular live jazz performances in the theater - these were so popular that they were sustained until the late 1930s and provided a stage to artists such as Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, among others

In anticipation of the masses of visitors for the 1933 World's Fair , the interior of the theater was comprehensively redesigned in 1932, with dark blue, red and gold tones giving way to a lighter design in Siena with silver and gold elements.

Takeover by AMC

In the following years there were several changes of ownership: In 1925 Balaban & Katz merged with Paramount Theaters ; the new company was initially called Publix Theaters Corporation ; from 1930 Paramount Publix Corporation . In 1948, who was Supreme Court of the United States in the decision in United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc. after several years of litigation that Paramount (as well as the other four major US film studios - MGM , RKO , 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. ) had breached competition law by also owning the cinemas in where his films were shown. As a result, the court ordered the spin-off of the cinema business from the film production business, which resulted in the division of the company in 1949. The cinema business was henceforth called United Paramount Theaters, Inc.

In 1953 the theater was again extensively renovated. In the course of this, large parts of the ornate furnishings were removed; the simpler design should look modern. In the foyer one was suspended ceiling installed, the original barrel vault hidden. With the renovation, stage shows were discontinued; This was followed by several years of exclusive use as a cinema.

With Bwana the Devil , the Chicago Theater showed the first 3D film on January 23, 1953 .

In the course of 1953 the merger of United Paramount Theaters with carried American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. . The Balaban & Katz brand , previously operated as a subsidiary in the ABC Group, finally disappeared in 1970. In 1978, ABC sold its cinema division (including the Chicago Theater) to Plitt Theaters .

crisis

With the increasing popularity and spread of television in private households, the number of viewers fell in the 1970s and more and more cinemas were closed. This phenomenon was accompanied by socio-economic changes: With the growth of the suburbs , more shopping malls emerged there , often with integrated multiplex cinemas , while classic shopping and entertainment streets such as State Street with its Movie Palaces became more important lost. In addition, the release strategy of several studios changed from the 1970s onwards: While premieres were previously usually reserved for cinemas in the Chicago Loop and only shown in the surrounding cinemas with a delay, the Chicago competed with others from the first day of release Houses. The Chicago Theater became increasingly less profitable; from 1979 it showed B-Movies .

Under Mayor Jane Byrne , the city published a directive in 1981 recommending that the theater be preserved; It was to become the cornerstone of a new Theater Row designed to revive the Chicago Loop nightlife . Conservationists, for whom these suggestions did not go far enough, pushed for the building to be classified as an urban landmark in order to rule out demolition or structural changes. Plitt Theaters, owner of the building since 1978, refused this classification and applied for approval for the demolition in 1982, which however was refused.

On January 28, 1983, the Chicago Theater was granted the status of an urban landmark ("Chicago Landmark"); in June 1979 the building had already been added to the National Register of Historic Places .

On September 19, 1985, the last performance for the time being took place in the Chicago Theater. The last films shown before the closure were American Fighter and Teenwolf .

restoration

Shortly after the closure, the Chicago Theater Restoration Associates was founded , an organization that was independent of the previous owners and aimed at maintaining the building.

For transitional financing, the city had initially reallocated funds that had not been called up from its “Community development grant”, an urban development fund. This approach was not without controversy, as funds earmarked for neighborhoods with low and medium average incomes were diverted into a project in a loop .

In May 1985, the city won federal funding ("Urban Development Action Grants") in the amount of 2.5 million US dollars for the acquisition of the Plitt Theater . The city took on another $ 2 million itself. The remaining $ 9 million and the cost of the actual renovation was to be borne by Chicago Theater Restoration Associates ; This portion was financed, among other things, from a federal mortgage loan of $ 12.5 million. The takeover of the building for a total of $ 13.5 million was preceded by a lawsuit lasting several years with Plitt Theaters; Plitt had either sought approval for the demolition or the sale of the building to the city.

After taking over the theater and the adjacent Page Brothers Building , Chicago Theater Restoration Associates organized a nine-month 1930s-style restoration that cost a total of $ 3.5 million and ultimately reopened in September 1986.

In the course of the restoration, the previously covered stained glass windows and the vault in the foyer were visibly exposed again; the wall paintings and stucco work have been restored. The seating was also renewed, which reduced the seating capacity to 3,600. At the gala for the reopening as a stage theater, Frank Sinatra , who had already performed in Chicago in 1946 , when stage events were still taking place there , appeared among others .

Bankruptcy and Foreclosure

In 1992 the federal loan used to purchase and renovate the building fell due. Chicago Theater Restoration Associates was unable to service this, so the city stepped in and organized a rescheduling ; otherwise, the terms of the original loan would have resulted in a cut in other federal funding for Chicago. This made the city a creditor to the Chicago Theater Restoration Associates .

In 1994 applied Chicago Theater Restoration Associates , the opening of insolvency proceedings to Chapter 11 . The company was unable to service the city's loans and had accumulated $ 3 million in tax liabilities. The total debt at this point was over $ 21 million. The redevelopment agreement provided for the transfer of the theater operations to a foundation ("Civic Preservation Foundation"), while the company initially remained the owner of the building.

After the company's insolvency protection had expired, the city finally applied for the building to be foreclosed by auction in 2002. In 2003 it was announced that TheatreDreams Chicago LLC of Washington, DC had prevailed in the auction; the company acquired the theater for $ 3 million. The losing bidders were Miami- based The Entertainment Group, Inc. and the Chicago Theater Alliance , based in Chicago, New York and Columbus . The city wrote off a total of $ 21 million that it had invested in the theater over the years.

Takeover by MSG

In 2007 , Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation , which is part of the MSG group, took over the Chicago Theater from the previous owner TheatreDreams Chicago LLC . MSG had previously operated various facilities in the entertainment industry in New York City , including the Radio City Music Hall , the Beacon Theater and the Hulu Theater (then WaMu Theater ), thereby expanding into the Chicago market for the first time.

Chicago Theater today

Until 2007, the Chicago Theater hosted the opening gala of the Chicago International Film Festival , which takes place annually in October ; Since 2008, this place in the Millennium Park located Harris Theater instead.

Today, the Chicago area is primarily used for concerts and comedy shows. The building is also a tourist attraction, not least because of its striking exterior; Outside of the performance times there are also guided tours of the theater.

architecture

Integration into adjacent buildings

The building has an L-shaped floor plan and is bordered by Lake Street to the north and State Street to the west . The northwest corner of the block is occupied by the Page Brothers Building , which is directly adjacent to the Chicago Theater. The original plans were for a larger floor plan for the theater that included the area of ​​the Page Brothers Building. The aim was to create a monumental foyer that was to be accessible from both streets. However, the implementation of this variant of the plan failed because it was not possible to acquire the Page Brothers Building.

The slightly recessed penthouse floor contained the “Little Chicago”, another (albeit significantly smaller) cinema that was mainly used for previews .

facade

Building facade; Looking north. In the lower left area of ​​the picture you can see the elevated railway tracks of the L along Lake Street in the background

The west facade of the building is clad with ivory-colored glazed terracotta bricks. The terracotta cladding is drawn around the southwest corner of the building and extended a few meters along the south wall; the remaining south and north facades of the building are exposed brick walls. The northern outer wall ( facing Lake Street ) is double-skinned and thus provided with soundproofing - this reduces the entry of background noise caused by the elevated trains of the Chicago L , the tracks of which run over Lake Street.

The arched window on the west side of the facade facing State Street , inspired by the Parisian Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile , is 60 feet wide and spans six stories. The arch is completed at the top by an elaborate cornice . The glazing is made of stained Tiffany glass ; the design shown is the coat of arms of Balaban & Katz - two opposing, be reared horses , the 35 mm film strips hold in their mouths.

Signage

Detailed view of the "Chicago" lettering on the canopy above the main entrance; in the middle of a word that is in the background Municipal Device recognizable

The magnificently designed canopy with the integrated display board for current events, which is now installed above the main entrance, is not original. At the time of opening, the building was equipped with a much simpler canopy; the vertical sign with the iconic Chicago lettering did not exist at the time either. The original canopy was replaced in 1926 with a more opulent one, designed in the same style as the current one, i.e. H. with numerous decorations as well as the prominently placed lettering Chicago and the Municipal Device (circular logo from the center of which three straight lines arise, which are supposed to symbolize the Chicago River including its north and south arms). In 1994 it was dismantled and replaced by a technically modernized, but optically essentially unchanged version; the dismantled canopy was finally donated to the Smithsonian Institution in 2004 .

Interior design

The original design of the interior was inspired by French architecture from different epochs: the foyer , designed with gold leaf elements and fitted with crystal chandeliers , is a reference to the Versailles Palace ; the main staircase, via which the gallery can be reached from the foyer, is designed based on that of the Paris Opera House .

The artist Louis Grell created 15 ceiling paintings for the auditorium and another 15 wall paintings for the foyer of the Chicago Theater. The paintings that existed at the time of the opening, depicting scenes from French fairy tales, were replaced by the same artist with motifs from Greek and Roman antiquity as part of the renovation of the theater for the 1933 World Exhibition .

Auditorium; View from the gallery towards the stage; in the upper area of ​​the picture you can see some of the ceiling paintings by the artist Louis Grell

The auditorium is divided into three levels: parquet , mezzanine (approx. 400 spectators) and gallery (approx. 1,500 spectators). The parquet curves towards the front; an inversely oriented arch is taken up again in the form of the gallery. The dimensions of the auditorium are unusual: at 164 feet × 106 feet (approx. 50 m × 32 m), it is much wider than it is long.

The gallery rests on cantilever girders so that the view of the stage from the parquet is not restricted by pillars . Box seats that originally existed on both long sides were removed at the beginning of the twenties in order to enlarge the parquet.

The ceiling is topped with a 110 foot (approximately 33.5 m) high dome .

Web links

Commons : Chicago Theater  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Tom Miller: Seeking Chicago - The Stories behind the architecture of the windy city - one building at a time . Universe Publishing, New York 2019, ISBN 978-0-7893-3387-2 (English).
  2. ↑ a b Chicago Landmarks - Chicago Theater. City of Chicago, accessed July 28, 2020 .
  3. ^ Paul Gapp: A PAGE FROM HISTORY. In: Chicago Tribune . December 20, 1987, accessed July 24, 2020 .
  4. ↑ HOUSE TO BE CALLED CHICAGO . In: The New York Clipper . June 22, 1921, p.  22 (English, illinois.edu [accessed July 21, 2020]).
  5. ^ The Theater Historical Society (Ed.): CHICAGO THEATER . 1921 - CW and GEORGE L. RAPP, Architects - A SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY SALUTE - 1981 (=  Annual . No. 8 ). 1981 (English).
  6. ↑ "CHICAGO" TO BE LARGEST HOUSE . In: The New York Clipper . August 3, 1921, p.  4 (English, illinois.edu [accessed July 21, 2020]).
  7. ^ A b History of The Chicago Theater. Retrieved July 23, 2020 .
  8. ↑ a b c d David Balaban: The Chicago Movie Palaces Of Balaban And Katz . Arcadia Publishing, Charleston, SC / Chicago, IL / Portsmouth, NH / San Francisco, CA 2006, ISBN 0-7385-3986-4 (English).
  9. ^ Ross Melnick, Andreas Fuchs: Cinema Treasures . A New Look at the Classic Movie Theaters. Ed .: Dennis Pernu. MBI Publishing Company, St. Paul, MN 2004, ISBN 0-7603-1492-6 (English).
  10. ↑ Amy Bizzarri: Discovering Vintage Chicago . A Guide to the City's timeless Shops, Bars, Delis & More. Globe Pequot Press, Guilford, CT 2015, ISBN 978-1-4930-0154-5 (English).
  11. ↑ a b c d e f g h Peter R. Miller: THE CHICAGO STORY . In: The Theater Historical Society (Ed.): CHICAGO THEATER . 1921 - CW and GEORGE L. RAPP, Architects - A SIXTIETH ANNIVERSARY SALUTE - 1981 (=  Annual . No. 8 ). Marquee Publications, 1981 (English).
  12. ^ Breaking Picture House Records in Chicago, St. Louis and Detroit . In: The Vaudeville News . June 22, 1923, p.  11 (English, illinois.edu [accessed July 23, 2020]).
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Konrad Schiecke: Downtown Chicago's Historic Movie Theaters . McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers, Jefferson, NC 2012, ISBN 978-0-7864-6590-3 (English).
  14. ^ A b c d Anthony Slide: The new historical dictionary of the American film industry . The Scarecrow Press, Lanham, MD / London 1998, ISBN 0-8108-3426-X , pp. 19 (English).
  15. ↑ a b DISPUTE OVER THEATER SPLITS CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL . In: The New York Times . May 8, 1984, p.  A16 (English, nytimes.com [accessed July 23, 2020]).
  16. ^ John McCarron, Stanley Ziemba: New Loop plan saves 8 landmarks: North Loop guidelines for conservation and development . In: Chicago Tribune . March 14, 1981, p. 1.6 (English).
  17. ^ Chicago Theater. In: cinematreasures.org. Retrieved July 23, 2020 .
  18. ^ John McCarron, Manuel Galvan: COMMUNITY GRANT MONEY SOUGHT FOR CHICAGO THEATER PROJECT. March 19, 1985, accessed August 8, 2020 .
  19. ^ Stanley Ziemba, John McCarron: GRANT SAVES DAY FOR CHICAGO THEATER. Chicago Tribune, June 1, 1985, accessed August 8, 2020 .
  20. ↑ a b A CHICAGO THEATER RESCUED . In: The New York Times . September 9, 1986, p.  C17 (English, nytimes.com [accessed July 22, 2020]).
  21. ↑ Saving the Chicago Theater Saviors . In: Chicago Tribune . January 8, 1993, p.  NW22 (English).
  22. ^ Penny Roberts: Chicago Theater firm files for bankruptcy . In: Chicago Tribune . February 28, 1994, p. B3 (English).
  23. ^ Robert Davis: City targets Chicago Theater for foreclosure . In: Chicago Tribune . December 29, 1992, p. N_A1 (English).
  24. ↑ Charles Storch: Chicago Theater's new manager brings law savvy to show biz post . In: Chicago Tribune . March 3, 1995, p. W2 (English).
  25. ↑ a b Chris Jones: Chicago Theater on auction block . In: Chicago Tribune . August 14, 2002 (English, chicagotribune.com ).
  26. ↑ Lara Weber, Drew Sottardi: Theater gets new owner: [RedEye edition] . In: Chicago Tribune . May 15, 2003, p. 5 (English).
  27. ↑ a b MSGE wraps up deal for Chicago Theater. In: The Hollywood Reporter . November 4, 2008, accessed July 25, 2020 .
  28. ↑ Chris Jones: Three Bidders Vie for Ownership of Chicago Theater . In: Knight Ridder Tribune Business News . November 25, 2002, p. 1 (English).
  29. ↑ a b c Chris Jones, Susan habenhouse: Chicago Theater draws buyer. In: Chicago Tribune . October 10, 2007, accessed on July 23, 2020 .
  30. ^ Mark Caro: Fest 'Blooms' with Chicago connections. In: Chicago Tribune . October 17, 2008, accessed July 24, 2020 .
  31. ^ The Chicago Theater Marquee Tour. Retrieved July 28, 2020 (English).
  32. ^ Buildings of Chicago - Chicago Theater. Chicago Architecture Center, accessed July 31, 2020 .
  33. ↑ Chicago Facts. Chicago Public Library, accessed July 28, 2020 .
  34. ↑ Eileen O. Daday: Son of founder helped build country's largest sign company. Daily Herald, July 11, 2008, accessed August 3, 2020 .
  35. ^ Chicago Theater. Louis Grell Foundation, accessed August 3, 2020 .