Lost Palaces: A Gallery of Old Movie Theatres

There was once a time when I loved movies. I had the good fortune to work in a movie theatre, so I saw lots of movies.

I also saw lots of movie theatres. I was shocked to learn that not all theatres looked like the familiar cookie-cutter mall cinemas. No, these buildings were fantastic: colossal, gaudy, ornate, fabulous palaces. But they were rapidly falling into decay. I realized that something truly amazing was disappearing. An era was ending, and I decided to do what I could to document it. Weekends, evenings, days off: whenever I had a little time, I'd head to a theatre and take a few more photos.

In doing this, I learned something: if you are willing to click the shutter a couple thousand times, eventually, you will wind up with a few interesting pictures. Some of these can be viewed below.

Several sets of photos can be viewed by clicking on the images below. Alternatively, you can preview each set from the photo index pages. High-resolution copies of these photos can be downloaded from the high-resolution images page.

Please note that these photos are protected by copyright. If you would like to use any of these images, you can contact the photographer at cambodia@aol.com.

 

Set 1: The Granada (Black and White) A true palace: Photos taken in 1987, prior to the beginning of demolition, and 1989 and 1990, during the demolition.	Set 2: The Granada (Color) More photos from the exquisite Granada, taken in 1989 and 1990, during the demolition of the theatre.	Set 3: The Uptown A massive, gorgeous theatre, teetering on the edge of ruin on the city's north side.
Set 4: The Adelphi For sentimental reasons, my favorite theatre: I worked there for years. The Adelphi, in later years, was renamed the North Shore Cinema.	Set 5: The Adelphi - Demolition Sad photos from early 2006: my beloved Adelphi makes its final curtain call.	Set 6: The Fox, the Commodore, the Bryn Mawr, the Will Rogers, the Skokie, and the Admiral An original art deco beauty, a modern retro throwback, a couple of neighborhood theatres, and a well-manicured adult theatre.
Set 7: The Devon and the 400 Oldies from Rogers Park: the Devon, a featureless barn, has been demolished, but the 400, now the Village North, marches on.	Set 8: The Sheridan and the Rhodes Both of these theatres were demolished in the 1990s. A shame: they each had their virtues.	Set 9: The Esquire A beautiful Art Deco palace, now closed and awaiting an uncertain fate.
Set 10: The Brighton, the Belmont, and the Coronet The Brighton was an overlooked gem; the Belmont morphed from theatre to bowling alley to (I think) condos. The Coronet became a live theatre, and then... dunno.	Set 11: The United Artists, the Woods, and the Dearborn Vanished cinemas from the heart of the city: The United Artists, the Woods, the Dearborn... gone, all gone.	Set 12: The Howard, the Southtown, and the Englewood The Howard, the Southtown and the Englewood, shared a common fate: they fell victim to blight and decay.
Set 13: The Varsity, the Calo, the Metro, the Diversey, the Ridge, the Nortown, and the Hamilton Few people would recognize that any of these buildings were once theatres. But look for an eloquent farewell on the pic of the Varsity...	Set 14: The Sprague, the Showplace, the Riviera, the Broadway and the Portage The Sprague? A little theatre in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. The Showplace? A big, new multiscreen house in Naperville. The Portage? Nicely restored. The Riviera and the Broadway? I've never been inside.	Set 15: The Biograph, the Music Box, the Highland, and the Beverly The Biograph's claim to fame was that Dillinger was shot outside; the Music Box, meanwhile, is a triumph of restoration. The Highland and the Beverly are now churches.
Set 16: The Village, the Three Penny, and the Patio The Three Penny recently closed; the Village was split years ago, and also recently closed; and the lovely Patio has been closed for years.	Set 17: The Nortown - Demolition The lovely Nortown, a Balaban and Katz gem, fades into history.	Set 18: The Al Ringling A renowned beauty in Baraboo, Wisconsin, the immaculately maintained Al Ringling was one of the world's first movie palaces.
Set 19: The Morse The Morse Theatre (known in later years as the Co-Ed) was converted to retail space and stripped of most of its original features. Renovation is now underway to resurrect it as an entertainment venue.	Set 20: The Oriental, the Palace, the Genesee, and the Congress The Oriental, the Cadillac Palace, and Waukegan's Genesee are nicely restored, and feature live performances. The Congress is less well-known and less well-preserved, but it's still hanging on.	Set 21: The Chicago The Chicago is not merely one of the city's most beautiful theatres; it's also a genuine landmark. After a period of decline, the building was immaculately restored in the mid-Eighties.
Set 22: The Pickwick An Art Deco masterpiece in the heart of Park Ridge.	Set 23: The Wilmette, The Streets of Woodfield, the Lincoln Village, and the Muvico Rosemont The venerable Wilmette soldiers on, year after year. The Muvico in Rosemont is new and gorgeous, while the Loews Streets of Woodfield and the Lincoln Village are undistinguished.	More photos coming soon...

Time permitting, I'll add some pages with additional information about some of these theatres. For now, die-hard theatre fans may find this very brief anecdote from the 400 Theatre a little amusing.