Biograph Theater
2433 N. Lincoln Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60657
2433 N. Lincoln Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60657
32 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 136 comments
Other than to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show, I’d been to the Biograph only once. It was in 1984 and it was to see the full-length version of “Once Upon A Time In America.” The Biograph was the only theatre in the Chicagoland Area to show this version—the other cinemas showed the chopped-up 2 hour version. Right before the show, the usher walked up on stage to warn people that this was a 3 ½ hour movie and that there would be an intermission.
The Biograph was, for a time, the Near North’s “Art” house. As time went on and as Cineplex-Odeon gained control, the Biograph showed more and more general fare and abandoning all “Art” films all together. “Rocky Horror” eventually ceased playing there as well. And if memory serves me correctly, towards the end of Cineplex/Loews-Cineplex ownership, the Biograph was actually showing lousy fare.
Another update … from yesterday’s Daily Southtown:
View link
Well, the Roxy and Ritz were not balcony theaters at all- they were in adjacent former loft/ballroom/billiards/meeting space above the storefronts, added in mid-1983. The main auditorium, as illustrated by your picture, is clearly too low to have had a balcony. I’m surprised to see that picture; it looks like the acoustics must have been horrible when talkies hit. Gene Siskel seems to have loved the theaters; in a 1984 article comparing multiplexes, he said “these three lovingly-designed theaters are among my favorites anywhere in the metropolitan area,” and “the two upstairs mini-theaters are without qualification the prettiest mini-theaters in town; in fact, to call them mini-theaters is to do them a disservice.” Of course, the comparison was to Chestnut Station, Water Tower Place, and the Fine Arts 4. He was a bit wary of the takeover from Larry Edwards to Plitt.
There’s not really anywhere I can post them, and it would be copyright infringement to post them elsewhere. However, if you’d like to look up the microfilm at your library, or if you have access to the tribune archives by having a Chicago Public Library card, you can look for April 16, 1914, p17 and a correction in April 19, p11. There is little information in it- only a couple of paragraphs, without any new info, essentailly just sketching the basics – but it is of historical interest. I do encourage people with CPL cards to go on the CPL website and poke around until you find the Chicago Tribune historical archive database, there is an enormous wealth of information out there, and you can really hone your searching skills.
Bryan, that is a great view. Never having actually been in the Biograph myself, can anyone say what, if anything was/is left of this?
Sure, just send me an email with your address and i’ll send my materials right over – or I can put them on a CD and drop them by VG since i’m by there all the time. My address is in my profile. I do seem to recall reading that it was a ballroom, billiards, dance studio, and storage at times, but I don’t have time to look up all the articles I had seen at the moment to confirm.
Brian, could you post a link to access the pdfs of the 1914 Tribune article for the rest of us? Thanks!
I would love to see the photos! Early photos of the Biograph are very hard to come by and they would be most useful. As to your earlier questions about the second level – that space is in a separate building, and the two theories I have heard are that there was a ballroom or a pool hall up there. There will be a rehearsal room now and there is a studio theater to be built in a future project. Glad to see you’re being careful. Unfortunately this is a union project, so we cannot use volunteer labor. Please shoot me an email with the pics when you get a chance. Thanks!
Yes, that’s the lettering I refer to. I had assumed it was an 80s renovation too initially because the deco style didn’t seem to ring true, but it’s present in 1939 photos I saw on ebay (I have these saved to disk, in case you’d like me to email them). I’ve seen similar signage above doors in other deco remodels. It is strange that the lettering there didn’t originally match the marquee. In these photos, the colors were reverse of the more recent style and the marquee was painted awkwardly, as well. The underside of the marquee was also white in these. The poster cases were also somewhat larger. Don’t get me wrong, i’m very excited to see the Biograph put to a greater use, and I think it’s an excellent project – i’m just a bit concerned about what might be lost. Plaster can always be re-cast! And don’t worry, I wouldn’t be so foolish as to climb in a dumpster, it was right on top. I go to Depaul, so I will be watching this project intently. If any volunteer labor is desired, don’t hestiate to contact me. I also have pdfs of the 1914 Tribune articles announcing the theater.
The plaster pieces you refer to were from the auditorium, not the lobby and I was responding to your comment about the lobby. Much of the plaster like what you pulled from the dumpster had water damage, and more of it was damaged in earlier renovations. They did try to salvage it by prying it off the wall, but the pieces literally pulverized in the effort. (Please note – the debris in a dumpster is very unstable and it can be quite dangerous to dig around in one). I don’t know about the Biograph over the door – are you referring to the faux deco lettering that was added in the 80s? The renderings that you mention are conceptual sketches only and do not represent a completed design. Hope this helps!
I personally grabbed a couple chunks of ornamental, albeit relatively simple, plaster from the dumpster last week. Certainly it’s been remodeled a number of times in its history, and this was probably covered over, but it did exist. Are either of those wood sections to be maintained? And what about the main theater, or the upstairs? And yes, I agree it will probably be an improvement over the most recent appearance, and it will look nice, but it’s not really restoration. Brick does fit with the Victory Gardens aesthetic from the current location, which I do like. Why was the ‘Biograph’ over the doors removed? And why is the white pediment over the entrance missing in the renderings? Is the marquee going to be repainted correctly, with the proper typeface and striping missing in the present paint scheme?
There was very little in the lobby to preserve. That area of the theater had no detailed plaster work of any kind. There was one small wood section that had some painted detail, and a short run of carved wood that appears to have had lights in it at one time, but other than that, it was pretty much concrete and ductwork. The original bricks on the walls will be exposed and cleaned, it should be a nice restoration from the current drywall.
Interior demolition recently began. The lobby is now essentially gutted. Sad, I had thought they would try to restore it.
The 2000 film, High Fidelity, starring John Cusack, filmed in front of the Biograph. John does monologue about Dillinger being shot by the FBI because of his (expletive) girlfriend tipping them off (going along with the theme of the movie).
I have to agree with markh cause I attended The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Biograph too from 79 to 83 and it also brings back great memories too and I also remember Trax Wax too mark near the Biograph. It was great growing up there.
True story: I was watching The Prince of Tides here a few years ago. I was sitting toward the back and was there pretty much by myself. In front of me I was watching various audience members look down once in a while into the aisles. Shortly afterward I heard a loud squeeking. I looked down and about 12 inches from my feet was a very large rat. I jumped out of my seat and ran into the lobby. I asked for a manager and he told me that there was a big rat infestation in the theater because there was some kind of renovation work going on next door. I had him retrieve my coat and got my money back. Believe it or not, I did go back to the Biograph but sat with my feet tucked under me for the entire movie.
Village Entrainment is the biggest dumb as*es working in the theater exhibitor business today. Village has no public relations first of all. They do no advertising what so ever. There are no newspaper ads and not even the Village Entrainment web site works anymore
http://www.villagetheatres.com The Webmaster had some kind of falling out with Village, which am sure was over money. Village has grown over the years but does not have the money to keep theatres running, either because they don’t have the financial backing or they simply don’t want to spend the money. Biograph Theater was sentence to death under Village’s name. Village sentenced Water Tower Theatre to death. That is just to name a few. Note to big chains if you want to destroy a theatre without a bad mark on your name sell it to Village Entertainment. Landlords want a reason to use a theatre space for other use rent it to Village! At Village Entertainment will kill them all!! No theatre is too big! 1,2,3, 4 screens even 5. Heck give us 20 we kill them too!
As has been an annual tradition for years, the JOHN DILLINGER DIED FOR YOU SOCIETY will convene outside the Biograph on the evening of July 22, 2005. The public is invited. Also, Dillinger’s alley is still there. Contrary to popular belief. tho, the telephone pole there has been replaced many times.
I don’t think it really was about that. It was open right up til Victory Gardens announced their purchase, and they had been investigating it for a long time. And the ownership shuffle probably didn’t help, but that was largely a matter of bankruptcies. Granted, VG has seemingly done very little renovating so far (funding?). It’s good to see it in the hands of someone who will use it rather than tear it down, even if their plan isn’t totally ideal. It should at least look better.
The thing I can’t understand is how can 3 Penny keep surviving but Biograph seemed unable to stay afloat? It is not like I want 3 Penny to close anything but the Biograph is across the street and people seemed like they just didn’t want to go to Biograph .
The Dillinger alley is still there, the buildings around it have just changed. View link This shows a diagram of the Dillinger Shooting; the grocery was demolished recently and a coldstone and qdoba now occupy its site. The 3 Penny is still there, twinned. As far as I know, the only theatre just off Argyle was the Argmore, but that closed in the 50s. Perhaps you’re thinking of the Bryn Mawr, directly next to the Bryn Mawr stop? The Century Centre, and all the other theatres you mention are all listed on this site.
Ken, the Three Penny is directly across the street from the Biograph. Regarding The Century, it continues to expand and there are now seven movie screens on the top floor of the mall; they show artsy and foreign films these days.
The alley where Dillinger was shot no longer exists as a building was built over it. I saw Rocky Horror there as well in 1978-79. The show was well established and regulars brought all the props. The show was always packed. I maybe confusing locations, but wasn’t there a small “Arts” theater called the Three Penny across the street?
I recall a revival theater opening off the Argyle “EL” stop. I saw The Wizard of Oz on the big screen there for the very first time. I was thrilled to see details I never saw on all the years I’d seen it on tv.
Living on the northside in what was then called “New Town”, Belmont was my EL stop and I often saw films at the Lakeshore Theater.
I worked in an old theater on Clark Street that had been converted into an mini-indoor shopping center. The ornate white stone facade was all that was left and it was called The Century. Anybody know anything about it?
Ken Raney
I only saw one film at the Biograph, back in the early 1970s… A DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVITCH. Don’t remember the last of the film tho; I and the Lady I was with had smoked our brains out on weed before coming in, and we fell asleep! <<grin>>
Back then, the whole area was a hippie hangout; right across the street was the old folk music club, “Somebody Else’s Troubles”.
Brian Wolf & br91975, the Biograph has (or had, as the case may be) three screens: one main one on the first level and two smaller ones upstairs. On thing I found charming was the old-fashioned ticket seller’s box.
The Biograph was a three-screen house although, having never seen a film there, I can’t attest to the layout.