Nortown Theater
6320 N. Western Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60659
6320 N. Western Avenue,
Chicago,
IL
60659
23 people
favorited this theater
Showing 101 - 125 of 237 comments
The photo in the Sun-Times article above is really heartbreaking.
Batwoman :
I saw it on WGN CH 9 it was a short peace but it might be on the web . It was on the 9pm broadcast on saturday Aug 4th 2007.
Found this:
View link
I can’t believe it’s gone..
what channel did you see that on? I wonder if they’ll hae that info on the web?
Just saw on the news that NORTOWN is being torn down an in it place will go what else CONDOS . And from what i have herd romm for 2 smaller theatres .
It is a sad day when great places like this are replaced with CONDOS and all that is left is a foot note to history.
SO SAD :( Thank you for your time .
The facade is currently about half down.
Thank you, BWC! How careless of me, of course it was the NORSHORE I was refering to.
http://www.photoeye.com
Perhaps you mean the Norshore, /theaters/964/
JEO Pridmore was the architect for the Nortown. What is your source?
Rapp & Rapp designed the (1931) Nortown Theatre mezzanine floor with the same milti color “basket weave” marble design as they had put inside the (1922) Akdar Theatre lobby in Tulsa, OK.
Yeah. Maybe something like preserving the lobby section and building a new, compatible structure on the auditorium section – something like the proposal for the Hyde Park theater – would have worked.
I hear what you are saying B. I’m not saying that I have a carefully conceived plan. But the mark of a good architect is an ability to look at project constraints and come up with an attractive solution.
Well, the facade was pretty blank and severe, probably because of the depression. Especially after the parapet wall at the top of the entrance was removed. You’d need to punch a lot of windows in it, and it probably just wouldn’t end up looking too great. I’d like to see the scrapped proposal from VOA Architects.
It sounds like they have the right idea at the Ramova. I have heard of proposals that sit at different points along the reuse spectrum. But everything I have read says that they at least want to save the exterior along Halsted Street. I think they could have taken the same approach with the Nortown. Americans by and large don’t seem to understand possession of history and how it could be marketed far more successfully than another modern mall or condo complex.
At least some sections of the building have been salvaged by Urban Remains for new life elswhere. While I have heard mixed reviews about them over the years, I think they are basically a positive force within the fabric of preservation.
bing00,
I wouldn’t be concerned for the Patio at this point, as it is still a money generating property with the apartments and storefronts. The owner, AFAIK, is still waiting for a long term lease before proceeding any further with renovations on the theater. I just cruised around there and it’s locked up tight and has had any graffiti removed on a regular basis.
There is now a gaping hole at the Nortown procenium. I’m very concerned for the Patio and the Ramova. Any word on movement with these places?
Thanks for the link. Great pictures (quality and eye), just wish they were of a living, breathing, thriving Nortown as it was back in the day.
It’s very sad to see the Nortown being demolished, but I’m happy that a few things are being salvaged by the people from Urban Remains Chicago. I have an old pamphlet from the Theatre Historical Society that says the during the demolition of another old Chicago palace – the Norshore – “Local newspapers ran photos of the wrecker’s ball swinging at the columned lobby with chandeliers, furniture, and statuary still in place.”
I’ve put up a few photos from the Nortown at http://www.mekong.net/random/nortown.htm
Regards,
Bruce
I’ve seen your LJ suercharger (I’m also on LJ, iwerewolf).
Some helpful free photo hosts are photobucket.com, flickr.com… ther eare a few out there. They’re easy to set up and post. You don’t want to see my photobucket account. lol so many pictures for hot linking….
Nortown –
The add image feature is not currently working on this site. In order to show your photos you have to host them on your own site and set up a page for viewing to link to.
You can see that I link to my LJ pages and host on my own server.
I’m glad that urbanremains was able to help you out!
I visited the Nortown yesterday through the courtesy of Urban Remains Chicago. Most of the auditorium has been demolished. Part of the balcony remained. The lobby is essentially unrecognizable. It was interesting to note that what had been the manager’s office had been converted to men’s and women’s bathrooms. To say the least, it was very disheartening to see the destruction of this beautiful building. I took some pictures that I can post here. I also found my photographs from 1984 while the theater was still open (and before it was tripled). Can anyone tell me how to post images on this web site?
Thanks
Thank you eric.
I will be in touch. Lighting is much better for photos during the day and it is much nicer to walk in with a tripod and actual real camera gear to shoot. :)
thank you supercharger96… just contact us and we can let you in during the day when our staff is present. there are several smaller fragments that you can take along w/ you. best, eric
we certainly respect your appreciation for the nortown; however, it would be much appreciated if you simply contact us via email or phone for permission to gain access. we will be more than happy to offer you w/ plaster fragments, bricks, etc. (free of charge) as mementos…simply pay your last respects legally. on a more important subject, we have discovered several items the plasterers left behind in walls, etc. if anyone is interested, email us (too much to write here). thanks again.
Nortown,
From what I have heard the urbanremains people are very gracious when it comes to their salvages and are very conscious of the fact that they are handling pieces of peoples memories as they salvage pieces of buildings that otherwise would be unceremoniously pissed away with the wrecking ball.
Perhaps if you contact them directly they may be able to help you out?
They have a website
http://urbanremainschicago.com/
I was actually watching them through the fence while they were setting up the lighting and the camera/tripod for the photo that currently graces their front page.
While it is entirely heartbreaking to watch a theater that actually had rehab potential be knocked down to be replaced with condos (and oh the irony! a three screen bollywood theater), it would be even more heartbreaking to watch the proscenium come down in pieces and be ground into dust underneath the wrecking crews treads.