Granada Theatre

Life's Too Short on June 26, 2006 at 6:01 pm

How about that. Yes they are. I have always wondered why the grand window was painted over. I guess the setting sun might have been an issue. But it doesn’t seem like that big of a deal.

I don’t know Geo. I love old theatres. What’s more I think there is a place for many of them in the modern world. I don’t know about the Granada. It had an oddball stage because of the curving elevated embankment just behind. More importantly that same embankment would have kept any developers from adding a modern stage. It’s a similar problem to that facing the Uptown, which backs directly up to Lawrence Avenue.

Should the taxpayers of a given municipality be saddled with a building that can’t sustain itself just because a few of us love it? As off the wall as some of the people are who argue against the Dupage Theatre renovation, I think the point they make is a valid one. It’s not enough to say, “it would be a good concert hall.” You need estimated cash flows that support such a notion.

The only possible arts center solution I could have envisioned here involved Loyola. But, obviously, they had every opportunity to investigate the idea and did not.

I could see getting really out of joint if this had been Chicago’s last vintage theatre. But, at least for the time being, Chicago is lucky enough to have several well-maintained vintage theatres.

I’m not trying to rattle anyone’s cage. I simply feel strongly that preservation efforts need to have a realistic component to them, or they are doomed to fail. I would have been happy if the grand lobby had been turned into a restaurant, with a multiplex or maybe a Century-type mall retaining the auditorium ceiling. That way the building would have lived on.

Instead we have “Granada Plaza.”

jukingeo on June 18, 2006 at 2:38 pm

Hello

LIFES TOO SHORT—Agreed, they could have done something…but even more than just save the facade. The aweful thing was that this theatre lasted until the 90’s when movements were already in place to save theatres. So I guess that is why this one really bothers me alot that it was torn down so late. I think also there is a bit of a personal attachment to this building especially since I found out it was the inspriation for the the album cover of Styx’s Paradise Theatre…of which to this day is one of my favorite albums and was one of the reasons I became interested in the theatre industry. If you looked at the old pictures of the Granada’s original marquee, you can even further understand my grief at why this theatre was destroyed (see the pictures I submitted from both the Granada and Marbro above). It is sad and very important to protect what we have left. Chicago has still another gorgeous theatre left…the Uptown, I believe there is still hope for this gem.

JG

Broan on June 18, 2006 at 4:41 am

Here is a profile from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency’s HAARGIS system. It includes small pictures.

Paul Fortini on May 26, 2006 at 4:12 am

Charles DuPont,

Are you the one that has the website www.oldgranadatheatre.com ? That’s where I received the information in my above post.

When I was 17-18 years old, I worked for Andy Frain Ushering and Security. My co-workers and I were always happy when we had a contract for a show at the Granada. We actually preferred working the Granada instead of the Uptown. No offense to those who are fans of that theatre, but we always regarded the Uptown as a cr@phole! In contrast, we regarded the Granada as “Faded Glory” but it was much cleaner. And in retrospect, had M&M been able to retain its liquor license, the Granada might still be with us today. Wy couldn’t Loyola have integrated it into its campus? Many colleges and universities have successfully done this!

Per the above comments comparing the Granada and the Paradise, the Granada’s modernized marquee was certainly the nicer of the two.

Finally, the vintage photo above appears to be taken right about the time of demolition or at least closure. The place looks vacant and the marquee is blank.

Paul Fortini on May 25, 2006 at 3:02 am

In the late 1970s or early 1980s, a company called “M and M Amusements” took over this place. M and M attempted to clean the theatre up and began booking top-name entertainment at the time. Such bookings included a stage version of Rocky Horror and concerts such as Cheap Trick and Off Broadway USA (“…Stay in time boy/Don’t get out of line boy). M and M ran into trouble with the community because of the lack of parking. The community supposedly claimed that concert-goers were vandalizing the area, damaging automobiles, etc. As a result, M and M lost its liqour license and was unable to book concerts after that. It was a shame too, because it seemed that M and M really tried to make the Granada Theatre work.

Then again, there were all sorts of politics behind the liqour license suspension….

jukingeo on April 6, 2006 at 9:26 am

Hello All,

Been doing some research on the Granada lately and low and behold I have to make a correction to what I said above in terms of the Granada’s marquee. As it turns out the artist DID get inspriation from the Granada’s marquee as well, but at the point I wrote the post above I didn’t know the Granada’s marquee was changed and originally looked like this:

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SAWEET! There it is. I love this marquee.

But y'all wanna see double. Getta loada this:

(Click on the picture to make it big)

View link

Yup! Twin sisters.

I got the THSA 1999 Annual on these theatres. A MUST for anyone intersted in them. The book also explains the slight difference between the Granada and the Marbro as well. There are two other theatres covered in there as well…The Regal and Diversy I believe. But the pictures and documentation is incredible. Many many thanks to Jim Rankin for pointing these out to me. As he puts it, “You will not find better pictures anywhere”.

After my readings, I must say that it does upset me that both these theatres were destroyed. But what angers me the most is that the Granada hung on to the 90’s and it seems like very little was done to save it. I know, I know it is easier said than done to save an old theatre and it does appear us theatre lovers are in the minority. But the big picture (pun intended) is once these gems are destroyed…they are gone and will never be replaced.

There are few instances of hope. I was very happy to learn that the Bronx Loews Paradise was recently saved and restored. This theatre is not too far from me…and I only learned about it recently as well. I will be checking this one out for sure!

G'day all and enjoy the pix.

JG

jukingeo on March 30, 2006 at 2:05 pm

Hello All

BEARDBEAR31—I am interested in seeing this picture of the Paradise with State Street Sadie on the Marquee, however your links do not work. Yes, you are correct, that is also the name of a song on the album.

However, I do have to disagree with you in terms of the album art. Here is why.

Here is a picture of the REAL paradise theatre:

http://www.playle.com/KDL/41315.jpg

Here is a picture of the Styx Paradise Theatre Album:

View link

Finally here is a picture of the Granada Theatre:

View link

NOW everyone compare the facades (NOT the marquees). Yes, the album art is closer to the Granada than the Paradise. The Paradise didn’t have the three window layout. Has anyone ever seen the full art layout for the Paradise Theatre album? I have. It shows the crest on top of the theatre and it clearly is just about identical to that of the Granada Theatre.

JG

kmulkey on August 23, 2005 at 12:31 pm

I saw Harry Chapin at the Granada in 1979. What a great place. I believe it was one of his last concerts before his death. He came out in the lobby afterwards and shook hands, signed autographs, etc. Very cool.

warhorse on April 12, 2005 at 2:54 pm

And yet beautiful. Partly because they help us remember what the Granada once looked like.

beardbear31 on March 25, 2005 at 10:15 pm

The drawing of the Paradise Theater for the Styx album cover was NOT taken from a picture of the Granada….. it was taken from a picture of the actual Paradise Theater..the picture even had the name of the movie, “State Street Sadie” on the marquee, which was a song on the album…also the taxi on the album cover is there…. this picture can be found at: http://www.moviepalaces.net/paradise-ext1.htm….and the woman with the outstreached arms, on top of the marquee on the album cover, is actually part of the interior decor, which can also be found further on this website..

jayBeye on March 10, 2005 at 2:49 pm

While living in Chicago in 1973 I happened one day to catch a janitor at the theater and asked if I could come in and take some photos. He kindly let me in and for three hours or so I wandered all over the building in awe. What a magnificant building. It makes me sad to hear that it has been razed. I see the same thing here in California. No regard for the intricate beauties and harmonies of classic architecture. I did see a number of films there but never abnle to sneak up to the balcony.
jayBeye

Joe Vogel on February 7, 2005 at 4:44 pm

Copies of old lists of the AIA’s membership would be handy to have in circumstances like this. Some large public library somewhere must have them. Copies of regional versions of “Who’s Who” would be useful, too. I don’t think any of them are online yet, but public libraries usually have them for their area. It should be easy enough for somebody in Chicago to double check this.