There was one in a strip mall in Justice, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. It went to porno and finally closed. I also remember newspaper ads touting the cinemas as a way to get into the movie business, utilizing 16mm films and equipment.
Hey, Bryan. Don’t wanna flame ya or anything. It’s just that I went to a lot of movies back then and would have loved to have had another theater to go to. The only other theater that hung on in Oak Park was the Southern over on Oak Park Ave and Harrison. Maybe that’s the one that the Historical Society is referring to.
Neat photo above. The tracks in the foreground belong to the Lake Street Elevated, which ran at ground level until 1964.
Growing up in the area,I attended many movies in Oak Park at the Lake and Lamar theaters from the late 40’s through the early 60’s and never were any films shown at this location during that time.
It probably stopped showing films much earlier than is indicated above.
I don’t want to start a flame war here, but I am white and my wife and I always shopped at the mall and never felt uncomfortable. I guess perception is reality, at least for some.
The Lil had its auditorium converted into warehouse space for the liquor retailer next door. A friend of mine who worked at the store took me in back to show what remained, which wasn’t much.
I went there quite often in the 50’s. The nicest thing about the Harlem were the in-car heaters. These allowed for wintertime movie viewing without keeping your car running to provide enough heat so the windows wouldn’t steam up.
When they were tearing down the theater to build a laundromat, the brick wall of the buidling standing on the east side was exposed. Obivously, it had been covered over during the Tiffin’s construction. Still painted on the wall and fresh in appearance was an ancient advertisement for Quaker Oats cereal, at only 5 cents a serving! Kinda neat.
Yes, gas pipes feeding exit signs were very common in theaters and other buildings even through the mid-20th century. The reason being was that if the electricity were to fail, the gas lights would still illuminate the exits in an emergency. Nowadays, back up emergency light systems work with a battery circuit to continue the lighting in case of power failures.
The new Chicago customers to whom you allude, might they be of the minority persuasion? These are the kind of biased unsubstantiated remarks that don’t belong on this board.
Yes, there was an Elm theater in Elmwood Park. It was located on the north side of Grand Avenue near the Milwaukee Road RR tracks. It was converted to an Armenettis Liquor store in the late 50’s I believe.
Odd note. I was watching “My Favorite Year” (1982) on AMC today and in one scene, supposedly on Broadway in New York, they pass a movie theater called the “Music Box.” The film was primarily shot in New York, but I cannot find any reference to a Music Box Theater in New York on this site.
It’s possible that this was a set on the backlot of a Hollywood studio. Any one know?
I drove by today and saw that the theater building is not demolished, but rather is being rehabbed, probably for retail. One can see the spaces in the front where the playbills were displayed.
For years, it has been used for storage, and the front always looked like a theater, with the ticket booth covered with metal.
Yes, it is a beautiful place and needs to be reopened. Just a minor correction, tho. I also lived in the neighborhood for many years, and attended St. Pascal (no h) church at the corner of Irving Park and Melvina.
I worked around the corner on Madison St. in the late 60’s and remember that this theater had gone to Spanish-language features by then. I even took in a Mexican vampire flick there once. Fun is fun, no matter what the language.
My Dad used to call it the Pay-she-oh, (like ratio). Perhaps just a neighborhood affectation. In all my years on the west side, we always called it the PAT-ee-oh, just like the place where you have your barbecue grill and lawn furniture. Of course, the Hispanic customers would call it POT-y-oh (As it is pronounced in Spanish)
Some of the statuary and fountains from the Paradise went to the Chateau Royale, a banquet hall built out of the Iris Theater at 5747 W. Chicago Ave. I remember attending weddings and functions there and admiring the beautiful fixtures. The building still exists today, except as a church.
Thanks for the pic. The street didn’t look all that different in the 50’s, but the theater had a standard type of marquee as opposed to the one shown.
There was one in a strip mall in Justice, Illinois, a Chicago suburb. It went to porno and finally closed. I also remember newspaper ads touting the cinemas as a way to get into the movie business, utilizing 16mm films and equipment.
The Orpheum reopened Friday, January 28, 2005. The fire damage has been repaired.
Movies are being screened again and the restaurant in the lobby is doing business. Great place for lunch, which I have there at least twice a week.
Hey, Bryan. Don’t wanna flame ya or anything. It’s just that I went to a lot of movies back then and would have loved to have had another theater to go to. The only other theater that hung on in Oak Park was the Southern over on Oak Park Ave and Harrison. Maybe that’s the one that the Historical Society is referring to.
Neat photo above. The tracks in the foreground belong to the Lake Street Elevated, which ran at ground level until 1964.
Growing up in the area,I attended many movies in Oak Park at the Lake and Lamar theaters from the late 40’s through the early 60’s and never were any films shown at this location during that time.
It probably stopped showing films much earlier than is indicated above.
I don’t want to start a flame war here, but I am white and my wife and I always shopped at the mall and never felt uncomfortable. I guess perception is reality, at least for some.
Peace.
Trolleyguy
This was a nice place to take a date in the 50’s. Clean and comfortable. Now, a McDonald’s stands on the spot.
The Lil had its auditorium converted into warehouse space for the liquor retailer next door. A friend of mine who worked at the store took me in back to show what remained, which wasn’t much.
I show the address as 11053 S. Michigan and seating capacity at 774.
I went there quite often in the 50’s. The nicest thing about the Harlem were the in-car heaters. These allowed for wintertime movie viewing without keeping your car running to provide enough heat so the windows wouldn’t steam up.
When they were tearing down the theater to build a laundromat, the brick wall of the buidling standing on the east side was exposed. Obivously, it had been covered over during the Tiffin’s construction. Still painted on the wall and fresh in appearance was an ancient advertisement for Quaker Oats cereal, at only 5 cents a serving! Kinda neat.
Yes, gas pipes feeding exit signs were very common in theaters and other buildings even through the mid-20th century. The reason being was that if the electricity were to fail, the gas lights would still illuminate the exits in an emergency. Nowadays, back up emergency light systems work with a battery circuit to continue the lighting in case of power failures.
The new Chicago customers to whom you allude, might they be of the minority persuasion? These are the kind of biased unsubstantiated remarks that don’t belong on this board.
Yes, there was an Elm theater in Elmwood Park. It was located on the north side of Grand Avenue near the Milwaukee Road RR tracks. It was converted to an Armenettis Liquor store in the late 50’s I believe.
Odd note. I was watching “My Favorite Year” (1982) on AMC today and in one scene, supposedly on Broadway in New York, they pass a movie theater called the “Music Box.” The film was primarily shot in New York, but I cannot find any reference to a Music Box Theater in New York on this site.
It’s possible that this was a set on the backlot of a Hollywood studio. Any one know?
Thanks.
The Iris still is in existence as a church.
The theater has now been converted into a retail shoe store. Nothing remains to indicate it ever was a theater.
I drove by today and saw that the theater building is not demolished, but rather is being rehabbed, probably for retail. One can see the spaces in the front where the playbills were displayed.
For years, it has been used for storage, and the front always looked like a theater, with the ticket booth covered with metal.
Yes, it is a beautiful place and needs to be reopened. Just a minor correction, tho. I also lived in the neighborhood for many years, and attended St. Pascal (no h) church at the corner of Irving Park and Melvina.
Peace
I worked around the corner on Madison St. in the late 60’s and remember that this theater had gone to Spanish-language features by then. I even took in a Mexican vampire flick there once. Fun is fun, no matter what the language.
Excuse me, Jim, but the i in Spanish is pronounced ee (long e). it is the e in Spanish that has the long a sound.
Peace
My Dad used to call it the Pay-she-oh, (like ratio). Perhaps just a neighborhood affectation. In all my years on the west side, we always called it the PAT-ee-oh, just like the place where you have your barbecue grill and lawn furniture. Of course, the Hispanic customers would call it POT-y-oh (As it is pronounced in Spanish)
The intersecting street at Division where this theater is located, is Mayfield, not Mansfield.
I remember going to Saturday matinees at the Park in the early 50’s.
For a dime, you got 10 cartoons, newsreel, serial chapter, and a feature. Needless to say, the cartoon-a-thons on TV effectively killed this business.
John Ford’s “The Quiet Man” enjoyed a several months run in first release here, due to the heavy Irish immigrant presence in the neighborhood.
As an aside, the wading pool in Austin Park across the street, was known as the “Mud Hole”, because that’s what it was before WWII.
Some of the statuary and fountains from the Paradise went to the Chateau Royale, a banquet hall built out of the Iris Theater at 5747 W. Chicago Ave. I remember attending weddings and functions there and admiring the beautiful fixtures. The building still exists today, except as a church.