Comments from BrendanMcKenna

Showing 6 comments

BrendanMcKenna
BrendanMcKenna commented about Burnham Plaza Cinemas on Jun 8, 2005 at 7:02 am

According to the Chicago Tribune, this theater will be closing in August; the building will be converted to a medical office bldg.

Was this soon-to-be-former theater ever successful? It seems from what I have read that this theater was likely obsolete within a few years of its opening, much like the Cineplex Odeon theater in 600 N Michigan. Considering how busy the South Loop is becoming, with all the new residences, I would think a multiplex would flourish in the area.

BrendanMcKenna
BrendanMcKenna commented about Missouri Theatre? on Jul 26, 2004 at 9:00 am

I should also add that cinematour.com has photos of the theater, at various stages of its existence. The link:

View link

BrendanMcKenna
BrendanMcKenna commented about Missouri Theatre? on Jul 26, 2004 at 8:55 am

/theaters/4866/

Likely the Empire Theatre, which is still standing and is threatened with demolition as we speak. This theatre was known as the RKO Missouri until 1960, which lines up properly with the date of your ticket stub. It was built in 1921 as the Main Street Theatre.

BrendanMcKenna
BrendanMcKenna commented about Uptown Theatre on Apr 9, 2003 at 8:37 am

Here is the original column that provides the background to my post on April 4, 2003, from David Roeder, columnist for the Chicago Sun Times:

“UPTOWN CALAMITY: The nonprofit Uptown Theatre and Center for the Arts is making progress toward its goal of raising $5 million to buy and refurbish the glorious Uptown Theatre, 4816 N. Broadway. So said Carol Jean Carlson, the group’s chief executive. The group has said that for two years now, even as it has burned through almost $1 million of benefactor Albert Goodman’s money, while the 4,381-seat theater remains vacant. Carlson said up to $100,000 was squandered by a former chief executive now on the lam.

Then there was the former chief executive’s replacement, who quit and claimed the group owed him $10,000. And now there’s a dispute with a former chairman of the organization, developer Paul Warshauer, who was dumped from the board. Carlson said a lawsuit will be filed against Warshauer for misdeeds she wouldn’t specify. “He was removed for cause,‘’ was all she would say.

Warshauer could not be reached. Carlson said the group has spent $250,000 as a down payment for the theater and $400,000 on consultants for architectural and environmental studies. She cites that as progress. But with the group showing scant ability to acquire and manage the property, it sounds more like the Uptown Theatre has become a cash cow for insiders. “Money before performance” seems to be the motto. The city has acted aggressively to force sales of blighted property. It’s time it saves the Uptown."

BrendanMcKenna
BrendanMcKenna commented about Uptown Theatre on Apr 9, 2003 at 8:34 am

From the April 9, 2003 column of David Roeder in the Chicago Sun Times:

“Also, developer Paul Warshauer, past chairman of the Uptown Theatre and Center for the Arts, said he forced the group to oust him because of his complaints over its practices. The nonprofit organization wants to buy and renovate the Uptown Theatre at 4816 N. Broadway. It has burned through nearly $1 million with little to show for it.

Warshauer said that despite what the group’s leader said in this space last week, it has squandered $250,000 by not closing a contract to purchase the theater. There also are questions about $30,000 the group collected when it raffled a Jaguar, a prize it does not own and has yet to bestow."

BrendanMcKenna
BrendanMcKenna commented about Uptown Theatre on Apr 4, 2003 at 9:29 am

There was a recent article that summarized the financial mismanagement at the organization set up to renovate the Uptown. This includes a director running off after charging up a storm using organization credit cards; the resignation of the next director after only 6 months (Zipperer); a top heavy staff of 8 (what do they do all day); the excessive use of a $1 million donation; the failure of one after the other of fundraisers (including to auction off a used Jaguar that was the “property” of the missing director)-bottom line, it seems like if the Uptown is to be saved, it needs a radically new direction. The latest plan seems slightly off (to purchase rental properties adjacent to the theatre to gain the rental income). Uptown is still a slightly seedy neighborhood, so I am not sure how much income will come from renting (currently, it appears the spaces are empty to begin with). At this point, I don’t see how progress can be made to save the theatre. Shame!