Nortown Theater

I’ve had mixed feelings about the demolition of the Nortown. This may be because I’ve never attended movies here. A famous archeitect once said (and I’m paraphrasing here) “We will be judged not by the works we created, but by those we destroyed.” (If any fellow CTers know which archeitect this was, please let me know.

But on the other hand, could the Nortown realistically have been saved? The building, from what I understand, was in very bad shape. Assuming that it could have somehow been saved, what could be booked? Could the place have been filled enough times so that it could make a profit or at least cover expenses? The competition out there is just too great!

Could the theatre have been used again for film? It seems to me that the place would have been just too big for that. As one person said above “30 people would show up to sit in a 2,000 seat theatre.” It might seem heresy to say this, but it’s best chance might have been to restore the lobby and do what they did to the Esquire (only on a much more classier level—ie maybe 4 screens and definitely NOT shoeboxes, but with some atmosphere to them). Certainly the present owner realized that he could not fill the old Nortown showing Bollywood and Pakistani movies. I do, however, agree that this city does not need more condos.

The point is that, as much as we love old theatres, we must be pragmatic. Not everything can be saved. I should say that I love places like the Tivoli and the Portage, however those are much smaller venues and therefore easier to book. I also think that the Esquire and the DuPage could have been saved too. But as far as preservation is concerned, one must choose one’s battles carefully. But to those who attended and loved the old Nortown, you can take solace in your good memories of the place. Remember it as it once was and also take solace in that, thanks to Urban Remains, parts of the theatre can and will live on, possibly to be re-used in cinemas such as the Lake.

Everything about this is heart breaking.

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.

what channel did you see that on? I wonder if they’ll hae that info on the web?

The facade is currently about half down.

Perhaps you mean the Norshore, /theaters/964/

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.

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.

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.

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?

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

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!

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. :)