The Cinema Paradiso is also a great example of a very beautiful church building in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that was converted into a movie house. On the other hand, the Rockne in Chicago went from a porno house to a church, which is a much better use of the space, I believe.
This week, the Orpheum is showing a first-run, non-art house film, “Walk the Line,” the Johnny Cash biopic. Given its proximity to the newly restored and opened Capitol Theater and Overture Center just a block up the street, there might be enough traffic generated to provide an audience for mainstream films again.
Downtown Madison is transforming into a major destination again, with new upscale housing and expanded parking in the plans.
The Capitol should now be shown as open. It is a performing arts cnter and movie theater. They have kept the old carbon arc lamp houses and use reel -to-reel projectors because the owners of the classic films that will be shown there do not want them put on a platter system. They will hosting a silent film series accompanied by the Barton organ, called Duck Soup Cinema.
Stop the insanity! You people are only using up bandwidth that could be available for intelligent discussion and pleasant reminiscences, not rantings and personal attacks. Do any of you honestly believe that you are going to change anyone’s opinion on this topic with your venom and sarcasm?
I believe that it is time for a strictly moderated message board on this site. Other message boards in which I participate, use this approach to keep the drivel and irrelevant babbling down to a minimum. Volunteer moderators would be referees and keep the postings on topic. I was involved in one site where this had to be done after numerous flame wars broke out and the site degenerated into nothing but nasty name-calling. Most of us were appalled and petitioned the site’s webmaster to make the change, which was done.
Now, anyone who violates the rules sees his/her posting privileges suspended, and after repeat violations, taken away altogether. It works just fine and creates a more civil atmosphere, in which topics can be discussed in a reaasonable, relevant manner.
The South Towne is now a second-run $2 bargain house. The deterioration of the area around the mall where it is located made it a less-than-attractive destination for first-run patrons.
I thought this was a site for those who were interested in movie theaters. The negative trolls who have posted above not only lack manners, it is also obvious that they are either developers or others with a financial interest in seeing the theater demolished. Fine, if that’s their interest, then let them find another discussion board to promote their ideas.
DuPage Dude is right, Deb. Don’t encourage themn. It’s like waving a piece of raw meat at a dog.
An old adage puts it well: “If you lie down with dogs, you get up
with fleas.”
This restaurant was located south of the drive-in on Harlem Ave. just north of North Avenue. It disappeared in the 60’s and was replaced by a bank and a Sears auto store.
That picture is of the northwest corner of Madison and Central, whereas the Austin Theater was on the southwest side of the street. The picture that is posted is of the Cinderella Ballroom and Bowling Alley building. In the 50’s, I used to go bowling and shoot pool there, and went to high school just up the street. I also saw the original Godzilla at the Austin, went several times, in fact.
This is the building at 5619 West Madison. Looks like a church has taken over the old space.
My sentiments exactly. It would appear that by giving it away, they are trying to avoid a potential liability issue and the attendant costs connected with disposal.
Yes, the ornate 1927 lobby was torn out then and has been demolished again. The new lobby will be the former section under the balcony, which has had its ceiling restored, as seen in this photo.
Targeted opening date for the new theater is in November 2005. Many original movie house items – including two chandeliers, a Barton organ and elegant balcony – remain, and Overture officials have been careful to maintain the theater’s vintage appearance.
Tattered and dusty curtains with loose tassels still hang from the theater stage’s proscenium arch to help designers recreate a similar-looking item with identical placement.
“It’ll be a new curtain,” said a representative for Overture Development Corp., “but it will be in keeping with the idea that we want the theater to have an old, familiar feel.”
The A&E series, “City Confidential” showcased Archer City in its 100th episode. The show centered around small-town crime and corruption, but also focused on the Royal. It has been lovingly restored as a Country & Western night club by Larry McMurtry, author of Lonesome Dove and other popular books. He also runs a book store in Archer City, which has helped it to become a sort of tourist mecca.
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.
The Cinema Paradiso is also a great example of a very beautiful church building in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that was converted into a movie house. On the other hand, the Rockne in Chicago went from a porno house to a church, which is a much better use of the space, I believe.
This week, the Orpheum is showing a first-run, non-art house film, “Walk the Line,” the Johnny Cash biopic. Given its proximity to the newly restored and opened Capitol Theater and Overture Center just a block up the street, there might be enough traffic generated to provide an audience for mainstream films again.
Downtown Madison is transforming into a major destination again, with new upscale housing and expanded parking in the plans.
The Capitol should now be shown as open. It is a performing arts cnter and movie theater. They have kept the old carbon arc lamp houses and use reel -to-reel projectors because the owners of the classic films that will be shown there do not want them put on a platter system. They will hosting a silent film series accompanied by the Barton organ, called Duck Soup Cinema.
Stop the insanity! You people are only using up bandwidth that could be available for intelligent discussion and pleasant reminiscences, not rantings and personal attacks. Do any of you honestly believe that you are going to change anyone’s opinion on this topic with your venom and sarcasm?
I believe that it is time for a strictly moderated message board on this site. Other message boards in which I participate, use this approach to keep the drivel and irrelevant babbling down to a minimum. Volunteer moderators would be referees and keep the postings on topic. I was involved in one site where this had to be done after numerous flame wars broke out and the site degenerated into nothing but nasty name-calling. Most of us were appalled and petitioned the site’s webmaster to make the change, which was done.
Now, anyone who violates the rules sees his/her posting privileges suspended, and after repeat violations, taken away altogether. It works just fine and creates a more civil atmosphere, in which topics can be discussed in a reaasonable, relevant manner.
Just a suggestion.
Peace.
The South Towne is now a second-run $2 bargain house. The deterioration of the area around the mall where it is located made it a less-than-attractive destination for first-run patrons.
I thought this was a site for those who were interested in movie theaters. The negative trolls who have posted above not only lack manners, it is also obvious that they are either developers or others with a financial interest in seeing the theater demolished. Fine, if that’s their interest, then let them find another discussion board to promote their ideas.
DuPage Dude is right, Deb. Don’t encourage themn. It’s like waving a piece of raw meat at a dog.
An old adage puts it well: “If you lie down with dogs, you get up
with fleas.”
Peace.
This restaurant was located south of the drive-in on Harlem Ave. just north of North Avenue. It disappeared in the 60’s and was replaced by a bank and a Sears auto store.
That picture is of the northwest corner of Madison and Central, whereas the Austin Theater was on the southwest side of the street. The picture that is posted is of the Cinderella Ballroom and Bowling Alley building. In the 50’s, I used to go bowling and shoot pool there, and went to high school just up the street. I also saw the original Godzilla at the Austin, went several times, in fact.
This is the building at 5619 West Madison. Looks like a church has taken over the old space.
View link
My sentiments exactly. It would appear that by giving it away, they are trying to avoid a potential liability issue and the attendant costs connected with disposal.
Yes, the ornate 1927 lobby was torn out then and has been demolished again. The new lobby will be the former section under the balcony, which has had its ceiling restored, as seen in this photo.
View link
Targeted opening date for the new theater is in November 2005. Many original movie house items – including two chandeliers, a Barton organ and elegant balcony – remain, and Overture officials have been careful to maintain the theater’s vintage appearance.
Tattered and dusty curtains with loose tassels still hang from the theater stage’s proscenium arch to help designers recreate a similar-looking item with identical placement.
“It’ll be a new curtain,” said a representative for Overture Development Corp., “but it will be in keeping with the idea that we want the theater to have an old, familiar feel.”
The A&E series, “City Confidential” showcased Archer City in its 100th episode. The show centered around small-town crime and corruption, but also focused on the Royal. It has been lovingly restored as a Country & Western night club by Larry McMurtry, author of Lonesome Dove and other popular books. He also runs a book store in Archer City, which has helped it to become a sort of tourist mecca.
Of course, everyone wants to see the Royal.
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.