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| Chicago
Theater, ca. 1930 |
Movie Theaters
Chicago's first generation of movie theaters, most of which opened
in the early 1910s, were mostly small establishments located wherever a
vacant storefront could be had. By the late 1910s and early 1920s,
increasingly large theaters were constructed throughout Chicago. Every
neighborhood had one or more movie houses to call its own. As profits
from existing theaters soared, promoters opened ever-grander theaters in
which entertain the masses of movie-goers. These so-called movie palaces
were distinct from their predecessors in a number of ways. The city's
theater circuits, the most notable of which was Balaban & Katz,
expected their movie palaces to draw audiences from across the city, not
just the immediate neighborhood. Also, by incorporating classical
architectural details in the new palaces, they hoped to allay
middle-class fears that movie theaters were corrupting the minds and
morals of the city's youth. Their efforts worked. By the end of the
1920s, movie-going was one of the city's most popular leisure
activities, due in large part by the increased willingness of
middle-class Chicagoans to go out and see a show. To learn more about
the city's movie theaters during Chicago's Jazz Age, click on the links
below. |
