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Home » Leisure Venues » Theaters » Citywide Theater Index Citywide Theater Index Index sections: Early Nickelodeons | A-B | C-D | E-G | H-J | K-L | M-N | O-Q | R-S | T-Z | Suburban               Theater Location Built Opened Seats Present Condition Notes California 3434 W 26th 1909 8/-/09 683 - a,b,c California 1002 N California - - 296 Bar b,c Calo 5406 N Clark 1915 11/20/15 880 Theater a,b,c Calumet 9206 S South Chicago - - 950 Demolished a,s Capitol 7941 S Halsted 1923-25 1/19/25 2415 Demolished b,c Carmen 5056 N Broadway - - - - j(1913) Casimir 4750 N Milwaukee - - 290 - a,b,c,s Casino 3506 S Halsted ca. 1891 - 275 Hair studio/apartments a,b,c,s,t Casino 58 W Madison - - 292 Demolished a,b,c Castle 6 S State 1915-16 1/26/16 297 - a,b,c Center 1161 W Madison - - 279 - a,b,c Central Park 3535 W Roosevelt 1917 10/27/17 2032 Church a,b,c Century 1421 W Madison - - 797 Demolished a,b,c Charm 430 S Halsted - - 298 - a,b,c Chateau 3816 N Broadway 1916 5/19/17 1800 Demolished a,c Chatham 7536-44 S Cottage Grove - - 1000 Demolished a,b,c Chelten 7935 S Exchange - 1/15/28 - Church c Chicago 175 N State 1921 10/26/21 4400 Theater c Chicago 614 S State 1912 - 299 Demolished b,c,e Chicago United 715 W 63rd - - - Demolished a Chopin 1541 W Division 1918 - - Theater a Cicero and Lake 315 N Cicero - - - - b Cinema 151 E Chicago - - - Demolished - Circle 3241 W Roosevelt 1909 9/-/09 707 Demolished a,b,c Claremont 3326 N Clark - - 624 - a,b,c Clarendon 3819 N Clarendon - - - - j(1913-15) Clark 11 N Clark - - - Demolished - Clearing 5722 W 63rd - - - - b Clifford 5930½ W Roosevelt - - 300 - c Clybourn 1607 N Clybourn - - 298 - b,c Colonial 1350 S Halsted - - - - j(1914) Colony 3206 W 59th 1925 8/26/26 997 Disused c Columbus 6238 S Ashland 1915 12/20/15 927 Demolished a Commercial 9148 S Commercial 1919-20 - 1500 Demolished a,b,c,r,s Commodore 3105 W Irving Park 1921 - 1200 Demolished 1990 a,b,c Congress 2135 N Milwaukee 1926 9/2/26 2988 Concert hall b,c Cornell Square 1923 W 51st 1912-13 - 299 - a,b,c,p,s Coronado 3966 S Vincennes - - - - j(1916) Corrine 3154 W 22nd - - - - j(1913) Cosmopolitan (Cosmo) 7938 S Halsted 1913 - 854 Demolished a,b,c Covent Garden 2653 N Clark 1916 - 2065 Demolished a,b,c Crane 4236 S Archer 1916-17 - 296 Retail Store a,c,p Crawford 4420 W 26th - - - - j(1913) Crawford 19 S Pulaski 1913-14 3/21/14 994 Demolished a,b,c Crescent 2915 N Milwaukee - - 792 Demolished a,b,c Criterion 1222 N Sedgwick - - 1221 Demolished a,b,c Crown 1605-11 W Division 1909 - 1458 Demolished 1959 a,b,c Crown 5123 S Wentworth - - - Demolished a Crown 4013 W 26th - - 774 Demolished a,b,c Crystal 4921 S Ashland - - 298 - a,c Crystal 4140 N Clark - - - - j(1913) Crystal 2701 W North 1917 11/8/17 1824 Demolished a,b,c Crystal 1723 W 63rd 1912 - 299 Demolished a,c,p Cub 224 S Halsted - - - - j Czar's 74 W Madison - - - Demolished a Dandy 2146 W 22nd - - - - - Dante 815 W Taylor - - 651 Demolished a,c Dearborn (New Dearborn) 40 W Division 1913 - 741 Demolished a,c De Louxe 814 E 63rd - - - Closed 1922 a Delphi 225 E 31st - - - - j(1913) Delphi 3115 S Indiana - - - - a De Luxe 1141 W Wilson 1913 - 1023 Demolished a,b,c Diversey (Century) 2828 N Clark 1924 7/30/25 3080 Shopping mall b,c Diversey 3018 W Diversey - - - - j(1913) Douglas 3236 W 22nd 1914 - 792 Auto repair shop a,b,c Douglas 3215 W Ogden - - - - j(1913) Douglas Park 3111 W 12th - - - - j(1913) Drake (New Drake) 3546 W Montrose 1925 - 1300 Demolished b,c Drexel 854 E 63rd 1912 - 632 - a,b,c,p Drexel Studios 801 E 40th - - - - a Notes: (a) Listed as "motion picture theater" in the 1923 edition of Polk's City Directory; (b) listed as "motion picture theater" in the 1928-29 edition of Polk's City Directory; (c) listed in The Film Daily 1929 Year Book; (d) data from Chicago Defender; (e) built/opened dates based on Billboard coverage of the event; (f) location based on Motion Picture News articles from the period; (g) opening date based on Motion Picture News coverage of the event; (h) seating capacity based on Motion Picture News articles from the period; (j) name and location based on Chicago Tribune theater listings; (p) construction dates based on city of Chicago building permit ledgers; (q) demolition date based on city of Chicago building permit ledgers; (r) date built from Sanborn Fire Insurance Company maps; (s) capacity from Sanborn Fire Insurance Company maps; (t) date built derived from Cook County Assessor's Office records. Other Considerations: 1. Locations, years built and razed, and opening dates have been compiled from a variety of sources, including theater advertisements, city directories, and fire insurance maps. 2. Seating capacities have been compiled primarily from those listed in fire insurance maps. 3. The present condition of the theater is indicated only if known and independently verified. 4. This database is under constant revision; new or more accurate information is added as additional research is completed. Alternative Street Names: 12th=Roosevelt, 22nd=Cermak, Armitage=Center, Crawford=Pulaski, Evanston=Broadway, Grand Blvd=South Parkway=Martin Luther King Drive, Robey=Damen. Last updated: 31 July 2005 Suggested Reading · George D. Bushnell, "Chicago's Magnificent Movie Palaces," Chicago History 6 (Summer 1977), 99-106. · Ben Hall, Best Remaining Seats: The Story of the Golden Age of the Movie Palace (DaCapo Press, 1988). · Lary May, Screening Out the Past: The Birth of Mass Culture and the Motion Picture Industry (Univ. of Chicago Press, 1983). · Michael Putnam, Silent Screens: The Decline and Transformation of the American Movie Theater (Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2000). · Robert Sklar, Movie-Made America: A Cultural History of American Movies (Vintage, 1994). · Maggie Valentine, The Show Starts on the Sidewalk: An Architectural History of the Movie Theater (Yale Univ. Press, 1996). 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