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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 E.A.R. 6839 S Wentworth 1915 - 890 Closed 1952 a,b,c Earl (Apollo) 526 E 47th 1909 2/9/20 - Demolished d,p Eagle 3324 S Morgan - - 299 - a,c,s East Side 10108 S Ewing 1922 11/4/22 800 - a,b,c,g,h Easterly 2766 N Lincoln - - 537 Retail store a,b,c Eden 2409 W Harrison - - - - j(1914) Edna 4138 W North - - - - j(1913) Edward 2419 S Wentworth - - 299 - a,c Eighteenth Street 1343 W 18th - - 270 - a,j(1913) Elba 3115 S Indiana 1912 - - - p Elite 40th and Grenshaw - - - - j(1913) Elite 6850 S Wentworth - - - - j(1913) Ellentee (Ridge) 1550 W Devon 1917 3/1/19 1480 Hardware store a,b,c Elm 1145 N Larrabee - - - - j(1913) Elmo 2406 W Van Buren 1913 - 780 Demolished a,c,p,s Elston 3167 N Elston - - 300 - b,c Embassy 3940 W Fullerton 1926 9/2/26 1400 Demolished b,c Emerald 7815 S Halsted - - - - j(1913) Emmett 4340 S Wentworth - - 556 - a,b,c Empire 673 W Madison - - 1281 - a,b,c Empress 6226 S Halsted 1912-13 - 1440 Demolished c,p Englewood 726 W 63rd 1912-13 - 1589 Demolished b,c,p Era 2408 N Western - - 300 - c Erie 641 N Clark - - 610 Demolished a,c Esquire E Oak near Michigan 1937 - 1400 Movie theater - Esthena 3743 N Southport - - 299 Theater a,s Evelyn 2806 W Chicago - - - - j(1913) Ewing 10126 S Ewing - - 248 - c Famous 3644 W Chicago - - 600 Church a,b,c Fashion 557 S State - - 242 Demolished a,b,c Favorite 4340 N Western - - 299 Demolished c1926 j(1913),s Federal 218 E 61st - - - - j(1913-14) Fischer's Paramount 36 S State - - - - a Florence 610 E 50th - - - - j(1914) Florence 2407 W Chicago - - - - j(1914-16) Folly 526 S State - - - - b Fountain 344 E 35th - - - - j(1913) Francis 2405 W Roosevelt - - 287 - b,c,j(1913) Franklin 328 E 31st 1908-09 - 730 Demolished a,b,c,p Frolic 951 E 55th 1915 - 899 Demolished a,b,c,p Fountain 344 E 35th - - - - - Gaelic 2425 W 47th 1914 - 299 - a,b,c,p Garden 3305 N Marshfield - - 1077 Demolished a,c Garden 1219 W Taylor - - 265 Demolished a,b,c Garfield 49 E Garfield - - - - j(1913) Garfield 5535 S Halsted - - 300 - a,c Garfield 2844 W Madison 1909 - 700 Demolished a,b,c,g,s Garrick (Schiller) 64 W Randolph 1892 - 1257 Demolished 1961 b,c Gateway 5216 W Lawrence 1930 - 2045 Cultural center - Gayety Hippodrome 9205 S Commercial - - 850 Burned 1982; demolished a,b,c Gem 450 S State - - 434 Demolished a,b,c Glamour 220 W 63rd - - - - j(1913) Glee 4020 N Lincoln - - - - j(1913-15) Glen 2852 W Armitage - - 299 - c Glickman's Palace See listing for Palace Opera House. a,b Gold 3411 W Roosevelt 1914 8/8/14 752 Demolished a,b,c Granada 6427 N Sheridan 1926 9/18/26 3700 Demolished 1990 b,c Grand 1808 W 47th - - - - j(1913) Grand 1525 S Crawford - - 299 Disused a,b,c Grand 3435 W North - - 565 Demolished a,b,c Grand 3110 S State 1910 - 800 Demolished a,b,c Granville 6161 N Broadway 1913 - - Retail store j(1913-15) Grayland 3940 N Cicero 1909 - 299 Retail store a,b,c,s,t Grove 7620 S Cottage Grove 1925-26 5/12/26 1946 Disused b,c Groveland 3123 S Cottage Grove - - 400 - b,c 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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