Index sections: Early Nickelodeons | A-B | C-D | E-G | H-J | K-L | M-N | O-Q | R-S | T-Z | Suburban
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| Theater |
Location |
Built |
Opened |
Seats |
Present Condition |
Notes |
| Halfield |
5451 S Halsted |
1912-13 |
- |
994 |
- |
a,c |
| Halsted |
320 S Halsted |
1913 |
- |
725 |
- |
a,b,c,r,s |
| Halsted Street |
6202 S Halsted |
- |
- |
- |
- |
a |
| Hamilton |
2150 E 71st |
1916 |
- |
999 |
- |
a,b,c |
| Hamilton |
6811 S Halsted |
- |
- |
- |
- |
j(1913) |
| Hamlin |
2051 W Belmont |
- |
- |
298 |
- |
b,c |
| Hamlin |
3826 W Madison |
1910 |
10/-/10 |
1015 |
Became the Alex; demolished |
a,b,c |
| Harding |
1316 E 55th |
1909 |
- |
615 |
- |
b,c,p |
| Harding |
1541 W Division |
- |
- |
500 |
- |
c |
| Harding |
4250 N Elston |
- |
- |
295 |
- |
j(1913-16),s |
| Harding |
2724 N Milwaukee |
1924 |
10/12/25 |
2861 |
Demolished 1960 |
b,c |
| Harding |
600 State |
- |
- |
- |
- |
a |
| Harmony |
2639 W Division |
- |
- |
292 |
- |
a,c |
| Harmony |
411 E 43rd |
- |
- |
593 |
- |
a,b,c |
| Harper |
5236 S Harper |
1914 |
- |
1198 |
Closed 2002 |
a,b,c |
| Harris |
180 N Dearborn |
- |
- |
- |
Demolished 1999 (façade remains) |
b |
| Harrison |
503 S Kedzie |
- |
- |
570 |
Demolished |
a,b,c |
| Harvard |
6312 S Harvard |
1914 |
- |
720 |
Closed 1951 |
a,b,c |
| Hegewisch |
13320 S Baltimore |
- |
- |
- |
- |
a,b |
| Hermosa |
4308 W Armitage |
- |
- |
296 |
- |
j(1913-14),s |
| Highland |
7859 S Ashland |
1925 |
5/15/26 |
2086 |
Church/community center |
b,c |
| Highway |
6329 S Western |
1924 |
11/26/24 |
998 |
- |
b,c |
| Hillside |
1519 W 69th |
- |
- |
299 |
- |
a,c |
| Hollywood |
5628 N Broadway |
- |
- |
- |
- |
j(1913-14) |
| Hollywood |
1500 W Fullerton |
1925-26 |
- |
1200 |
Demolished |
c,p,s |
| Homan |
3346 W 26th |
1910 |
- |
341 |
Retail Store |
a,b,c,s,t |
| Home |
4815 W Armitage |
- |
- |
298 |
- |
b,c |
| Home |
1812 W Chicago |
1913 |
- |
290 |
Disused |
a,b,c,s,t |
| Home |
4427 N Elston |
- |
- |
- |
- |
a |
| Home |
5037 S Halsted |
1913-14 |
- |
296 |
- |
a,c,p |
| Home |
3749 W 26th |
- |
- |
297 |
- |
a,b,c |
| Howard |
1621 W Howard |
1917 |
5/4/18 |
1699 |
Converted to condos, 1999-2000 |
a,b,c |
| Hoyne |
2110 W Roscoe |
- |
- |
299 |
- |
c,s |
| Hub |
1744 W Chicago |
1913 |
- |
769 |
Disused |
a,b,c |
| Hyde Park |
5314 S Hyde Park |
- |
- |
622 |
- |
a,c |
| Ideal |
1638 W 69th |
- |
- |
- |
- |
j(1913) |
| Ideal |
1622 N Larrabee |
1914 |
- |
698 |
Demolished |
a,b,c |
| Idle Hour |
2706 W Division |
- |
- |
- |
- |
j(1913-14) |
| Idle Hour |
1346 W Madison |
- |
- |
- |
- |
j(1913) |
| Illington |
2118 W 22nd |
1915-16 |
- |
899 |
- |
a,b,c |
| Immenhausen's |
750 N Clark |
- |
- |
- |
- |
j(1913) |
| Imperial |
2339 W Madison |
1910 |
- |
1266 |
Demolished 1994 |
a,b,c |
| Independence |
3723 W Roosevelt |
1912 |
- |
658 |
Demolished |
a,b,c |
| Indiana |
219 E 43rd |
1910 |
- |
786 |
- |
a,c |
| International |
9223 S Commercial |
- |
- |
272 |
- |
c |
| Iola |
1238 N Milwaukee |
- |
- |
299 |
- |
j(1913),s |
| Iris |
5747 W Chicago |
1912 |
- |
895 |
Church |
a,b,c,s |
| Irving |
1310 S Halsted |
- |
- |
298 |
- |
a,b,c |
| Irving |
6346 W Irving Park |
- |
- |
- |
- |
j(1913) |
| Irving Park (Irving) |
4003 W Irving Park |
1916 |
9/1/17 |
1396 |
Demolished |
a,b,c |
| Jackson Park |
6711 S Stony Island |
1916 |
- |
1473 |
Demolished |
a,b,c,p |
| Janet |
617 W North |
- |
- |
299 |
Demolished |
a,b,c |
| Jefferson |
1523 E 55th |
1910 |
3/10/10 |
654 |
- |
a,c |
| Jefferson |
4768 N Milwaukee |
- |
- |
- |
- |
j(1913) |
| Jeffrey |
1952 E 71st |
1924 |
- |
1796 |
- |
b,c |
| Jewel |
2504 S Wentworth |
- |
- |
- |
- |
j(1913) |
| Jingles |
2220 N Robey |
- |
- |
287 |
- |
b |
| Julian |
918 W Belmont |
- |
- |
766 |
- |
a,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 |
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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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Page authored: 19 March 1997
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