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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
McVickers 25 W Madison 1922 9/26/22 1865 Demolished a,b,c
Mabel 3956 N Elston - - 655 Store b,c
Magnet 3234 W 12th - - - Demolished j(1914)
Madison 125 W Madison - - - - a
Madison Square 4730 W Madison 1917 11/7/17 1367 Demolished a,c
Madlin 1910 W Madison 1916 - 797 Demolished a,b,c,p
Madlin 4041 W Washington Blvd - - - - b
Magnolia 2810 W Fullerton - - 299 - a,b,c
Majestic 18 W Monroe - - - Theater b
Manhattan 3905 S Wentworth - - - - j
Manor 5600 W North 1924 - 1500 Demolished b,c
Maplewood 2811 W Diversey - - 299 - a,c
Marbro 4124 W Madison 1926 5/28/27 4000 Demolished b,c
Marion 3446 S Halsted - - 252 - a,b,c
Marlowe Hippodrome 6254 S Stewart 1892 - 1050 Closed 1935 a,b,c
Marquette 6305 S Kedzie 1917 - 948 Demolished b,c
Marshall Square 2871 W 22nd 1917 - 1500 Concert hall a,b,c
Marshfield 3305 N Marshfield - - - Renamed Garden j(1913)
Marshfield 1650 W Roosevelt - - 290 - a
Maryland 855 E 63rd 1917-18 - 1700 Demolished c
Mayfield 5910 W Chicago 1915 - - - p
McKinley Park 2035 W 35th - - - - j(1913)
Metro 3308 W Lawrence 1915 - - Retail stores b,c
Metropole 236 W 31st - - 299 - a,c
Metropolitan 4644 South Parkway 1916 1/20/17 1436 Demolished 1997 a,b,c
Meyers 1812 W Chicago 1913 - 290 Became Home Th j(1913),r
Michigan 110 E Garfield 1916 12/27/16 1400 Demolished 1994 a,b,c
Mid-City 613 W Madison - - 350 - b,c
Midway Hippodrome 6248 S Cottage Grove 1909 - - Demolished a,b,c,p
Midwest 3538 S Archer 1925 11/19/25 1820 Demolished b,c
Milda 3140 S Halsted 1912-14 - 920 - a,b,c,p
Milford 3311 N Crawford 1916-17 2/24/17 1175 Demolished 1994 a,b,c
Milo 1821 S Loomis 1925 12/3/25 1000 - b,c
Model 1348 S Halsted - - 272 - a,b,c
Model 4151 W Madison - - - - j(1913)
Mohawk 539 W North - - 299 - a,b,c
Monarch 461 E 31st - - - Became Royal Gardens cafe j(1914)
Monogram 3520 S Halsted - - 432 - a,b,c
Monogram 3451 S State 1908-09 - 383 Demolished b,p
Monroe 59 W Monroe - - 1120 Demolished b,c
Monroe 55th and Kimbark - - - - -
Mont Clare 7133 W Grand 1929 - 1350 Demolished 1996 c
Monticello 3620 W Irving Park - - 291 Demolished j(1913-16),s
Montrose 4408 N Milwaukee - - - - a
Montrose 4453 N Broadway - - - - j(1914)
Moreland 4748 W Lake - - - - j(1913-14)
Morse 1330-32 W Morse 1913 - 750 Retail stores r,s
Music Box 3733 N Southport 1929 - 772 Movie theater -
Myrtle 2273 N Milwaukee - - - - j(1913)
National 6219 S Halsted 1908 2/-/09 1142 Demolished a,b,c
National 608 S State - - 272 Demolished a,b,c
Neighborhood 63rd and Ashland - - - - j(1913)
New Americus 3437 W Ogden - - 650 - a
New Apollo 1536 N Crawford 1914 - 1136 Restaurant a,c,r,s
New Ashland 4836 S Ashland - - - - a
New City 45th and Ashland - - - - j(1913)
New Clark 4535 N Clark - - - - a
New Era 2408 N Western - - 300 - a,c
New Illinois 3116 S Wentworth - - 380 Demolished a,c
New Langley 706 E 63rd 1911 - 870 Demolished b
New Paris 618 S State - - - Demolished a,b
New Park 342 E 51st - - 1000 - a
New Regent 6826 S Halsted 1916 - 999 Closed 1951 a,b,c
New Virginia 807 W Madison - - 750 - a
Newberry 854 N Clark - - 709 Demolished a,b,c
Norshore 1749 W Howard 1926 6/17/26 3018 Demolished b
North Ashland 3949 N Ashland - - - - j(1913)
North Center 4031 N Lincoln 1925 2/3/26 2721 Demolished 2000 b,c
North Shore 6610 N Sheridan - - - - j(1914)
Nortown 6320 N Western 1931 4/4/31 2046 Community center -
Nu-Sho 7251 S Vicennes - - - - -
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).




Page authored: 19 March 1997


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