Chicago's Abandoned Movie Palaces

Chicago magazine recently did a beautiful pictorial exposé on Chicago's great abandoned movie palaces.  The piece, which is introduced by Roger Ebert, displays the interiors of these early movie theaters, showing past glory often muddled by decades of decay.  It wasn't that along ago that crowds of thousands would line up down the street to see the showing of one particular film.  Nowadays, with few exceptions, the multiplexes showing dozens of films throughout the day on dozens of different screens have rendered these architectural masterpieces obsolete of their original purpose.

So what is the purpose of this brief article?  First and foremost, to draw attention to oft-forgotten pieces of Windy City history.  Although these particular buildings are in great disrepair, there are organizations out there fighting for funding to help these structures be restored to their former glory.  If you're interested in supporting a historic Chicago cause, there are opportunities here with these movie palaces. Secondly, there are also many historic theater venues that are still in operation, several of which have been recently restored.  The Logan Theatre (Logan Square), Portage Theater, and Patio Theater (both in Portage Park) show that there is still a place in Chicago for grandiose arts venues.  They serve as anchors to commercial centers and community gathering places.

Although we don't have many images, we'd like to share where these theaters are, and how you can help.  So here are Chicago's abandoned (and hopefully soon-to-be-restored) move palaces.

Little India/Devon Avenue

The Breakdown

How educated are the residents of Little India?
Let's just say even the cell phones have PhDs.

An overview: Like Greektown, Little India represents a cultural stretch of road (Devon Avenue), within a neighborhood (West Rogers Park), within a community area (West Ridge).  West Ridge itself is a hidden gem of an area.  Besides hosting a large subcontinent population, West Ridge is also home to East Asians, Eastern Europeans, and one of the country’s largest Hasidic Jew demographics.  With so much ethnic flavor to offer, we felt for the sake of one entry that we’d keep our focus on Little India this time.

Devon Avenue, starting at California and heading eastward, is an electric blend of Chicago architecture and south Asian flare.  It’s a nonstop barrage of Indian/Pakistani shops, services, restaurants, and grocers.  Despite being a destination for south Asian culture, Little India isn’t just for Indians and Pakistanis.  Anywhere you go, whether sitting down at a restaurant, or just walking the streets, all the ethnicities of Chicago are represented.  Demographically speaking the area around Little India is one of the City’s most diverse areas.

To just call the area Devon Avenue would be a misnomer considering the wealth of other culture along this stretch of northern Chicago roadway.  Also, to just call it Little India would be another misnomer as there is a substantial representation of Pakistani culture along Devon as well.  However, without an official name for the area around Devon and Western Avenue, we will default to its common nickname of “Little India” for reference.

West Loop Gate

The Breakdown

An overview: Didn’t we already do the West Loop?  How is this different?  Well, yes, we did indeed cover the entire West Loop back in May of 2011.  However, we chose to come back and focus on the neighborhood’s eastern-most section for two main reasons.  First of all, our 2011 entry neglected the portion east of I-90/94.  As this entry will show, there are many wonderful things to do in such a small geographic area.  Secondly, we’ve had an incredible two years exploring your neighborhoods.  Now, we want to take you on a tour of ours.

Like Greektown, West Loop Gate is a neighborhood within a neighborhood within a community area.  As stated above, West Loop Gate is the easternmost portion of the West Loop neighborhood, which itself encompasses a relatively centralized (though spanning much of the east-west length) portion of one of the City’s largest community areas: the Near West Side.  Despite officially being a part of the Near West Side, West Loop Gate really serves more as an extension of the Loop, rather than a portion of the greater West Loop or Greektown.

But it hasn’t always been like that.  Relatively new as an in-demand place to live, West Loop Gate is continuing to grow taller and denser, much like its residential loft and high-rise bearing cousin the South Loop.  And as more and more people desire its location and fashionable condos, West Loop Gate’s lifestyle options continue to grow and expand with it.