Balaban and Katz Theater Corporation, or B&K, was a theatre corporation which owned a chain of motion picture theaters in Chicago and surrounding areas.

History

Balaban and Katz Theatre corporation started in 1916 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

by A. J. Balaban and his brother-in-law Sam Katz (1892-1961). It held its first meeting as a Delaware corporation on January 21, 1925. It merged with Lubliner and Trinz in July 1925. Famous Players–Lasky Corporation, forerunner of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, bought a controlling interest in Balaban and Katz Corporation in 1926. It became a part of United Paramount Theatres in 1948 after Paramount was forced to sell off its theaters. The company also held at the Paramount Pictures-Theaters split in 1949: WBKB (TV), WIBK (FM), 25% of WSMB New Orleans, 50% of a company applying for an Atlanta AM license, 10% of another licensee apply for a license in Hot Springs, and television applications for Detroit, Boston, Tampa, and Des Moines. Balaban & Katz became a subsidiary of United Paramount Theatres, Inc. (UPT). UPT merged with

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

in 1953. The company tore down the Garrick Theater in 1960 and 1961 over the objections of Richard Nickel and other preservationists. The company was officially dissolved as an Illinois corporation on July 31, 1970.

Theaters

Balaban and Katz chose to build their theaters (many designed by famous architects

Rapp and Rapp C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in Chicago, the office designed over 400 theatres, includ ...

) in rapidly growing outlying districts, convenient for the middle class population which provided the bulk of their patrons, as well as in downtown Chicago. The company is notable for being the first to offer air conditioning in its theaters and for including lavish stage shows. Balaban and Katz operated over a hundred theaters in the midwestern United States. There were more than 50 Chicago-area theaters operated by the Balaban and Katz company including: North: Belmont, Century/Diversey Theatre, Cine, Covent,

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, Howard, Lakeside, Northshore, Nortown, Pantheon, Riviera, and Uptown. Northwest:

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

, Alba, Belpark, Biltmore,

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

, Crystal, Drake, Gateway Theatre, Harding, Luna,

Portage Portage or portaging ( CA: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a '' ...

, Terminal, and Will Rogers. South, Maryland, Regal, Southtown, Tivoli, and Tower. West: Central Park, Iris, Manor, Marbro, Paradise, Senate, and State. Loop: Apollo,

, Garrick, Oriental, Roosevelt, and United Artists. Suburban Chicago: Berwyn, Coronet, La Grange, Park, Valencia (Evanston), and Varsity (Evanston). Waukegan: Academy Sam Katz, a vice president at Balaban and Katz, became president of The Publix theaters group, a division of Famous Players Lasky. Its secretary, Barney Balaban, eventually became president of

. Beginning in 1939, Balaban and Katz, along with parent company Paramount, was involved in the early development of the television broadcasting industry. The company owned several experimental television licenses, and in 1943 began broadcasting over WBKB (now WBBM-TV), the first commercial television station in Chicago. Whenever Balaban and Katz decided that murals would become part of the interior design scheme, they would commission painter and muralist Louis Grell of Chicago to execute them. Grell painted murals inside the

Chicago Theater The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark Theater (structure), theater located on North State Street (Chicago), State Street in the Loop, Chicago, Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 19 ...

, Gateway Theater, Uptown Theater and many Paramount Theaters across the midwest and America for Balaban and Katz. The trademark for the company is owned by a historical foundation called the Balaban and Katz Historical Foundation. The foundation was founded by descendants of the original Balaban brothers. Its collection of B and K corporate documents is located in New Jersey. Theatre Historical Society, in Elmhurst, Illinois, maintains an extensive collection of architectural blueprints and large-format pictures of many Balaban and Katz theaters. In 2006, a documentary, '' Uptown: Portrait of a Palace'', featured one of Balaban and Katz's most famous theaters, the Uptown. 2006 also saw the publication of a book on many of the B&K theatres, titled ''The Chicago Movie Palaces of Balaban and Katz'', written by David Balaban with a foreword by theater historian Joseph DuciBella and published by Arcadia Publishing.

Notes

References

* Balaban, David. ''The Chicago Movie Palaces of Balaban and Katz'', Arcadia Publishing, 2006. *

External links

* *
Louis Grell Foundation

Castle Theater Collection
McLean County Museum of History {{DEFAULTSORT:Balaban And Katz 1916 establishments in Illinois Companies based in Chicago Companies disestablished in 1970 History of Chicago Mass media in Chicago Entertainment companies established in 1916 1970 disestablishments in Illinois Balaban family American Broadcasting Company Paramount Pictures

History

Theaters

See also

Notes

References

External links