The Biograph Theater on Lincoln Avenue in the

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...

neighborhood of

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 ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, was originally a

movie theater A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

but now presents live productions. It gained early notoriety as the location where bank robber

John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (; June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He commanded the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing twenty-four banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprison ...

was leaving when he was shot down by

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

agents, after he watched a gangster movie there on July 22, 1934. The theater is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

and was designated a

Chicago Landmark Chicago Landmark is a designation by the Mayor and the City Council of Chicago for historic sites in Chicago, Illinois. Listed sites are selected after meeting a combination of criteria, including historical, economic, architectural, artist ...

on March 28, 2001.

History

Designed by architect Samuel N. Crowen in 1914, the Biograph has many of the distinguishing characteristics of movie houses of the period, including a storefront-width lobby, recessed entrance, free-standing ticket booth, and canopy marquee. The building is finished with red pressed

brick A brick is a type of construction material used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a unit primarily composed of clay. But is now also used informally to denote building un ...

and white- glazed terra cotta. On July 22, 1934, after attending the film '' Manhattan Melodrama'' with brothel madam Ana Cumpănaș, also known as Anna Sage (or "The Woman in Red"), and Polly Hamilton, John Dillinger was shot dead outside the Biograph by

agents led by Melvin Purvis, when he attempted to pull a pistol and flee into the crowd after he saw them. Dillinger's whereabouts had been leaked to the FBI by Cumpănaș under the threat of deportation back to her birthplace of

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

. From the 1970s through the 1980s, the Biograph was the center in Chicago for midnight showings, with raucous costumed cult following, of '' Rocky Horror Picture Show''. In July 2004, after 90 years as a movie theater under various owners, Chicago's

Victory Gardens Theater Victory Gardens Theater is a theater company in Chicago, Illinois dedicated to the development and production of new plays and playwrights. The theater company was founded in 1974 when eight Chicago artists, Cecil O'Neal, Warren Casey, Stuart Go ...

announced it had purchased the Biograph for use as a live venue. The theater was completely renovated by architect Daniel P. Coffey, who constructed a

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

thrust stage In theatre, a thrust stage (a platform stage or open stage) is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between performers and the ...

and seating for 299 people. A grand

staircase A stairwell or stair room is a room in a building where a stair is located, and is used to connect walkways between floors so that one can move in height. Collectively, a set of stairs and a stairwell is referred to as a staircase or stairway ...

, which was part of the original structure, was restored to lead up to the building's second floor, housing a studio theater seating 135 people and an adjacent rehearsal/multiple-use space. The $11 million project for the new theater, styled the Victory Gardens at the Biograph, was completed in the fall of 2006. The new stage is deep and wide, with of wing space on either side. There is an trap space below the stage. There is limited fly space above the stage. There are two dressing rooms and a green room behind the stage. The lobby is wider than in the movie theater days, and the restrooms have been expanded.''Chicago Tribune'', October 6, 2006
/ref> The facades of the theater and adjoining businesses were redressed to appear as they did in 1934 for the 2009 film '' Public Enemies''. The theater is also shown in the 2000 film ''

High Fidelity High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...

'', in which the gunfight with Dillinger is erroneously said to have taken place inside the theater.

References

External links

Development plans for the Biograph TheaterVictory Gardens Theater
{{Registered Historic Places 1914 establishments in Illinois Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Chicago Landmarks John Dillinger Movie palaces Theatres completed in 1914 Theatres in Chicago Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois