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The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark
theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...
located on North State Street in the Loop area 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 ...
. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the
Balaban and Katz 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 by A. J. Balaban a ...
(B&K) group of theaters run by
A. J. Balaban Abraham Joseph Balaban, known as A. J. Balaban or Abe Balaban (April 20, 1889 – November 1, 1962), was an American showman whose influence on popular entertainment in the early 20th century led to enormous innovations in the American movie-goin ...
, his brother
Barney Balaban Barney Balaban (June 8, 1887 – March 7, 1971) was an American film executive and innovator in the film industry who was president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964, and honorary chairman until his death. Life and career Barney Balaban w ...
and partner Sam Katz. Along with the other B&K theaters, from 1925 to 1945 the Chicago Theatre was a dominant movie theater enterprise. Currently, Madison Square Garden, Inc. owns and operates the Chicago Theatre as a 3600 seat performing arts venue for
stage plays A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging f ...
,
magic shows Magic or magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces ** ''Magick'' (with ''-ck'') can specifically refer to ceremonial magic * Magic (illusion), also known as sta ...
, comedy,
speeches This list of speeches includes those that have gained notability in English or in English translation. The earliest listings may be approximate dates. Before the 1st century *c.570 BC : The Buddha gives his first sermon, '' Dhammacakkappava ...
,
sporting events Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a ...
and popular music concerts. The building was added to 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 ...
on June 6, 1979, and was listed as 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 January 28, 1983. The distinctive Chicago Theatre
marquee Marquee may refer to: * Marquee (overhang), a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building * Marquee (structure), a structure placed over the entrance to a hotel, theater, casino, train station, or similar building. * Pole marquee ...
, "an unofficial emblem of the city", appears frequently in film, television, artwork, and photography.


History


Grand opening, growth, and decline

Abe and
Barney Balaban Barney Balaban (June 8, 1887 – March 7, 1971) was an American film executive and innovator in the film industry who was president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964, and honorary chairman until his death. Life and career Barney Balaban w ...
, together with Sam and Morris Katz—founders of the
Balaban and Katz 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 by A. J. Balaban a ...
theater chain, built the Chicago Theatre in 1921 as one of a large chain of opulent motion picture houses. The theater would become the
flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...
for 28 theaters in the city and over 100 others in the
Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...
that B&K operated in conjunction with the Paramount Publix chain. Cornelius W. Rapp and George L. Rapp were primary architects and the final construction cost was $4 million ($ million in dollars). The Rapp brothers also designed many other B&K properties in Chicago, including the
Oriental The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a meto ...
and Uptown Theatres. Preceded by the now-demolished Tivoli Theatre of Chicago and Capitol Theatre of New York City, the Chicago Theatre was the "...largest, most costly and grandest of the super deluxe movie palaces" built up to that date and thus now the oldest surviving grand movie palace. The Chicago Theatre was among the earliest theaters in the nation to be built in Rapp and Rapp's signature
Neo-Baroque Neo-Baroque may refer to: * Neo-Baroque music * Neo-Baroque painting, a painting style used by Christo Coetzee and others *Baroque Revival architecture * Neo-Baroque film *the Organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' ...
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
-
revival Revival most often refers to: *Resuscitation of a person *Language revival of an extinct language *Revival (sports team) of a defunct team *Revival (television) of a former television series *Revival (theatre), a new production of a previously pro ...
style. It is the oldest surviving example of this style in Chicago. The original 1921 interior decoration of the auditorium included fourteen large romantic French-themed murals surrounding the proscenium by Chicago artist
Louis Grell Louis Frederick Grell (November 30, 1887 – November 21, 1960) was an American figure composition and portrait artist based in the Tree Studio resident artist colony in Chicago, Illinois. He received his formal training in Europe from 1900 thr ...
(1887–1960), a common feature that Rapp and Rapp architects included in their movie palace designs. When it opened October 26, 1921, the 3,880-seat theater was promoted as the "Wonder Theatre of the World". Capacity crowds packed the theater during its opening week for the
First National Pictures First National Pictures was an American motion picture production and distribution company. It was founded in 1917 as First National Exhibitors' Circuit, Inc., an association of independent theatre owners in the United States, and became the count ...
feature ''
The Sign on the Door ''The Sign on the Door'' is a 1921 American silent film, silent drama film starring Norma Talmadge and Lew Cody. The film was directed and written by Herbert Brenon, and based upon the 1919 play of the same name by Channing Pollock (writer), Cha ...
'' starring
Norma Talmadge Norma Marie Talmadge (May 2, 1894 – December 24, 1957) was an American actress and film producer of the silent film, silent era. A major box-office draw for more than a decade, her career reached a peak in the early 1920s, when she ranked among ...
. Other attractions included a 50-piece orchestra, famed organist
Jesse Crawford Jesse Crawford (December 2, 1895 – May 28, 1962) was an American pianist and organist. He was well known in the 1920s as a theatre organist for silent films and as a popular recording artist. In the 1930s, he switched to the Hammond organ and b ...
at the 26-rank
Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
theatre organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements of ...
—"Oh, yes, it was mighty," recalled
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
— and a live stage show. Poet
Carl Sandburg Carl August Sandburg (January 6, 1878 – July 22, 1967) was an American poet, biographer, journalist, and editor. He won three Pulitzer Prizes: two for his poetry and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. During his lifetime, Sandburg w ...
, reporting for the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', wrote that
mounted police Mounted police are police who patrol on horseback or camelback. Their day-to-day function is typically picturesque or ceremonial, but they are also employed in crowd control because of their mobile mass and height advantage and increasingly in th ...
were required for
crowd control Crowd control is a public security practice in which large crowds are managed in order to prevent the outbreak of crowd crushes, affray, fights involving drunk and disorderly people or riots. Crowd crushes in particular can cause many hundre ...
. The theater's strategy of enticing movie patrons with a plush environment and top notch service (including the pioneering use of
air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...
) was emulated nationwide. During its first 40 years of operation, the Chicago Theatre presented premiere films and live entertainment. Throughout its existence, many of the top performers and stars of their day made live appearances at the theater. One of its biggest draws was live
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, which Balaban and Katz promoted as early as September 1922 in a special event they called "
Syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat (music), off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of ...
Week". This proved so successful that jazz bands became a mainstay of the Chicago Theatre's programming through the 1920s and into the 1930s. In preparation for the
1933 World's Fair A Century of Progress International Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in the city of Chicago, Illinois, United States, from 1933 to 1934. The fair, registered under the Bureau International des Exposit ...
in Chicago, the Chicago Theatre was redecorated. Part of the World's Fair renovation included another commission by Balaban & Katz for Grell to repaint the architecturally enclosed fourteen murals. This time Grell chose Greek/Roman deities as the theme for the large oil on canvas murals which are on public exhibit today in the theatre auditorium. The building has been associated with
popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art
f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...
or mass art, sometimes contraste ...
occasions. For example,
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
announced his engagement to
Jane Wyman Jane Wyman ( ; born Sarah Jane Mayfield; January 5, 1917 – September 10, 2007). was an American actress. A star of both movies and television, she received an Academy Award for Best Actress, four Golden Globe Awards and nominations for two Pr ...
at the theater. Another modernization occurred in the 1950s when management discontinued stage shows. During the economic and social changes of the 1970s, business at the theatre slowed for owner Plitt Theatres, affecting ongoing viability. The Chicago Theatre was re-opened to stage shows in 1983 by Festival's Inc Production Director Lou Volpano who directed the rehab to showcase the theatre's viability with the first shows in forty years that included:
Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...
, grand ballet with
Alexander Godunov Alexander Borisovich Godunov (Russian: ; November 28, 1949 – May 1995) was a Russian-American ballet dancer and film actor. A member of the Bolshoi Ballet, he became the troupe's Premier danseur. In 1979, he defected to the United States. Whi ...
, Vegas stalwarts
Steve Lawrence Steve Lawrence (born Sidney Liebowitz; July 8, 1935 – March 7, 2024) was an American singer, comedian, and actor. He was best known as a member of the pop duo Steve and Eydie with his wife Eydie Gormé, and for his performance as Maury Slin ...
and
Eydie Gormé Eydie Gormé ( ; born Edith Gormezano; August 16, 1928 – August 10, 2013) was an American singer who achieved notable success in pop, Latin, and jazz genres. She sang solo and in the duo Steve and Eydie with her husband, Steve Lawrence, on a ...
and
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...
, jazz great
Sarah Vaughn Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...
and many more over two winter weekends. "When I first scouted the location, there were bullet holes in the picture sheet and they were showing 'Shaft', but it was so magnificent a venue I knew it'd be a hit" said producer Volpano. In 1984, the Chicago Theatre Preservation Group purchased the theater and adjoining
Page Brothers Building The north facade facing Lake Street of the Page Brothers Building, 177-91 North State Street in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States, features the city's last remaining cast iron front. Although this ex ...
for $11.5 million ($ million today). The group attempted to maintain the venue as a picture theater but was unable to remain viable and the facility closed September 19, 1985. The last known films to play at the theater under its original incarnation were ''
American Ninja ''American Ninja'' is a 1985 American martial arts action film produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus's Cannon Films. Directed by Sam Firstenberg, who specialized in this genre in the 1980s, the film stars Michael Dudikoff in the title role ...
'' and ''
Teen Wolf ''Teen Wolf'' is a 1985 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Rod Daniel and written by Jeph Loeb and Matthew Weisman. Michael J. Fox stars as the title character, a high school student whose ordinary life is changed when he discover ...
''.


Restoration

The Chicago Theatre Preservation Group commenced renovation of the buildings which were completed in 1986 at a cost of $9 million ($ million), with $4.3 million ($ million) spent on the Theatre. The renovation by architects Daniel P. Coffey & Associates, Ltd. and interior design consultants A.T. Heinsbergen & Co. restored the Chicago Theatre to a 1930s appearance and a seating capacity of 3,600. The theatre reopened September 10, 1986, with a performance by
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...
marking the culmination of a four-year historic preservation effort championed by the
Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois The Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois – also known as Landmarks Illinois – is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1971 to prevent the demolition of the Dankmar Adler and Louis Sullivan designed Chicago Stock Exchange Building. ...
, The gala reopening was also symbolic because Sinatra had performed at the theater in the 1950s. The restoration of the adjoining Page Building, itself a
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 ...
and National Register landmark, provided office space to support the theatre. The theater, like its neighbor the
Joffrey Tower The Joffrey Tower is a high-rise commercial real estate development on the northeast corner of North State Street and East Randolph Street in the Loop community area of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, United States that is the permanent hom ...
, is an important component of the North Loop/Theatre District revitalization plan. Theatre district revitalization plans go back as far as Mayor
Jane Byrne Jane Margaret Byrne (née Burke; May 24, 1933November 14, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 50th mayor of Chicago from April 16, 1979, until April 29, 1983. Prior to her tenure as mayor, Byrne served as Chicago's commissioner of ...
's 1981 plan.


Revitalized

On April 1, 2004, TheatreDreams Chicago, LLC purchased the building for $3 million. The Balaban and Katz trademark is now the property of the Balaban and Katz Historical Foundation. New York's
Madison Square Garden Entertainment Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (also known as MSG Entertainment) is an American entertainment holding company based in New York City. It is controlled by the family of the late Charles Dolan. The first incarnation of the company was ...
announced October 11, 2007, that it would buy the theater. Prior to 2008, the theater hosted the annual opening film of the
Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
until the festivities moved to the nearby Harris Theater. Mayor
Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh ter ...
declared July 12, 2005 "
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
Day in Chicago" and dedicated a plaque under the marquee in his honor. The theater is featured in the book, ''The Chicago Movie Palaces of Balaban and Katz'', by David Balaban, grandson of the original owner. As of 2011, as permitted under the terms of sale dictated by the city, the vertical CHICAGO sign had a
logotype A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in a ...
for
Chase Bank JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Trade name, doing business as Chase, is an American National bank (United States), national bank headquartered in New York City that constitutes the retail banking, consumer and commercial bank, commercial banking su ...
added to indicate sponsorship.


Architecture

The structure is seven stories tall and fills nearly one half of a
city block A city block, residential block, urban block, or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. In a city with a grid system, the block is the smallest group of buildings that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are th ...
. The wide by six-story tall
triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...
motif of the State Street façade has been journalistically compared to the l'Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The central arch-headed window adapts the familiar motif of Borromini's false-perspective window reveals of the top floor of
Palazzo Barberini The Palazzo Barberini () is a 17th-century palace in Rome, facing the Piazza Barberini in Rione Trevi. Today, it houses the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, the main national collection of older paintings in Rome. History Around 1549 Cardinal ...
, Rome. The
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
of the Balaban and Katz chain—two horses holding ribbons of 35 mm film in their mouths outlined by a border of film reels—is set inside a circular Tiffany stained glass window inside the arch. The exterior of the building is covered in off-white
architectural terracotta Architectural terracotta refers to a fired mixture of clay and water that can be used in a non-structural, semi-structural, or structural capacity on the exterior or interior of a building. Terracotta is an ancient building material that transla ...
supplied by the Northwestern Terra Cotta Company with
Neo-Baroque Neo-Baroque may refer to: * Neo-Baroque music * Neo-Baroque painting, a painting style used by Christo Coetzee and others *Baroque Revival architecture * Neo-Baroque film *the Organ reform movement The Organ Reform Movement or ''Orgelbewegung'' ...
stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
designs by the McNulty Brothers. The interior shows
French Baroque French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
influence from the
Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...
. The grand lobby, five stories high and surrounded by gallery promenades at the
mezzanine A mezzanine (; or in Italian, a ''mezzanino'') is an intermediate floor in a building which is partly open to the double-height ceilinged floor below, or which does not extend over the whole floorspace of the building, a loft with non-sloped ...
and
balcony A balcony (from , "scaffold") is a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade, usually above the ground floor. They are commonly found on multi-level houses, apartme ...
levels, is influence by the Royal Chapel at
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...
. The grand staircase is patterned from the grand stair of the
Paris Opera House The (, Garnier Palace), also known as (, Garnier Opera), is a historic 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from 1861 to 1875 at the ...
and ascends to the various balcony levels.
Marshall Field and Company Marshall Field & Company (Colloquialism, colloquially Marshall Field's) was an American department store chain founded in 1852 by Potter Palmer. It was based in Chicago, Illinois and founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain b ...
supplied interior decorations including drapes and furniture. The
crystal A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...
chandeliers A chandelier () is an ornamental lighting device, typically with spreading branched supports for multiple lights, designed to be hung from the ceiling. Chandeliers are often ornate, and they were originally designed to hold candles, but now in ...
and
bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
light fixtures fitted with
Steuben Steuben or Von Steuben most commonly refers to Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1794), Prussian-American military officer, or to a number of things named for him in the United States. It may also refer to: Places *Steuben Township, Marshall C ...
glass shades were designed and built by Victor Pearlman and Co. The stage dimensions exceed in width and in depth. The
orchestra pit An orchestra pit is an area in a theatre (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. The orchestra plays mostly out of sight in the pit, rather than on the stage as for a concert, when providing music fo ...
is approximately below stage level, wide at the stage lip, with a depth of at center. An adjustable pit filler can be used for performances requiring other levels. At the time of the building's 1978 application for 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 ...
designation, the venue's marquee had been replaced twice. The original marquee was basic and facilitated two lines of text for announcements. The 1922–23 marquee had ornate "flashing pinwheels, swirls and garlands of colored lights". It also included "milk glass letter attraction boards, and CHICAGO in large letters on three sides". The 1949 replacement was similar to the second marquee, but its attraction boards were larger and the oversized CHICAGO lettering only appeared on the front. Until Balaban and Katz' 1969 sale to the
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 ...
, their name was on the marquee. The entire marquee was replaced in 1994, but retains the look of its predecessor. In 2004, the original marquee was donated to the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...
. The marquee is featured in numerous movies and TV shows set in Chicago, and its
neon Neon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is the second noble gas in the periodic table. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with approximately two-thirds the density of ...
font In metal typesetting, a font is a particular size, weight and style of a ''typeface'', defined as the set of fonts that share an overall design. For instance, the typeface Bauer Bodoni (shown in the figure) includes fonts " Roman" (or "regul ...
was used in the title of the 2002 film ''
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 ...
''.


Organ

The theater is also known for its grand
Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
pipe organ. At the time it was installed it was known as "The Mighty Wurlitzer" and could imitate the instruments of an orchestra."Arnstein & Lehr, The First 120 Years", (Louis A. Lehr, Jr.)(Amazon), p. 16
Jesse Crawford Jesse Crawford (December 2, 1895 – May 28, 1962) was an American pianist and organist. He was well known in the 1920s as a theatre organist for silent films and as a popular recording artist. In the 1930s, he switched to the Hammond organ and b ...
, a noted
Theatre Organ A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films from the 1900s to the 1920s. Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements of ...
performer, is attributed as the person who "was responsible for the design and choice of sounds". The organ came from the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company of North Tonawanda in July 1921 with "four manuals and 26 ranks of pipes-Opus 434". It is one of the oldest Mighty Wurlitzers still in existence.


Notes


External links


The Chicago Theatre





Balaban and Katz Foundation

Balaban and Katz

Louis Grell Foundation
{{Authority control Cinemas and movie theaters in Chicago Former cinemas in the United States Central Chicago Concert halls in Illinois Movie palaces Music venues in Chicago Theatres completed in 1921 Theatres in Chicago Tourist attractions in Chicago Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Chicago Madison Square Garden Sports 1921 establishments in Illinois Esports venues in Illinois Chicago Landmarks