History
Grand opening
The Uptown Theatre opened its doors August 18, 1925, billed as "An Acre of Seats in a Magic City." The Grand Opening of the Uptown Theatre was accompanied by a "Central Uptown Parade" of over 200 floats and a grand ball at Harmon's Arcadia in Uptown. Over 12,000 people stood in line to be ticketholders in the very first audience. Several women collapsed because of exhaustion.
Uptown Theatre staff and stage shows
The theater opened with a staff of over 130 people, including a full time 34 piece orchestra, a nurse, firemen and others. Elaborate stage show productions would accompany each movie, unique in that the elaborate stage shows would follow the theme of the movie. Other chains had basic Vaudeville acts to keep patrons entertained before the movie. The Uptown Theatre is on several landmark and historic registers.
A half century of movies
Movies at the Uptown Theatre continued, even after stage shows ended as a way to reduce costs. In 1949, the stage shows were revived for a short time. Movies continued during the 1950s and 1960s. Notably, during that time, the television show Queen for a Day was filmed in the Uptown, with a live audience.
Movie crowds eventually dwindled, at the same time that the Uptown area was experiencing a decline of retail in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
New life as a music venue
In the 1970s, the theater was revived as a major concert venue, hosting local and national acts, notably the Grateful Dead several times between 1978 and 1981.
The Uptown Theatre has been closed to regular events since the winter of 1981 when, due to the owner having turned off the heat, a frozen water pipe burst and caused extensive damage to the interior. In subsequent years, deferred maintenance and vandalism have led to further debilitation of the structure and ornament, both inside and out.
Since 1981, the theater has been used as a location for scenes in movies such as the Academy Award-nominated Ron Howard movie, Backdraft, the Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte movie, I Love Trouble, and the John Hughes-Chris Columbus sequel Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. In the 1990s, the theatre lobby was host to the "Hearts Party" (a gay "circuit" party), which raised money for an AIDS charity.
Current restoration efforts
In 2006, the exterior was extensively secured and terra cotta pieces were cataloged and stored for future restoration efforts. A May 21, 2007 article in Crain's Chicago Business described the Uptown Theatre as "suddenly a hot property," as three national entertainment companies were in competition to purchase, restore and reopen the Uptown Theatre.
It was purchased through a judicial sale July 29, 2008 by JAM Productions for $3.2 million and finalized in court on August 18, 2008. It is estimated it will take about $40 million to get it ready for use again. JAM currently also owns the Riviera Theatre also on Broadway, approximately one block away.
Read more about this topic: Uptown Theatre (Chicago)
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