Owner, caretaker hope to restore and reopen Chicago's Uptown Theatre
CHICAGO -- The Uptown Theatre opened in 1925 as a movie and Vaudeville house for the Balaban & Katz movie chain.The massive venue at 4816 N. Broadway was designed by brothers Cornelius and George Rapp – who also designed the Chicago Theatre and many others. It was, and is, the largest freestanding theater in North America.It had more than 4,400 seats, and more square footage than Radio City Music Hall in New York.
The 2,000-plus-seat Nortown in West Rogers Park or West Ridge was torn down in 2007 – some 17 years after closing and being put to other uses. The site is now occupied by a Wendy's.But the Uptown Theatre has been a Chicago landmark since 1991, and remains standing – and remains a bracing site just north of the popular Green Mill Lounge. The marquee has no lights on it, but still hangs overhead – with the Balaban & Katz name even remaining legible at the top.
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