CHICAGO (WLS) — The Uptown Theatre opened 100 years ago with the intention of being more than just a movie venue, according to the Chicago Architecture Center. It was meant to offer an unforgettable experience.
Over the years, the entertainment landscape has evolved, and so has the way we consume it. Yet, the Uptown Theatre has remained empty for the last 44 years, with its last show in 1981.
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Robert Loerzel is a freelance journalist and author of new book “The Uptown, Chicago’s Endangered Movie Palace.”
While working on a project, he had the chance to visit the theatre. “The first thing you notice is the grand lobby that’s around six stories high with columns. Although it requires work, the building’s foundation and architecture are still intact. It’s like a beautiful, magnificent castle.”
Richard H. Driehaus Executive Director of Preservation Chicago Ward Miller says a combination of things contributed to its closure.
Jerry Mickelson of Jam Productions now owns Chicago’s Uptown Theatre, where the Grateful Dead and Prince have performed.
“The venue evolved from being a movie theatre to a rock concert venue. It became a place for all-day entertainment with acts, shows, performances, and music beyond just movies. However, as movie popularity waned and theatres across the nation closed due to rising television, it shifted more towards hosting rock concerts,” Miller explained.
Notably, the Grateful Dead performed 17 times at the Uptown, and Prince held his first Chicago shows there.
Miller says there were some “problematic” owners after the Uptown closed 44 years ago. It’s now owned by Jerry Mickelson of Jam Productions.
“Restoring the theatre has always been about assessing the required funding and forming a public-private partnership. It’s among the nation’s largest, if not the largest, movie theatres,” Miller mentioned.
Another factor, over the years there’s been a lot of wear and tear which requires a lot of funding to bring it back.
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a plan in 2018 to reopen the Uptown. But that plan never came together. Loerzel says owner Jerry Mickelson is still working on a plan to restore the theatre. But the cost to do so has grown significantly.
“This building has amazing spaces beyond the auditorium,” said Loerzel, talking about how he imagines the theatre’s next life. “So, you have an auditorium that has 4,300 seats in it. And if it becomes a rock concert venue, they may take out some of those seats to have people standing on the main floor for some shows. So, the capacity could be 5,000. But the building was also designed to have thousands of people waiting in the lobby for the next show. So the space is really huge. And I think that those spaces like the grand lobby and the other foyers could be spaces for special events. I could picture something like an art exhibit in there. And something like a theatre production, a little kind of black box theatrical show could be staged in some room of the Uptown beyond the big shows in the main venue.”
You can find Loerzel’s book, “The Uptown, Chicago’s Endangered Movie Palace” at https://www.cityfilespress.com/.
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