Patio Theater

Last updated
Patio Theater
Patio Theater
Address6008 West Irving Park Road
Chicago, Illinois 60634
United States
Coordinates 41°57′12″N87°46′38″W / 41.953201°N 87.777127°W / 41.953201; -87.777127
OwnerPrivately Owned
TypeMusic Venue & Cinema
Capacity 1500 [1]
Construction
OpenedJanuary 29, 1927 [2]
Closed2001, April 2014
ReopenedFall 2021
ArchitectR.G. Wolff
Website
https://thepatiotheater.com/

The Patio Theater is a music venue and movie theater located at 6008 W. Irving Park Road on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois in the Portage Park neighborhood. The building was built in 1927 as a movie theater. Chris Bauman took over the operations of Patio Theater in 2018 and became owner by the end of 2019.

Contents

The 1,500 seat theater hosts concerts and comedy events featuring local and internationally recognized talent. Musicians represent a wide range of genres, and notable performers include: Juice Wrld, Puddle of Mudd, Coolio, The Wailin’ Jennys, Raheem DeVaughn, Bone Thugs N Harmony.

Patio also plans to program a full monthly calendar of popular, independent and local movies including feature films, documentaries, cartoons, and silent films. The screenings reflect the legacy of the theater and honor its original purpose.

Patio theater offers a Patio Theater Premiere Membership program that provides members with several valuable perks. Members are given access to member-only events, such as celebrity meet and greets, movie premieres, member-only concerts, access to pre-sale tickets, skip-the-line venue access at all events, and monthly insider information. [3]

The Patio Theater temporarily closed in the wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic, [3] and reopened with scheduled shows as of January 2022. [4]

Original style and restoration in 1960s

The theater originally opened in 1927 with a capacity of 1,500 people. [1] [2] Its atmospheric auditorium was designed in the Neo-Pompeiien fashion, with various Spanish and Italian architectural influences present as well. One of the theater's most prominent design features is the auditorium ceiling. The ceiling replicates a night sky by use of dark blue paint, blinking lights, and clouds that are displayed on the ceiling via projector. The original horizontal theater marquee is still in place. The vertical section was removed in the 1970s.

Still in place within the auditorium is the theater's original Barton pipe organ. Once used to accompany silent films, the organ fell into disrepair and was restored in the 1960s by volunteers from the Chicago Area Theater Organ Enthusiasts (CATOE). After its restoration, it provided music for various shows and sing-alongs.

History

The theater was shuttered in 2001 due to failure of its air conditioning chillers and issues regarding a then new license instated by the City of Chicago. Renovations began on the theater in 2010, and were finished in 2011. The theater officially reopened on June 3, 2011. The first film to touch the screen in over 10 years was Thor.

The theater installed a 2k digital cinema projector in late 2012 after a Kickstarter campaign. It retains dual 35mm film projectors.

After a period of showing "intermediate run" new releases, the theater transitioned to a rental-based business model in June 2013. The nonprofit Chicago Film Society was in residence there until the theater closed again in April 2014, as owner Demetri Kouvalis reported problems with heating and cooling equipment. [5]

The theater re-opened again on December 4, 2014. [6] There was another period of closure, and the theater re-opened May 7, 2016 under new owners with a screening of Jaws . [2] The Kouvanis family sold the theater to Eddie Caranza, who owns the Congress Theater as well. [7] Chris Bauman, the president of Zenith Music Group and operator of the Avondale Music Hall in Chicago, [8] purchased the building in 2019, and lead renovation efforts; the theater reopened in Fall 2021. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castro Theatre</span> Historic movie palace in San Francisco

The Castro Theatre is a historic movie palace in the Castro District of San Francisco, California. The venue became San Francisco Historic Landmark #100 in September 1976. Located at 429 Castro Street, it was built in 1922 with a California Churrigueresque façade that pays homage—in its great arched central window surmounted by a scrolling pediment framing a niche—to the basilica of Mission Dolores nearby. Its designer, Timothy L. Pflueger, also designed Oakland's Paramount Theater and other movie theaters in California during that period. The theater has more than 1,400 seats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Theatre (Atlanta)</span> Movie theater in Atlanta, Georgia, United States

The Fox Theatre, a former movie palace, is a performing arts venue located at 660 Peachtree Street NE in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, and is the centerpiece of the Fox Theatre Historic District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portage Park, Chicago</span> Community area in Chicago

Portage Park is located on the northwest side of the City of Chicago, Illinois and is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. Portage Park is bordered by the community areas of Jefferson Park and Forest Glen to the north, Dunning and the suburb of Harwood Heights to the west, Irving Park to the east and Belmont-Cragin to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Theatre (Detroit)</span> Theater and former movie theater in Detroit, Michigan, US

The Fox Theatre is a performing arts center located at 2211 Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit, Michigan, near the Grand Circus Park Historic District. Opened in 1928 as a flagship movie palace in the Fox Theatres chain, it was at over 5,000 seats the largest theater in the city. Designed by theater architect C. Howard Crane, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">El Capitan Theatre</span> Cinema in Hollywood

El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in the Hollywood neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple is owned by The Walt Disney Company and serves as the venue for a majority of the Walt Disney Studios' film premieres.

Landmark Theatres is a movie theatre chain founded in 1974 in the United States. It was formerly dedicated to exhibiting and marketing independent and foreign films. Landmark consists of 34 theatres with 176 screens in 24 markets. It is known for both its historic and newer, more modern theatres. Helmed by its President Kevin Holloway, Landmark Theatres is part of Cohen Media Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Lake Theatre</span>

The Grand Lake Theatre is a historic movie palace located at 3200 Grand Avenue and Lake Park Avenue in the Grand Lake neighborhood of Oakland, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Theatre</span> Theater and former movie theater in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban and Katz (B&K) group of theaters run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaban 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, magic shows, comedy, speeches, sporting events and popular music concerts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uptown Theatre (Chicago)</span> United States historic place

Uptown Theatre is a currently closed movie palace and concert venue located in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. Designed by Rapp and Rapp and built by Paschen Bros. contractors, it is one of the many movie palaces built by the Balaban & Katz theatre chain run by A. J. Balaban, his brother Barney Balaban, and their partner Sam Katz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somerville Theatre</span> Independent movie theater and concert venue in Somerville, Massachusetts

The Somerville Theatre is an independent movie theater and concert venue in the Davis Square neighborhood of Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. Over one hundred years old, the Somerville Theatre started off as a vaudeville house and movie theater. The theater has since transitioned and now operates as a live music venue and first-run movie theater. As a music venue, the theater has played host to many historic concerts, including the first of the two Last Dispatch concerts, two shows by Bruce Springsteen in 2003, and a performance by U2 in 2009. Recent live performances have included Ryan Adams & the Cardinals, Cursive, Norah Jones, The Jonas Brothers, Joan Baez, and the John Butler Trio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atmospheric theatre</span> Type of movie theater

An atmospheric theatre is a type of movie palace design which was popular in the late 1920s. Atmospheric theatres were designed and decorated to evoke the feeling of a particular time and place for patrons, through the use of projectors, architectural elements and ornamentation that evoked a sense of being outdoors. This was intended to make the patron a more active participant in the setting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brooklyn Paramount Theater</span> Former movie theater in Brooklyn, New York

The Brooklyn Paramount Theater is a former movie palace at 1 University Plaza at the intersection of Flatbush and DeKalb Avenues in downtown Brooklyn, New York. Opened in 1928, the building has been owned by Long Island University (LIU) since 1954. Converted for use by LIU as classroom space and a gymnasium, the building retains much of the theater's original decorative detail. Until recently the venue operated as a 1200-seat multi-purpose arena, formerly home to the Brooklyn Kings basketball team. As of 2017 it was in the planning stages of a renovation to reopen the theater as a performing arts venue in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Portage Theater</span>

Located at Six Corners in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago's Northwest Side, the Portage Theater is one of the oldest movie houses in Chicago. The Portage Theater opened on December 11, 1920 as the Portage Park Theatre. Built for the Ascher Brothers circuit with 1,938 seats, the Portage was the first theater built specifically for film in the area.

The Capitol Theatre is a theatre operating in Rome, New York. It opened December 10, 1928 as part of the Kallet chain of movie houses, presenting first run films until it closed in 1974. After extensive renovation, the theatre re-opened in 1985 as the non-profit Capitol Civic Center, offering classic films, live theatrical performances, and concerts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradise Theater (Bronx)</span> Former theater and concert venue in the Bronx, New York

The Paradise Theater, formerly Loew's Paradise Theatre, is a movie palace-type theater located at 2417 Grand Concourse in the Bronx, New York. Constructed in 1929 at the height of grand movie theaters, in the later 20th century the building was used also for live entertainment. It was leased in 2012 for use by the World Changers Church International New York for founding a local congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">State Theatre (Portland, Maine)</span> Theater in Portland, Maine

The State Theatre is a historic theater located at 609 Congress Street in downtown Portland, Maine, which features a combination of Moorish and Art Deco architecture. It reopened as a 1,870-seat performing arts venue in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiteside Theatre</span> United States historic place

The Whiteside Theatre is a historic theater building in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. Constructed in 1922 and closed as a commercial theater in 2002, the 800-seat venue was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oregon Theatre</span> Theater in Portland, Oregon, U.S.

The Oregon Theatre, or Oregon Theater, was an adult movie theater in the Richmond neighborhood of southeast Portland, Oregon, United States. The theater was completed in 1925 and originally housed a Wurlitzer pipe organ and vaudeville stage. It would later screen Hollywood, art-house, and Spanish-language films. The building was acquired by the Maizels family in 1967 and became an adult cinema in the 1970s. It continued to operate as the city's longest running pornographic cinema and remained owned by a member of the Maizels family until 13 February 2020, when it went into foreclosure. It closed in early March 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parkway Theatre (Baltimore)</span> Movie theater in Baltimore, Maryland, US

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway, or simply the Parkway, is a movie theater located at 5 West North Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland. The Parkway is open as of May 3, 2017, and is the new permanent home of MdFF. The Maryland Film Festival, a 5-day annual festival created and operated by MdFF, is housed in and around the Parkway and throughout the Station North Arts and Entertainment District.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trylon Cinema</span> Movie theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota

The Trylon Cinema is a 90-seat movie theater in the Longfellow neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The cinema was founded and is currently run by Take-Up Productions, a group of volunteers who got their start at the Oak Street Cinema before establishing the Trylon in 2009 within a former warehouse. A 2017 expansion resulted in an increase in the cinema's seating capacity and accessibility. Throughout its history, the venue has featured a variety of regular programming, ranging from career retrospectives of famous directors to B movies and cult films. The Trylon has been well received by critics who have praised its film lineup, intimacy, and atmosphere.

References

  1. 1 2 Pick, Grant (June 22, 1995). "All Seats $2". The Reader. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Powell, Cheryl; Van Landschoot, Alan; Krefft, Brian. "Patio Theatre 6008 West Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL 60634". Cinema Treasures. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 Hernandez, Alex (July 29, 2020). "Patio Theater Continues Restoration, Launches Membership Program While Doors Closed". Block Club Chicago. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Events Archive". Patio Theater. Retrieved 2022-01-19.
  5. ↑ Sudo, Chuck (April 11, 2014). "Patio Theater To Close, For Good, At End Of Month". Chicagoist. Archived from the original on April 14, 2014. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  6. ↑ Cherone, Heather (November 20, 2014). "Patio Theater To Reopen, Will Be Managed By Portage Theater Crew". DNA Info for Jefferson Park, Portage Park & Norwood Park. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  7. ↑ Jones, J. R. (May 6, 2016). "Patio Theater lights up its silver screen again". The Reader. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  8. ↑ Omeokwe, Amara (2021-04-17). "A $16 Billion Covid-19 Rescue Program for Music Venues Fails to Launch". Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660 . Retrieved 2022-01-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.