Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre
About this property
Uptown Theatre (also known as Balaban and Katz Uptown Theatre) is a former 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. The largest remaining in Chicago, it boasts 4,381 seats and its interior volume is said to be larger than any other movie palace in the United States, including Radio City Music Hall in New York. It occupies over 46,000 square feet (4,300 m2) of land at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Broadway in Chicago's Uptown Entertainment District. The mammoth theater has an ornate five-story entrance lobby, formerly with an eight-story facade. Its decor was opulent, reflecting more than just aesthetic choices. Architect George Rapp declared, "These are not impractical attempts at showing off. Here is a shrine to democracy where there are not privileged patrons. The wealthy rub elbows with the poor -- and are the better for this contact." The Uptown Theater has been closed since 1981. While restoration was often discussed in the following decades, and several concentrated efforts were made to promote the Uptown's restoration, no such efforts were successful, leaving the theater in disrepair. In 2018, plans to renovate the theatre were announced, but those plans fell through in 2021 in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre listed on the National Register?
Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1986.
What type of historic resource is Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre?
Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre?
The period of significance for Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre is recorded as the industrial era.
Can I research the history near Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Balaban & Katz Uptown Theatre will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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