From the Feb. 26th Chicago Tribune "Chicago Flashback: Humble theaters became movie palaces" by Ron Grossman.
A theater opened October 1917 at 3535 W. Roosevelt Road and changed the way not only Chicagoans went to the movies, but the nation as well.
Before this one, movies were shown in nickelodeons which were the price, but also the usual anything but luxurious surroundings. But A.J. and Barney Balaban and Sam Katz had bigger ideas for the new medium. Their idea gave birth to the term "movie palace."
It seated 1,780 and was the first air-conditioned movie house. And, it was named the Central Park Theater. This was named for a nearby cross street. But the ones that followed: the Palace, the Granada, the Paradise, the Tivoli, the Pantheon and the Regal better reflected the whole theater-going experience.
It "created a social and cultural phenomenon that brought together residents from diverse backgrounds. A night at the movies was a dress-up occasion."
Unfortunately, some of these movie palaces are gone, but some were saved liked the Rialto Square in Joliet, Illinois, and the Genessee in Waukegan, Illinois.
More to Come. --Cooter
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