| Address | 1546-1550 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL |
|---|---|
| Built | 1915-16 |
| Architect | Adolph Woerner |
| Status | Designated Chicago Landmark |
| Designation Date | May 13, 2009 (Final)City Council Journal of the Proceedings, p. 61093 |
| Neighborhood | Near North Side |
| Type | Theater and entertainment |
| Landmark ID | L-273 |
Direct quotes from the Chicago Landmark Designation Report
“The Village Theatre is one of the last-remaining theaters associated with the Gumbiner Brothers. Operating under several business names over three decades, the Gumbiners theater chain was one of the major early motion picture theater chains in Chicago.”
“The company operated more than a dozen movie theaters in Chicago. The Village Theatre has served for decades as an important neighborhood entertainment venue for Chicago's Near North Side, showing first-run “moving pictures" in its early years, and later as a venue for stage plays, second-run movies, and “art house” films for the Chicago International Film Festival.”
“The Village Theatre retains its historic overall exterior form and almost all historic exterior materials and detailing, including such features as the majority of its terra-cotta detailing; its entrance alcoves to the upper story; wrought-iron window boxes, and one of its two original storefronts.”
“Its facade would be richly detailed with terra cotta while a lighted marquee and giant sign proclaimed the theater's presence for blocks. Upon entering, a patron experienced a grand lobby, often with sweeping staircases, and a lavish auditorium.”
“BUILDING DESCRIPTION The Village Theatre's original owner, German-born Frank Schoeninger, arrived from Newport, Wisconsin, sometime after 1900 and settled in the Lincoln Park area on Wrightwood Ave. In 1911, he purchased a parcel of land located on the southwest corner of Clark St. and North Ave. which was then the epicenter of the German community on the North Side.”
“The Village Theatre is a handsome, moderately-sized "theater block" building, that combined a movie theater with street-level stores and second-story offices. It is built with red pressed brick and trimmed with white glazed terra cotta.”
“The most visually-playful portion of the Village Theatre is the upper story. Symmetrical in design, it is heavily-ornamented in polychromatic terra cotta replete with German symbolism. The upper story is five bays wide, with a large central bay and a triangular parapet clad with terra cotta and ornamented with a cartouche and swags of oak leaves.”
“The terra-cotta theater entrance was covered over by a “box” made from pink marble tiles sometime during the 1970s. The building's upper-story windows are modern one-over-one and double-hung with metal sashes.”
“Five years later the theater was threatened with demolition as part of the Sandburg Village redevelopment. Illinois State Representative William J. Schoeninger, original owner Frank Schoeninger's son, was still living on a portion of the property and refused to allow the land to be redeveloped.”
“The final name change came in 1967, when the building was renamed the Village Theatre after the Sandburg Village development nearby. After another $50,000 was spent on renovations, the Village Theatre showed movies and served as a screening venue for the Chicago International Film Festival before briefly being used for stage plays in the 1970s.”
What other designation reports say about this building
“Broadway, 1912); Calo (5404 N. Clark St., 1915); and Village (1546 N. Clark St., 1915). (Of these, however, only the Village remains an operating movie house.) According to Richard Sklenar, the executive director of the Theater…”