This was taken from a website about the Uptown Theater: compassrose.org/uptowntheatre/history-intro html
It was in this north side neighborhood, in 1925, that the Uptown Theatre opened its doors for the first time.The Uptown holds a special place in the history of twentieth-century architecture. It is, perhaps, the largest freestanding movie palace ever constructed. Designed by famed architects Rapp & Rapp and built by the Balaban and Katz corporation, the Uptown was the crown jewel of Chicago entertainment venues.
While some of Uptown's historic architecture has been lost over the years, a surprising amount still stands. Three of the biggest venues remain--the Riviera Theatre, the Aragon Ballroom, and the Uptown Theatre. The Uptown is the only one not currently in use.
"(It was a time of) more and more ambitious movie palaces, their fronts streaming with flashing arches or traveling placards; their interior an awesome mixture of all the architectures; their stages set with spectacles enriched by new inventions of electricians; their orchestras playing amid color shading from sunrise golden to sunset purple and back again."-- Lloyd Lewis and Henry Justin Smith, Chicago: The History of Its Reputation, Harcourt Brace and Company, 1929
It is our hope that a philanthropist or an adventurous businessperson with the means and a solid business plan can one day restore this great movie palace. The Uptown neighborhood is gentrifying at a rapid rate, and other historic venues in the neighborhood are being preserved for future generations.