Bishop Building Rogers Park

Bishop Building

Bishop Building

Bishop Building Rogers

Bishop Building Rogers Park

     The Bishop Building is located in Rogers Park.  Its address is 1511 Howard.  It is  at the intersection of Rogers and Howard.  It is a 2 story flat iron building  with a stone facade.  There is retail space on the first floor.  It appears to have apartments on the second floor.

     The property where the building was located was purchased by Harry Bishop in 1911.    He was a Chicago pioneer.  He lived on Sheridan Road.  The building was constructed in 1924.  It was called the Bishop Building Mall.

     Over the years, the building has been used for various purposes.

     In the 1920’s, it was the home of a night club called Club Detour. Many famous artists played there including Louis Armstrong, Count Basey, and Ella Fitzgerald.  

     In 1969, Charlotte Drobny-Simmons and William Carrey Simmons purchased the building from the Bishop family.    They opened a store called the Sandpiper.  It was a combination health food store and an import gift shop.  Apparently, all of the Simmons children worked in the store at one time or another.

     Fast forward to 1985, Charlotte Walters established Lost Eras in the building.  It is an establishment for finding obscure, unusual and overlooked items.   Examples include clocks, appliances, jewelry, masks,costumes and Theater props. Currently Charlotte and her son Casey manage the business.  It is still in operation.

     It is alleged that the building is haunted by Harry Bishop

     The Mercury Theater is located at 3745 N. Southport Avenue in Chicago.  It is located in close proximity to the Music Box Theater.

     It opened as a Nickelodeon in 1912.  It was called the Blaine.  Later it featured silent films.  It had one screen.  The theater closed in 1920. It operated as carpet cleaning factory until 1947.  

     The building was purchased in 1947 by the DeKoven family.  The building was used  by multiple retail establishments..

     In 1994, it was purchased by Michael Cullen and Joe Carlucci.  They converted the building into a 300 seat legitimate theater. It was named the Mercury.  The debut play was Pope Joan in 1996.  There were two restaurants in the building.

     In 2005, the Mercury Building was auctioned by Inland Real Estate Auctions.

     In 2010, The Mercury and it’s two adjacent restaurant spaces were purchased by an investment group.

Mercury Theater

Mercury Theater

Mercury Theater

Mercury Theater

Mercury Theater

Site of Former Rogers Park Hospital

Photo of Rogers Park Hospital

Sketch of Second Hospital

     In 1927, Rogers Park Hospital opened at 6970 N. Clark Street in Chicago. The president of the new hospital was Dr. Francis Patrick Machler.  The hospital was a replacement of a two story structure built in 1921 also by Dr. Francis Patrick Machler.

     Dr. Machler lived in Evanston, Il.  He was a Rogers Park physician and surgeon for 35 years ( his office was at 7001 N. Clark),  a drummer boy in the Spanish American War, a U.S. Army Captain in World War 1, and a veteran leader. He died in 1950 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

     The new hospital was six stories high.  There was a solarium on the top floor.  The building was constructed with reinforced concrete.  The exterior was brick and terra cotta.  Construction costs were $402,000. Architect was Dwight Wallace.

     Bed capacity was 102.  There were two operating rooms.  There was one delivery room.  There was X-Ray capability.

     In June 1930, the hospital was sold by Dr. Francis Patrick Machler and Thomas Sullivan and Company to the Rogers Park Community Hospital Association.  The sale price was $400,000.  Judge Harry Olson was the new chairman of the board.  Dr. Nappe was the New President.  The hospital name was changed to Rogers Park Community Hospital.

Logan Square Theater Internet Photo

Demolition of the Mars Theater. Internet Theater

     The Logan Square Theater was located in the Logan Square neighborhood of Chicago at 2556 N. Milwaukee Avenue.  It opened in 1913 .  The architect was Horatio R. Wilson.   When it opened, it was a vaudeville house.

     It was acquired by the Lubliner and Trinz Chain and was converted to a movie venue.  It had one screen and a seating capacity of approximately 1300 seats.

     In 1934, after remodeling, it was renamed the Rio Theater.  In 1949, it was renamed again the Mars Theater.  The theater was demolished in 1968.

Old Diversey Theater Building

    The Weber Theater was located at 3018 West Diversey Avenue in Chicago.   It opened in 1912.  It was built by W.J.Weber.  It had one screen.   It was renamed the Diversey in 1914.    It closed around 1915.

Old Diversey Theater Building

Same as above

Same as above

Please note all photos and text are copyrighted

The Music Box Theater is a historic theater located in Chicago at 3733 North Southport Avenue. It opened in August of 1929.  It had a single screen.  It had a seating capacity of 800.  The construction costs were $110,000.  The complete building included nine store fronts and 32 apartments.   The cost of the entire building cost $260,000.  The architect was Louis A. Simon.  The theater was operated by Lasker and Sons.  Style was atmospheric.  The auditorium ceiling was dark blue cove lit with twinkling stars and moving clouds.  There is plaster ornamentation of the walls of the auditorium.  There are round towers, faux marble Lothian and ogee arched organ chambers reminiscent of the walls surrounding an Italian courtyard.

Between 1977 and 1983, the theater was used for Spanish Language films, Arabic films and pornographic films.

The Music Box was closed until 1983.  Three business men formed the Music Box Theater Corporation.   They were Robert Chaney, Christopher Carlo and Stan Hightower.    They restored the building and reopened it.   The new format was double feature revival and repertory films.  Foreign films, cult films and independent films were added.

     In 1991, a 100 seat movie auditorium was built in an existing storefront adjacent to the lobby.  It was remodeled in 2013.  A digital projector and new audio system were installed.  The auditorium acoustics were improved. New seats were installed

     In 2015, a bar and a lounge were added in the storefront directly to the north of the original building.

Music Box Theater

Music Box Theater

Music Box Theater

Music Box Theater

Music Box Theater

Music Box Theater

Music Box Theater