Village Theater, Chicago

Village Theater. CHICAGO

Village Theater

     The Village Art Theater was located at 1548–50 North Clark Street in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago.  It was built in 1916.  The architect was Adolph Woerner.   It originally was known as the Germania Theater.  Its named was changed during World War 1 due to anti-American sentiment. It underwent numerous name changes (Good Coast Theater, Globe Theater, Parkside Theater, and the Village Theater).  It also underwent management changes (Gumbiner Brothers, Kohlberg Theaters, Village Theaters).

     The theater as originally built had one screen and 900 seats.  Early in the 1900’s, the theater was divide into 4 auditoriums.   Little remains of the original interior.

   The external facade remains intact with red brick and beige terra cotta highlights.

     For years, the Village Theater was a popular venue for art, foreign and cult films.  The theater was closed in 2007.

   In 2018, the Village Arts Theater and neighboring buildings along North Avenue were demolished to be replaced by a condominium building.  The facade of the Village Theater will be incorporated in the new structure.

Old Chicago Mercantile Exchange

     This building was located at 300 N. Franklin Street.  It was built in 1927.  The architect was Alfred S. Alshuler.  It was 17 stories high.  The building style was ArtDeco/ Beaux Art.

     The last owner of the building was CD Industries  (Crown Family). The built was demolished in 2002–2003.

Republic Building

     The Republic Building stood at 209 S. State Street in Chicago from 1905–1961.  It was a nineteen story commercial structure.  The architects were Holabird and Roche.  It was considered to be one of the best buildings of the 20th century.

     It was though to be in perfect shape at the time of demolition in 1961.

Cable Building Chicago

The Cable Building was located at 242 S. Wabash Avenue in Chicago. This 10 story skyscraper was built in 1899 for the Cable Company. This was a piano manufacturing company. The architects were Holabird and Roche.

The building has a steel frame structure and 3 part bay windows. The building was an example of Chicago style of early skyscrapers that emerged after the Chicago fire. The building was demolished in 1960.

The Chicago Stock Exchange Building was located at 30 North LaSalle. The architects of the building were Dankman Adler and Louis Sullivan. The building was completed in 1894. It was 13 stories high. It featured detailed external ornamentation. The trading hall was located on the second floor. Despite preservationists effort, the building was demolished in 1972,

The building entrance arches and the interior trading floor were saved and moved to the Art Institute of Chicago.

Illinois Central Railroad Terminal

This Railroad Teenrminal was located at 121 E. Roosevelt Road in Chicago. The architect was Bradford L. Gilbert. The building was constructed in 1893. Style was Romanesque Revival. It was originally built to accommodate visitors traveling to Chicago to attend the Columbian Exposition.

Illinois Central Terminal

The terminal also played a role the as the gateway to Chicago of the Afro-American migration from the south to the midwest. Unfortunately, the terminal was demolished in 1974.

Chicago and North Western Terminal

     The Chicago and North Western Terminal was in operation from 1911-1984.  It was located at Madison Street between Canal and Clinton. The architects were Frost  and Granger. It was opened in 1911.  The cost was $27,750,000.  Construction took  5 and one half years.  At the time of its construction, it was one of the largest railroad terminal in the United States.

     The building occupied 13 acres.  The station was 320 X 218 feet.  It was four stories high. It contained 16 tracks.  The style was Italian Renaissance.  The great lobby or concourse was 100 X 250 feet.  

     Oligivie Center replaced the terminal.  A glass high rise was added in 1987.

Six Miles Cypress Slough Preserve

Located in Fort Myers, Florida is a 3500 acre wetland known as Six Miles Cypress Slough Preserve. It filters rainwater into Estero Bay. In the Preserve is a 1.2 mile boardwalk trail, an interpretive center and an ampitheater.

The slough is 9 miles long and 1/3 mile wide. It serves as a wildlife corridor for animal travel within Fort Myers.

Six Miles Cypress Slough Preserve Boardwalk

Same as above

Boardwalk

Same as above

Wetland

Wetland

Fungus on Tree

Wetland

Wetland Shelter

Wetland

Thompson Center

     The James R. Thompson Center is located at 100 West Randolph Street, Chicago.  It houses offices of the Illinois State Government.  The location of the Thompson Center was previously the location of the Sherman House Hotel.

     The building opened in May, 1985 as the State of Illinois Center.  It was later was renamed in 1993 as the James R. Thompson Center in honor of a former governor of Illinois. The building occupied the entire block bordered by Randolph, Lake, Clark, and LaSalle Streets.

Thompson Center

    The building was designed by Helmut Jahn.  Reviews of the building ranged from wonderful to outrageous.  The building is 17 stories high.  The exterior is all glass.  It slopes facing a plaza on the south eastern corner of the property. Single paned curved glass panels were used.  Unfortunately, it is expensive to hear and cool.

     There is an art sculpture at the front entrance by French artist Jean Dubuffet.  The building housed nineteen specially commissioned artworks funded by the State of Illinois Art-in-Architecture Program.  The building also has over 150 of the state’s 600 works collected under the Percent for Art Program.

     Over the years, there have been multiple proposals to sell the building.  In 2019, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed a bill to begin the sale of the Thompson Center, with a three year limit to find a buyer.    There has been a recent initiative to save the building.

Recently, the Forum Building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1897, at 318–328 East 43rd Street in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago.

Forum Building

The Forum served as the political, social, and cultural center of the neighborhood for 75 years. It later became a popular music center featuring prominent jazz and blues musicians. It also served as a headquarter of the civil rights movement.