Many of these focused on a new book, \u201cThe Uptown: Chicago\u2019s Endangered Movie Palace\u201d (CityFiles Press). It captures in words and photos (old and contemporary), vintage blueprints and programs, the building\u2019s amazing history, but also serves as a call to action, an argument for salvation. The first words in the book are \u201cThe Uptown Theatre \u2014 a movie palace built \u2018for all time\u2019 \u2014 must be saved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those words in the book\u2019s introduction are written by James A. Pierce (better known as Andy), a journalist, radio host and founder of Friends of the Uptown. The bulk of the text is the work of Robert Loerzel<\/a>, a writer and photographer, and a copy editor and contributor for the Tribune. Neither of these men is old enough to have experienced the Uptown when it was in operation. They only met a relatively short time ago when their shared enthusiasm for the theater and its history set them on the collaborative path.<\/p>\n \u201cIn realizing the 100th anniversary was coming up in less than two years, we knew we had a short deadline but decided to use our shared enthusiasm for the theater and for its future that we just had to work together,\u201d said Loerzel.<\/p>\n Pierce, who had come upon Loerzel\u2019s compelling internet history of the Green Mill Gardens, an entertainment complex just south of the Uptown, says, \u201cI thought this is the guy who tied the knots of the ancients in the tomb, doing the sort of research I always wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n They chose to work with CityFiles Press, a publishing company run by Richard Cahan and Michael Williams that has produced many fine Chicago-centric photo-rich books over more than two decades.<\/p>\n \u201cRich Cahan\u2019s book about (photographer and preservationist) Richard Nickel (1994\u2019s \u201cThey All Fall Down\u201d) has been an inspiration to me,\u201d says Pierce.<\/p>\n Cahan and Williams have been pleased.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been moved by the response to the book,\u201d says Williams. \u201cA week after its official release, we\u2019d already sold half our stock and will likely be sold out before Christmas. And here\u2019s what\u2019s really interesting. At a recent event, easily more than half of the people buying books were young people, which is really heartening to see for us old timers.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the reasons this book is so important to me personally is because I\u2019m still haunted by what happened to the Granada Theatre in Rogers Park back in 1987. I was part of the losing battle to save the Granada, and it has always stung because I don\u2019t think we ever made the case to the public about how beautiful and historic the Granada was. Much like the Uptown, the Granada had been shuttered for many years and people had forgotten what it looked like inside, as well as its rich history.\u201d<\/p>\n We have long been a city that erases parts of our past. But sometimes we\u2019ve been able to hang onto some too, such as the Uptown\u2019s neighbors, the Aragon Ballroom and Riviera Theatre.<\/p>\n There will never be another Uptown Theatre, among the largest and most luxurious theaters of its kind still standing. As Loerzel reminds us in the book, an early advertisement shouted, \u201cIt will hush and thrill you. It throbs with beauty.\u201d<\/p>\n You will understand as you travel through the chapters that travel through the years and their entertainments, tasting of vaudeville, musicals and movies.<\/p>\n I was especially drawn to the book\u2019s section on the 1970s, which were hard times for the theater and the neighborhood. The area had by then become a haven for Appalachian clans, Native Americans and immigrants from around the world, turning much of it into a place for those whom society has marginalized or left behind altogether.<\/p>\n It had more than its fair share of dilapidated apartment buildings, skid row taverns and guys on the street selling gold chains \u2026 selling whatever. Columnist Mike Royko once rightly called it \u201cone of the most depressing sections of Chicago.\u201d<\/p>\n Jam Productions, the concert promotion organization, began booking shows at the Uptown in the mid-1970s and I was there for an unforgettable Bruce Springsteen show, a few of the 17 Grateful Dead concerts and some others until the Uptown closed for keeps after a J. Geils Band concert on Dec. 19, 1981.<\/p>\n It was already getting shabby by then, and the wear and tear continued as volunteers fought to stay the deterioration. Ownership of the theater passed through various owners, some with big plans, no plans and busted plans. The theater is now owned<\/a> by Jerry Mickelson, who founded Jam Productions in 1972 with Arny Granat, who has moved on to other projects. Mickelson carries on and is an important voice in the Pierce-Loerzel book. He also recently wrote an impassioned editorial<\/a> in this newspaper, which said, in part, \u201cIn 2008, I was the only bidder who showed up at the foreclosure auction\u2026 On that day, I had no clear plan for how I was going to save (the Uptown), only a deep conviction that it needed my help.\u201d<\/p>\n Loerzel and Pierce share that conviction, as do many others. It will take a massive effort and a massive amount of money, with some estimates closing in on $200 million.<\/p>\n Look at the book and tell me it wouldn\u2019t be worth it. Or as Mickelson writes, \u201cThe Uptown is more than a building \u2014 it is a stage for human connection, a monument to creativity, and a beacon of what can be achieved when vision meets commitment.\u201d<\/p>\n rkogan@chicagotribune.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is just a building, of course, standing near the corner of Broadway and Lawrence Avenues in the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":134864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[1022,960,171,5386,1818,2765,1370,1072],"class_list":{"0":"post-215220","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-books","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-il","12":"tag-illinois","13":"tag-keywee","14":"tag-latest-headlines","15":"tag-things-to-do"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115179460179633383","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215220"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215220\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ctc-232059086.jpg\")
The \u201cgingerbread\u201d style lobby at the Uptown Theatre on North Broadway in Chicago, circa 1931. (Chicago Herald and Examiner)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ctc-229050747.jpg\")
The Granada Theater at night in Chicago in 1927. (Chicago Tribune historical photo)<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/ctc-180664629.jpg\")
The Uptown Theatre in disrepair in Chicago on July 16, 2015. (Jos\u00e9 M. Osorio\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n