In December 2018, the city of Chicago unveiled a $75 million plan for the long-awaited restoration of the Uptown Theater, a stunning 1925 entertainment venue with an incomparably magnificent interior that befitted its status as the crown jewel of the Baliban movie channel and Katz palace.
Rahm Emanuel, Chicago’s mayor at the time, told the Tribune that the plan was “the fulfillment of a promise,” that “investments in culture are one of our best engines of economic growth and creating jobs in our neighborhoods” and that construction was scheduled to begin in fall 2019. Uptown was supposed to be sparkling and open for business by the end of 2021.
The news was celebrated by the dozens of volunteers and supporters who had worked tirelessly to guard and save one of Chicago’s most significant historic buildings, a 4,381-seat, 46,000-square-foot colossus that had sat vacant and decaying since a last J. Geils Band Concert on December 19, 1981.
Alas, the vacant and unrestored theater at 4816 N. Broadway still stands, although plans are in the works for an entirely new music venue, an enormous but seemingly prosaic hangar to be built in a parking lot next to the United Center that has The Potential to suck up much of the business maintaining potential from Uptown.
We generally support the so-called 1901 Project, the latest West Loop development hatched by the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families, which appears poised to create a vibrant, walkable new neighborhood from what is currently a dark sea of parking lots. surface and expand the energy of hot restaurants, music venues such as The Salt Shed and the vibrant street life now visible in the West Loop even further west. We admire the private financing and relatively modest taxpayer demand for infrastructure support. Additionally, we have long argued that a great (and often overlooked) neighborhood regeneration tool is when the crucial urban core radiates out from the city center, adding private sector housing and other assets.
But some balance is necessary as the epicenter of Chicago’s vital entertainment and leisure sectors moves decisively westward via the rapid growth of the former meatpacking district. We cannot leave the traditional city centers as a result.
This applies to the Loop, home to enormous historic sites such as the Chicago Theater, Auditorium Theater and Lyric Opera House as well as Uptown’s Lakefront district, once an entertainment locus to rival the Loop and still home to several historic music venues like the Aragon Ballroom, the Riviera Theater and the Green Mill.
Uptown is one of Chicago’s most diverse communities; It is hardly a place of privilege and one of its most important development assets remains underexploited.
The people behind the 1901 Project Concert Hall argue their new venue will expand the market into Las Vegas-style residences in the long term rather than cannibalizing existing venues. It remains to be seen whether such long-term sit-downs will be viable in Chicago. But there are only so many big touring acts and a lot of existing capacity is available in big, challenged theaters like the Auditorium. A glut of venues in Chicago increases the danger of giving a high-priced talent spin to extract higher bids, raising ticket prices for spectators.
The concert business is primarily a for-profit world, but the venues themselves are often non-profit, not only taxed, but also restored with public money. This means Chicagoans have a financial stake in their survival. Another issue at work here is that architectural buildings such as the Chicago and Auditorium are a vital part of the cultural fabric of the entertainment capital of the Midwest.
Anyone who has been inside the Uptown, or who remembers the days when Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, Prince and The Grateful Dead played there, understands not only its unique importance in the history of ordinary Chicagoans, but its beauty cathedral-like and breathtaking jaw-dropping, but also the beauty of the cathedral and jaw-dropping. (Deadheads of a certain age will remember that the band played the Uptown well over a dozen times from 1978 until its 1981 closure.) Demolishing the Uptown would be unthinkable, and future generations would find it unforgivable. Much good work has been done by Uptown’s current owner, Jerry Mickelson, to stabilize the building after many previous years of neglect. But the cost of restoration is only rising; The 2018 figure of $75 million is now well over $100 million and, alas, we fear Uptown has once again faded from the center of Chicago’s conversation.
The TIF district that supports Uptown and its immediate environment has been extended until 2037, positive. The owner, politicians and local volunteers all say they are working on a new public-private restoration plan and a viable, likely nonprofit ownership structure.
The 100th anniversary of the Grand Old Palace is coming this August. There’s only one celebration that truly matters: Construction crews are beginning to bring back one of Chicago’s most glorious buildings with an economic roadmap that will benefit the neighborhood and ensure its viability and survival. As eyes increasingly look westward for fun and recreation, Uptown should not be forgotten.
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