Portage Theater

at 4050 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago , 60641 United States

1. Concert Venue
2. Landmark & Historical Place

Description

Located at Six Corners in the Portage Park neighborhood of Chicago's Northwest Side, the Portage Theater is one of the oldest movie houses in Chicago. The Portage Theater opened on December 11, 1920 as the Portage Park Theatre (the former name is still visible on the building's facade). Built for the Ascher Brothers circuit with 1,938 seats, the Portage was the first theater built specifically for film (and not vaudeville) in the area.The Portage Theater's interior features a megaphone-shaped auditorium based on a formal Beaux-Arts opera house design. When the theater was taken over by Balaban and Katz in 1940, its marquee, entrance lobby and foyer were redecorated in a sleek, streamlined art deco style to complement other prominent art deco designs at Six Corners such as Sears department store and the Klee Brothers building.The Portage remained a popular fixture of the neighborhood, becoming a second-run movie house in the 1960s. In the 1980s, the theater underwent a dramatic change when a wall was constructed down the middle of the existing auditorium, resulting in two oddly-shaped cinemas. The Portage was shuttered in 2001 after operating sporadically for the previous couple years. The theater was restored and renovated, and reopened after a five-year hiatus in the spring of 2006 as a single-screen, 1300-plus seat theater showing both silent and sound classic motion pictures as well as hosting other live events.

Reviews for Portage Theater

Susan M.

I liked Portage Theater - we were here for a 90's Freestyle show a couple weeks back and it was well kept, the bathrooms were clean, all sorts of booze... Read more

Thee U.

This venue fucking sucks! it'so run down, they could at least cut the heat on while people are waiting for the show and then cut it off when it starts cus... Read more

Greg S.

Absolutely the WORST venue I've EVER been to . I posted a review on Facebook, almost 2 years ago - and was reprimanded for my language. Went to see The... Read more

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Company Rating

2847 FB users likes Portage Theater, set it to 8 position in Likes Rating for Chicago, Illinois in Landmark & Historical Place category

Summary

Portage Theater is Chicago based place and this enity listed in Concert Venue category. Located at 4050 N Milwaukee Ave IL 60641. Contact phone number of Portage Theater: (773) 283-7244