On this day 30 years ago, the Uptown Theater closed. Lynn Becker introduces devoted caretaker Andy Pierce and his work with Friends of Uptown to keep the theater standing all these years as it awaits restoration (leaky roof as their chief enemy). We're all cognizant of redevelopment mumblings from on high, but the cost of a full restoration could rise to an estimated $70M. Friends of Uptown is commemorating the regrettable anniversary with a letter-writing campaign. Examples of successful theater rehab on a grand scale exist in New York, with the closest parallel in last year's announced rehab of Brooklyn's 3,200 seat Loew's Kings Theater, to which the city has devoted $50M. The Uptown seats 4,300. [ArchitectureChicagoPLUS]
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