In 1999, Chicago’s Lincoln Square neighborhood almost lost an icon: the 100-year-old Davis Theater. The owners had listed the building for $1.6 million, suggesting the ornate theater could be razed for a shopping mall instead.
The Art Deco theater is the city’s longest running movie theater, which celebrated its centennial anniversary on November 6. One of the reasons this piece of Chicago history is still around is because of the residents who refused to let it go.
An old article in the Chicago Reader marked the fierce determination that residents showed, capturing a sentiment about neighborhoods and development that still rings true today. More than 500 residents packed the meeting room of the Sulzer library to support the Davis Theater.
“The fight to save the Davis is just the tip of the iceberg,” says Mary Edsey, who organized the meeting. “The possibility that the Davis might be destroyed led people to look around and think about how much unchecked development has changed our neighborhood.”
The theater was not only beloved by the community, but a significant piece of architecture too. It was designed by Walter Ahlschlager, also responsible for several other buildings such as the Uptown Broadway Building and the Sheridan Plaza Hotel. The Davis Theater’s brick and glazed terracotta exterior features classical and Roman-inspired elements while the stacked Davis sign and lobby showcase Art Deco and Art Moderne components. The combination of the varied styles make the Davis an “unusual survivor among historic Chicago movie theaters,” according to the National Register of Historic Places.
When the 1,100-seat theater first opened in 1918 it was known as the Pershing Theater. It was named after John Pershing, a well-known WWI general at the time. Four other theaters were operating nearby so competition was steep. In 1920, the theater managed to separate itself from its rivals, although not for reasons its owners would have hoped. That year the theater became the scene of the crime for a grim murder case that captivated the city for years.
In 1930 the establishment was renamed to the Davis Theater. That was also when the neighborhood demographics began changing and the theater was threatened by the possibility of closure, propelling it into alternative solutions. In 1931, the owners began catering to the neighborhood’s large German population, debuting popular German films alongside American ones and hosting a German Film Week at the 1972 Chicago International Film Festival.
Later in 1979 the business attempted to become a revival theater, which specialized in showing classic, notably older or independent films. At the time of opening as a revival, Tribune film critic Gene Siskel wrote that it appeared the Davis was in business, “for the love of movies.” However, within months the venture failed, forcing the Davis to return once again to second-run films.
While the theater did struggle over the years, the spirited meeting in 1999 ended up saving a historic piece of architecture. In 2016 the structure was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and underwent a $5 million dollar renovation. Keeping an eye on preservation, visitors can find elegant crown moldings and original organ pipes in the main theater. During the renovation film equipment was updated, new bathrooms were installed, and the venue was reconfigured into a 300-stadium seat theater plus two smaller 150-seat theaters.
“It was pretty surreal when a lot of the original decor and architecture was unveiled when we started demo on the theater,” said general manager Ryan Lowry. “We took everything basically down to the brick and at one point had the entire space opened up to how it looked when it was originally just one theater.”
The Davis endures as a living relic from another time, a testament to the determination of its community in seeing it endure. Eugene Schulter, a former 47th Ward Alderman during the time when the Davis was in crisis, gives credit to those who devoted their energy to the theater. A vital reminder of the changes and continuities the neighborhood has experienced.
“Like everything else in the neighborhood, you don’t suddenly wave a magic wand and things appear,” he said. “They come through hard work from a lot of different people. There are not too many communities in the city of Chicago that can raise up and say, ‘I was part of that.’”
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