Double Door finds Uptown home in historic Wilson Avenue Theater

After a dramatic closure, Double Door will open up again in Uptown’s Wilson Avenue Theater. A neighborhood news site, Uptown Update first reported the news early Saturday morning and later 46th Ward Alderman James Cappleman confirmed the news with a Facebook post.

When neighbors saw that Smashing Pumpkins would be having a pop-up with special merchandise at the theater on Saturday, some had a feeling there was more to the announcement. And they were right, a sign at 1050 W. Wilson Avenue declared the building Double Door’s new home.

In February 2017, Double Door was evicted from its longtime home in Wicker Park. The old space at 1572 N. Milwaukee Avenue, which will become a Yeti store, sold to CA Ventures for about $9 million. Double Door’s new venue and a site nearby at 975 W. Wilson is owned by developer Cedar Street, which originally proposed a residential project that never took off.

Many residents suspected that Double Door would stay in the neighborhood, but the establishment is opting for a clean slate in a historic space. The Wilson Avenue Theater first opened in 1909 as a vaudeville club with comedy burlesque acts and musical shows. The theater was designed by Henry L. Ottenheimer and, at the time, had 600 floor seats and 300 in the balcony. The Classical Revival style building featured gold accents and a mural over the proscenium. It lived just 10 years as a theater though, and soon became a series of banks.

It’s also in a great location, the venue is right near Broadway bus line and the new Wilson Red Line station which underwent a $203 million renovation.

• Double Door Coming To Uptown At 1050 W. Wilson [Uptown Update]