ML - Michigan Avenue

2012 - Issue 5 - September

Michigan Avenue - Niche Media - Michigan Avenue magazine is a luxury lifestyle magazine centered around Chicago’s finest people, events, fashion, health & beauty, fine dining & more!

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Theaters featured hand- painted vistas covering the towering ceilings. form of "air conditioning" in theaters: a large fan blowing across blocks of ice. Dave was a talented pianist who supplied the music for the silent mov- ies. Instead of a barker outside, the Balabans' theater featured a violinist inside. For years Israel and Goldie refused to sell popcorn at their candy counters because it made a mess and didn't convey the "right image." The family was off and running. Together, along with Ida's husband, Sam Katz, the Balabans built a chain of theaters called Balaban and Katz, or B and K. Soon they would own and operate one of the largest and most successful chains of "picture palaces" in the country. As they grew and expanded, B and K hired the prestigious Chicago architecture firm of Rapp and Rapp to design the fantasy interiors of most of their larger theaters. Designs were usually in the French style and fea- tured hand-painted vistas covering the towering ceilings, elaborate plaster sculptures in carved niches, and ornate friezes on the walls. They imported antiques for the lounges and lobbies. In addition to the theaters, they built the Balaban family mausoleum in Forest Park, with its ravens, gargoyles, and an eternal flame burning. It looks like Bela Lugosi is about to come out from behind a pillar. In 1910 B and K built its first theater, the 700-seat Circle. It had a pipe organ and a four-piece orchestra instituting the B and K tradition of live entertainment to accompany the movie and onstage performances. Its stage shows were legendary, with acts like the Marx Brothers, Sophie Tucker, Eddie Cantor, Jack Benny, Fanny Brice, Milton Berle, and John Philip Sousa among the many greats who regularly appeared there. Brother Abe produced the spectacularly imaginative shows and short- form musical extravaganzas that were designed to echo the theme of whatever movie was being played. These productions featured dozens of dancing girls, elaborate costumes, and over-the-top scenery designed by the legendary Vincente Minnelli, Liza's dad, who would go on to direct some of the great MGM musicals like Gigi, Cabin in the Sky, and Meet Me in St. Louis. Eventually Abe would go to New York and design stage shows for the famous Roxy Theatre. In 1917 Balaban and Katz completed the 1,800-seat Central Park Theatre, which had a mezzanine, a balcony, and central air conditioning. The fan- blowing-over-ice technique was noisy and would occasionally spew freezing water over the patrons, so Barney worked with a team of engineers and invented the real thing as we know it, and movies became year-round enter- tainment. For many Chicagoans B and K theaters were the only places to escape to when the heat and humidity became unbearable. B and K constructed most of the major theaters in Chicago. The Chicago Theatre was a special favorite of mine. When I was little I watched Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher sing together on the stage there, followed by ice skaters gliding across a specially constructed rink. They built the State Lake Theater, where Elmer and Harry had their offices, and the two could wave out the windows at their brothers in their offices across North State Street in the Chicago. For years, Paramount supplied the movies that B and K played. Adolph Zukor, Paramount's founder, developed a long and close friendship with 118 MICHIGANAVEMAG.COM

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