EC revisits ‘Star Wars’
October 19th, 2009 by Scott Marks
I have sinned against you, my readers. Marty forgive me for what I’ve done. Saturday night found me neck deep in enemy territory where I actually chatted up Chewbacca! It was for a good cause, so I can’t be too mercenary, but it did take its toll on this reporter. That plodding John Williams theme continues to wreak havoc on my cerebral cortex.
Normally the CommCinema crew (both of us) is the first to arrive for an outdoor show, but when I rolled up to the 4S Ranch on Saturday afternoon the place was already teaming with hundreds of “Star Wars” junkies. I reached for a Zanax, but the cupboard was bare.
Tonight’s show was going to be more than an average screening. It was a benefit to help raise money for Olivia’s Fund. Earlier this year 7-month old Olivia Susan Ferrandi was diagnosed with a neurological disorder known as Canavan Disease. This rare debility (less than 300 reported cases in the U.S.) makes it impossible for the child to crawl, walk, sit or talk.
According to MyLocalNews.com, “in most cases the children’s ancestry includes Ashkenazi Jews from eastern Poland, Lithuania and western Russia, or a Saudi Arabian heritage, the disease can affect all ethnic groups.
There is no cure for the disease, but there are treatments available to potentially help improve the quality of life and prolong Olivia’s lifetime. If you are in any position to throw a few bucks Olivia’s way it would be greatly appreciated. To donate to Olivia’s Fund click here.
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All right. I did my mitzvah for the decade, now let’s have some fun.
Continue reading EC revisits ‘Star Wars’
Tags: alec guinness, bob luce, carrie fischer, chewbacca, Chicago Movie Theaters, commcinema, Daffy Duck, darth vader, disco star wars, edens theater, george lucas, harrison ford, Irv Kupcinet, mark hamill, meco, olivias fund, outdoor movies, peter cushing, San Diego, san diego star wars society, STAR WARS, Video, wookieFiled Under Rants
Chicago Movie Palaces: GRANADA THEATRE (1926 - 1989) Part 1
March 9th, 2009 by Scott Marks
The Granada Theater a few weeks before it met the wrecking ball.
It was my neighborhood theater. We lived a few blocks south on Thorndale and Broadway, and while the Devon was technically closer, if I had my way, and when it came to movies I always did, my parents went the extra few blocks.Well, almost always. They almost never turned left on Broadway to go to the Uptown or Riviera because, as Harry Dean Stanton so eloquently put it in Repo Man, they were located in a “bad area.”
The Granada will always be my one major link to movie theaters past, those ornately detailed picture palaces with seductive, block long marquees pulsing to the external rhythm of sequential light bulbs. It was huge. I mean H-U-G-E: close to 3,500 seats and balconies that seemed to extend into the stratosphere. From the neon lettering to the carpeting, velvet ropes and snappy ushers’ uniforms it was red as far as the eye could see. Nowadays you’re lucky to find a poster box in front of each auditorium, but the Granada, and its sister theaters plastered their facades with reams of colorful exploitation. And gosh only knows if they ever dreamed of multiplexes with staggered showtimes.
What follows is a Historical Building Survey commissioned in 1989 and reading it recalls the glory and ultimate downfall of this remarkable temple of cinema. It was sent to me by a gentlemen researching the Marks Brothers theater chain inquiring whether I was a distant relative. Only in spirit. I must have accidentally deleted the email this document was attached to and I find myself in the embarrassing situation of not being able to properly thank him for handing down this fascinating document.
It’s long, so I’m afraid that we’ll have to post this one on the installment plan.
GRANADA THEATER: WRITTEN AND HISTORICAL DESCRIPTIVE DATA
Compiled by the Historic American Buildings Survey
National Park Service
Rocky Mountain Regional Office
Denver, Colorado
Location: 6427-6441 North Sheridan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
Present Owner: Senior Life Styles Corporation
Present Occupant: Vacant
Statement of Significance: The Granada Theater is the last surviving example of a movie palace designed by the architectural firm of Levy & Klein with Edward E. Eichenbsum(sic) as principal designer. The building is a superb example of the excessively ornamented architecture used for theatres during the early days of moving pictures. Both its exterior, in terra cotta, and its interior, largely in plaster and marble, were then and still are unsurpassed in their outright architectural exuberance. Furthermore, the Granada was the largest theater built for its original owners, the Marks Brothers, and remains one of the largest surviving buildings of its type in the united states.
When completed in 1926, the building had a number of notable points of importance, including one of the most elaborate heating and air conditioning systems of the period. It is also the first freespan balcony truss in Chicago and the auditorium is still the largest column free theater space in Chicago. The valance above the stage is the only surviving valance in any of Chicago’s theaters.
The Granada has deteriorated badly during the past two years. It is in ruins. Its useful life is over.
Historian: Wilbert R. Hasbrouck, FAIA
Continue reading Chicago Movie Palaces: GRANADA THEATRE (1926 - 1989) Part 1
Tags: american buildings survey, architectural firm, Balaban and Katz, Chicago, Chicago Movie Theaters, chicago movie theaters chicago movie theater, chicago movie theatres, Edward F. Eichenbaum, Film, Granada Theater, historical narrative, illinois, Lewis Marks, Meyer Marks, Movie, Movie Theater, Movie Theater History, moving pictures, north sheridan road, The Marks Brothers, Wilbert R. HasbrouckFiled Under Uncategorized
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