Uptown Theatre

The Uptown Theatre is the crown jewel of theater developers Balaban and Katz and renowned movie house architects Rapp and Rapp. Built in 1925, the Uptown is the largest freestanding theater in North America and was inspired by opulent palaces in Europe, employing the Spanish Baroque Revival style. No expense was spared in its construction. Marble sweeps throughout the building, ornate plaster climbs the walls and sprawls across the ceilings with images of royalty, mythology and fantasy. Large columns and arched doorways, murals by Louis Grell, and grandiose lighting by Victor Pealman inspire the imagination.  Inside the auditorium thousands of lights hidden behind plaster indirectly light the space in a soft “atmospheric” glow. With a stage, orchestra pit, movie screen and pipe organ, patrons could enjoy movies, plays, vaudeville acts, comedians, news reels and music in all forms. With decreasing revenue in the 1960s, the Wurlitzer organ and many lavish paintings and statues were sold to help cover operating costs. By the 1970s, the theater became a live music venue, hosting numerous rock concerts with headliners like the Grateful Dead, Genesis, Electric Light Orchestra, Rod Stewart, Elvis Costello, Prince, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, The Who, and Frank Zappa. Shuttered since 1981, new owner Jerry Mickelson of JAM Productions fame has worked tirelessly to draw attention to the theater’s potential and raise funds for its eventual rebirth—estimated to require as much as $200 million.