Once one of the finest theaters in the country, the Sheridan Theatre now serves as a premier playhouse for vandals, the homeless, and the curious. The front doors now stand open for months at a time, even though the theater has been closed for years. Reckless renovation, fires, and public dumping have all but destroyed the building’s original magnificence. There were plans to resuscitate it a few years ago, but strangely enough they were scuttled by the city. Now two organizations have submitted competing renovation proposals to the city, and if officials think one of them is feasible, the street people may finally have to move out.
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But the Sheridan had to compete with Balaban and Katz’s Uptown Theatre just a mile north. This behemoth’s 4,320 seats made it the largest theater in the world when it was built, and the quality of its stage shows was hard to beat. The neighborhood surrounding it also offered more parking.
Balaban and Katz held on until 1951, when they accepted an offer from the Anshe Emet Synagogue, which refurbished the building for religious services. The refurbishers removed the ornate interior friezes and artwork and dismantled the outside facade, leaving a generic veneer. The Solomon Goldman Auditorium, as it was called, lasted a remarkable 15 years, and then the synagogue moved to new quarters. The building stood empty for a brief period before becoming the now infamous Palacio Teatro, where Spanish films were shown. “No fumar” signs were added to the Jewish symbols.
But then Cook County treasurer Ed Rosewell mysteriously decided to sell the building for the back taxes to Lou Wolf, who was on the cover of Chicago magazine two years ago above the headline “Chicago’s Worst Landlord.” Wolf did nothing with the property–he didn’t even pay the taxes–and the building fell back into the county’s hands. Through a special arrangement, the owner of a local hardware store attempts to keep it secure, though the ingenuity of the residents makes that difficult.
