Unspecified/General

Crowned by one of the most photographed marquees in America, the Chicago Theatre on State Street is a lavishly ornate former movie palace that has become an emblem of the city. Its towering vertical sign, spelling out CHICAGO in blazing letters above a grand arched façade, has lit the downtown Loop since 1921 and appears on countless postcards, films and souvenirs. The theatre opened as a flagship picture palace in the era when cinemas were built as gilded fantasies. Designed in a French-inspired Baroque style, its lobby was modelled in part on a Parisian royal chapel, and its seven-storey auditorium drips with murals, chandeliers and ornament, seating more than three thousand beneath an elaborately decorated ceiling. A grand pipe organ accompanied the silent films of its early years. After decades as a movie and stage house, the theatre faced demolition in the 1980s before a campaign saved and restored it, returning the interior to its former splendour. Reopened as a venue for live performance, it now hosts concerts, comedy, stage shows and speakers, its historic stage having welcomed a long roll-call of major entertainers. Designated a city landmark, the building stands as a survivor of an age of opulent downtown theatres, its marquee a fixed point in the cityscape. For visitors the theatre is principally a live-events venue, with tickets sold by show, though guided tours offer a look at its history and architecture, including signatures left backstage by visiting stars. Its State Street location places it in the heart of the Loop, easily reached by transit and on foot, amid the shops, restaurants and other landmarks of downtown Chicago. The vertical CHICAGO sign and the surrounding marquee are protected landmarks, and the theatre's image has become a visual shorthand for the city itself, appearing on everything from album covers to film posters. Backstage, a wall signed by the many performers who have appeared there records decades of show-business history, and the building's survival, after a hard-fought campaign against demolition, is often cited as a landmark victory for preservation in the city.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: 175 N State Street, Chicago, IL, United States

Website: https://www.msg.com/the-chicago-theatre

Capacity: 3553

Opening Date: 26/10/1921