Lakeview Landmarks
Get an inside look at select Lakeview landmarks at Chicago Architecture Center’s annual Open House Chicago in October (www.openhousechicago.org).
The Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave.
Opened in 1911, The Athenaeum Theatre is the oldest continuously-operating off-Loop theater in Chicago. The German-American parishioners of St. Alphonsus built it to stage neighborhood theatrical productions and German folk operas. The building has long been a center for the arts. It provides offices, rehearsal space and several small studio theatres for numerous performing arts organizations. Though a fire damaged the building in 1939, the beautiful main auditorium survived unscathed. It seats nearly 1,000 and retains its Old World elegance. (Credit: Chicago Architecture Center)
Marshfield Trust and Savings Bank Building, 3301 N. Lincoln Ave.
This terracotta-clad flat-iron building makes the most of its triangular lot. Like many neighborhood banks from the 1920s, the Marshfield Trust and Savings Bank employed the Classical Revival style of architecture to convey a sense of permanence and security. Arcaded two-story arched windows extend across both street facades. The building contractor was Avery Brundage, who went on to be president of the International Olympic Committee. The ground floor now houses Arthur Murray Lakeview. (Credit: City of Chicago)
The Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport Ave.
Opened in 1929, The Music Box Theatre serves as Chicago’s premier venue for independent and foreign films. With 700 seats, it is the largest film theater space operating full-time in the city. The Music Box Theatre presents 300 films annually, ranging from provocative documentaries and avant-garde midnight shows to family friendly sing-a-longs.
Schubas, 3159 N. Southport Ave.
Historic Schubas Tavern, located at Southport and Belmont avenues, was once a “tied house,” as indicated by the Schlitz sign that remains above its second-floor windows. Brewing companies at the turn of the century built and controlled their own bars, which sold only their products. (Excerpted from the book “Lake View,” by Matthew Nickerson, Arcadia Publishing)
St. Alphonsus Church, 1429 W. Wellington Ave.
With its soaring central bell tower clad in weathered green copper, St. Alphonsus has been a prominent feature of the six-way intersection of Southport, Lincoln and Wellington since 1896. The parish was founded by the Redemptorist Fathers in 1882, and was a major center of Chicago’s north-side German community. The Gothic-Revival interior features a royal blue ceiling with pointed arches and golden ribwork in starburst patterns that was restored after a 1950 fire. (Credit: Chicago Architecture Center)