the last days of the lawndale theater (1927) designed by architect wm. p. whitney

being utterly consumed with the john kent russell house salvage (and 1850's chicago for that matter) for several weeks now, i only recently had the chance to get up to speed on other demolition activity happening in the chicago area.

last sunday i discovered that the lawndale theater was not only being demolished, but is nearly gone. i was aware that the city stamped it with the "red x" warning placard originally affixed to the exterior facade (later moved to the fence surrounding the site), but i had no clue as to when demolition would begin.

i haven't revisited the lawndale theater since my salvage of the interior concluded in 2009. five years later, after continued neglect and a date with the wrecking ball, only the stage and/or proscenium remains, as i quickly discovered when i arrived at the site this afternoon.

the wreckers had left the demolition area by the time i arrived. the site was easily accessible - a large area near the alley contained no fencing. although my salvage "rights" expired years ago, i threw caution to the wind and decided to document what remained with my cameras on hand.

it was eerily silent and quite peaceful - i felt i could breath, and thus focus or get lost in my "zone." i didn't feel rushed, nor distracted. now that the building was exposed on multiple levels, i spent a great deal of time making mental notes of its construction. i had the light of day to aid me when viewing the most intimate details of materials and methods that were employed to build this once grand movie palace back in 1927.

after capturing several photographic images to my satisfaction, i decided to explore surrounding piles of debris scattered about. during that time i came across a largely intact cast plaster cartouche (two were made, flanking the proscenium) buried deep in the rubble - i had to have it. in addition, i found newspaper fragments and an original empty bag of "tiger brand" white rock finish (i.e., hydrated lime) used as a base coat for plasterwork.

none of this was surprising based on my prior salvage experiences in movie palaces. i would frequently discover or rather uncover newspapers, blueprints, bottles, trowels and other interesting articles tucked away as personal "time capsules" placed there either as "filler" or as a quick and easy way to discard waste when suspended high above on the scaffolding.

so in addition to the painted plaster cartouche, i grabbed the lime bag and newspaper fragments in order to gain insight into the exact day and month (late march of 1927) that plaster was being installed, along with the name of the manufacturer (see below) of the binding agent the subcontractor used for this theater.

with such a hectic schedule, i may or may not get the chance to return before the theater is completely leveled. at the very least i managed to photodocument what was left standing, address questions i had over its construction methodology and grab some artifacts that provided me with more concrete dates and the at least one manufacturer of materials used.

after reviewing my photographs taken while i was salvaging the theater's interior years prior, i decided to add a few more photographs in the gallery. the four additional images depict the following: items i found while exploring the underside of seating in the auditorium, the horribly neglected projection booth (likely untouched since the 1950's when the theater was then known as the rena), an eerie shot of one of the long-forgotten dressing rooms backstage and finally, the plaster fragment i recently retrieved "in situ" from the auditorium. note: the recovered cartouche shot in the studio is shown below.