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images of a forgotten early 20th century nickelodeon taken during its transformation

a former early 20th century chicago nickelodeon sits across from the biograph theater, where notorious american gangster and bank robber john dillinger was gunned down in 1933. opened in 1912 as the lincoln theater (later renamed the fullerton theater in 1914), the limestone-fronted movie house underwent several changes very early on, including conversion into an automotive garage and machine shop in 1916, where it repaired cars and machined parts well into the depression. during the late 1930's it returned to being a theater, reopened as the crest theater.

during this time the building was briefly used by the fbi to position its sharpshooters, as an additional safeguard against john dillinger escaping after leaving a show at the biograph theater across the street. the sharpshooters were perched along the roofline (see below).

the theater underwent further change in 1968 when it was renamed the 3 penny cinema, where it first premiered the infamous pornographic film "deep throat." for a short time it was renamed the capri theater before changing its name back to 3 penny. despite lacking ornament - both on the interior and exterior, 3 penny was considered one of chicago's more popular movie houses.

 

the 3 penny cinema was closed in 2006 by the city due to its owners non-payment of amusement taxes, thereby ending the movie-going experience along this stretch of lincoln avenue that dates back to the early decades of the 20th century. the nearby biograph theater closed in 2004, but has since been transformed into a live theater venue owned by the victory gardens theatrical company.

all images courtesy of eric j. norstrom and the bldg. 51 archives

in preparation for the building's new tenant, the structure was thoroughly gutted, ruining both the original ticket booth and ornamental plaster used in the building's lobby. the indiana limestone facade, featuring a centrally located protruding lion's head was left intact, which at least preserved part of its original character and unique architectural identity.

the protruding hand carved indiana limestone lion head medallion located directly below the pedimented cornice.

when i photographed the interior in 2007, the spacious auditorium, designed to house 500 seats, had been divided in 1989 when two screens were added with one side seating 230 and the other 120. the partition had already been removed when i was granted access to photograph the interior. nearly two years later, after extensive renovations were completed, the former nickelodeon reopened as lincoln hall, a concert venue that remains in operation to this day.

the paint line running vertically along the rear wall and horizontally across the ceiling indicates where the wall (added in the 1980's) was built to divide the movie house from a single to two screens.

note: this entry was quickly pieced together after stumbling across a folder of images i had taken of 3 penny's interior as it was being gutted in 2007. around that time i lost thousands of images when my computer crashed, so i was pleasantly surprised to find this folder containing just enough images to merit a post. sadly, the majority of the images (including of the projector booth) fell victim to the "crash." if i recall correctly, the booth had not been altered much in a very long time, still retaining residual camera equipment and early, if not original fixtures.

the theater seating, destined to for the dumpster, were likely installed during the 1930's when the theater was renamed the crest.

 

 

 

 

 



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