all original ornamental cast iron mcvickers theater seat end salvaged in 1985 when the theater was demolished. the circular-shaped cast iron medallion featuring an embossed monogram is surrounded by intricate leafage. the heywood-wakefield theater seat end retains the original gold enameled finish. the darkly varnished solid birch wood arm rest is tightly affixed to the chair end. the original mcvicker’s theater opened its doors in 1857 – built by chicago actor and producer james h. mcvicker at a cost of $85,000. the theater was later destroyed in the great chicago fire of 1871, but was rebuilt the following year on the same site. in 1884-85 mcvickers was remodeled by the firm of adler & sullivan. when the theater sustained heavy damage from a fire in 1890, the owners had adler & sullivan redesign it a more modern style for that period in time. sullivan’s heavily stylized floral stencil-work decorating the auditorium, lobby and other public areas echoed his work in the auditorium theatre. the jones, linick & schaefer circuit acquired the mcvicker’s theater in 1913, and began presenting “popularly priced” vaudeville acts and motion pictures. in 1922, the mcvicker’s theater was demolished to make way for another mcvicker’s, which was designed by the architectural firm of newhouse & bernham. the newly-built theater seated over 2,000 and featured live entertainment and motion pictures. the chicago-based balaban & katz chain took over the mcvickers theatre from jones, linick, & schaefer in february of 1926. jones, linick & schaefer took over the theatre again in december 1934 and continued to operate into the early-1960’s. the theatre’s facade, resembled an ancient athenian temple, with its ionic columns, pediment and friezes depicting mythological creatures.by the 1970’s mcvickers theater began showing kung-fu, horror, adult, and blaxploitation films. the theatre closed in 1984 and was torn down a year later in 1985.