Opened a century ago, the Uptown Theatre is now in limbo, its beauty hidden behind a plywood barricade. Too costly to tear down and too expensive to restore, the theater faces a precarious future.
That’s why this book was created. To document its potential and to spark a movement to save this one-of-a-kind Chicago landmark. It’s not too late, as this book shows.
Dimensions: 9.5 x 1 x 12.5 inches"
Materials: Hardcover: 168 pages; 157 gsm paper + flood varnish over 4-color images
CityFiles Press (Robert Loerzel & James A. Pierce)
(Uptown and Rogers Park/West Ridge)
Robert Loerzel, a journalist and photographer, is the author of Alchemy of Bones: Chicago’s Luetgert Murder Case of 1897 and an edition of the book Walking Chicago. He has written documentaries about the Union Stockyards and the Chicago River for the WTTW series Chicago Stories and worked on WBEZ’s Curious City. He has also covered news, arts, and history for Chicago magazine, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Reader and Crain’s Chicago Business.
James A. Pierce, a journalist, WDCB-FM jazz radio host, and a founder of Friends of the Uptown, has been documenting the Uptown Theatre and advocating for its restoration since 1998.