The Uptown Theater: the Ghost of a Landmark

The Uptown Theater, also known as the Balaban and Katz Uptown Theater, is a sight to see. In fact, seeing is believing when it comes to this historic and monumental theater. It is hard to describe the magnitude of the building: its eight story church-like facade, the sheer size (the building occupies over 46,000 square feet), and the grand interior. You simply have to go and take a look for yourself. Too bad we can no longer experience the theater for ourselves, at least the interior of it; the establishment was closed in 1981 due to a serious water damage caused by a burst water pipe. In the following years, continued neglect lead to more deterioration.

Currently, there is a restoration effort under way. It is headed by a group called Friends of the Uptown, which is comprised of theater enthusiast, historians, and local residents whom don't want to see the landmark sit dormant anymore.

The Uptown Theater has been around since 1925, and is apparently the largest theater in the US, even beating out Radio City Music Hall in New York City with a 4, 381 seating capacity. With that said, it really is a shame that such a magnificent building is sitting vacant. Think about the amount of revenue that such a place could bring to a community; jobs, entertainment, etc.

The interior is truly something special. Go to undercity, a website dedicated to exploring urban and non-urban terrain, particularly the areas that a less traveled; tunnels, abandoned theaters, etc. The site has some phenomenal photos of the little known theater. In addition, there is an award winning documentary entitled Uptown: Portrait of a Palace about the history and restoration effort of the Uptown Theater. Although i couldn't find the full version, here is the trailer for the documentary.