The Arcadia Ballroom on Broadway at Montrose opened in 1910. During the 1920s, it was one of the most popular dance halls in the city and one of the few establishments were white audiences danced to all-black jazz bands. You can read up on its history at Jazz Age Chicago, which also has an exterior shot of the building.
The Arcadia suffered a bad fire in the 1950s and was demolished.
3 comments:
Miss Fairy,
Do you have any info on the DeLuxe Theatre at 1141 W. Wilson. I have never seen a photo of it online and am curious what it actually looked like.
Unfortunately, I don't. You might try the Theatre Historical Society in Elmhurst, which has photos of theatres all across the country.
Somewhere in the 40's and probably until the fire the Arcadia was a roller skating rink. Seems to me the Marigold? on Clark was too, Anyway, Broadway, Sheridan and Montrose/Sunnyside was a pretty busy area. Remember the Bowlium? The Uptown Public Library near the bus turn around? The tatoo parlor?
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