Uptown Theatre News, from Chicago Public Radio

When the Uptown Theatre opened at Lawrence and Broadway in 1925, it was considered a crown jewel in the Balaban and Katz movie palace empire. It was the largest free-standing theater in the country. But the theater’s elegance dimmed over the years, as the era of the movie palace faded.The Uptown closed its doors to regular events in 1981, after a decade as a rock music venue. The theater has changed hands several times since then, leaving it in a legal tangle of mortgages and outstanding debt.A number of groups have tried – and failed – to buy the Uptown, until today. Jam Productions has purchased the Uptown Theatre for just over $3.2 million at today's judicial auction. Earlier today, Chicago Tribune Theater Critic Chris Jones talked with Eight Forty-Eight about the building’s history, and its future.