Another View of the Granada

Last week, we posted a photo of the Granada after a fire. Here's another from the same series. A fire on April 12, 1955 in a small pub next to the Granada Theater forced the evacuation of movie goers.

Original image available here: View of the Granada

Fire at the Chatter Box / Granada Theatre, Chicago, 1955

Crowd in front of the Granada Theater soon after they were evacuated when a 2-11 alarm was sounded. The Chatter Box next to the theater was destroyed by fire on April 12 1955. The theatre stood until 1990.

The Granada Theatre was a movie palace every bit as grand as the Uptown Theatre; it was located at 6427 N. Sheridan. Read more about its history (and demise) here: Granada Theatre.

Both the original image and high-resolution copies are for sale here: Granada Theatre Chicago

Granada Theatre, Sheridan at the Loyola Stop, 1990

If you've hung around this blog a while, you'll know I'm a strong supporter of restoring the Uptown Theatre. I would hate to see it go the way of the Granada, which was nearly as big and just as magnificent--and probably in better condition than the Uptown when it was torn down.

Here's a photo I found on Flickr by user Genial23:

The photographer describes the demolition as: "one of the more heinous acts of vandalism committed by local real estate developers in the last 20 years."