October 26, 1921: The Chicago Theatre opens. The first event, at what is billed as "The Wonder Theatre of the World," is a showing of the silent film The Sign on the Door, starring one of the biggest stars of the era, Norma Talmadge.
It was built by the Balaban and Katz theater chain, founded by 2 pairs of brothers: Abe and Barney Balaban, and Sam and Morris Katz. It became the flagship for 28 theaters int he city, and over 100 others in the Midwestern U.S. Another pair of brothers, Cornelius and George Rapp, were the primary architects.
The 3,600-seat Theatre, renowned for its 26-rank Wurlitzer organ, is in Chicago's "Loop," at 175 State Street, at the corner of Lake Street. The marquee inspired the advertising for the 2002 film musical Chicago.
In the 1950s, stage shows were discontinued in favor of films. In 1985, this was reversed: The last film shown was Teen Wolf. A renovation was completed the following year. Since 2007, it has been owned and operated by the Madison Square Garden corporation.
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October 26, 1921 was a Wednesday. Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. Professional basketball barely existed. And the NHL season was nearly 2 months away. So there were no scores on this historic day.
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