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The Oriental Theater was once Chicago's most ornate movie palace, but this is now another Broadway in Chicago theater outlet.
The James M. Nederlander Theatre is a theater located at 24 West Randolph Street in the Loop area of downtown Chicago, Illinois. It opened in 1926, named the Oriental Theater, as a deluxe movie palace and vaudeville venue. Today the Nederlander, which seats 2,253, presents live touring Broadway theater productions, and is operated by Broadway In Chicago.
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An old Balaban & Katz movie palace, refurbished as one of the city's premier performance venues. It hosts a wide range of events, from spoken word and stand-up comedy to jazz, gospel, and rock. Most people, however, know it for the iconic marquee out front.
Non-profit theater company in an extremely expensive space; they pride themselves on new works, but are better known for revivals of plays from the American theater canon. Post-show discussions with the cast are held after Wednesday and Thursday night performances.
648 ft. The 1965 Daley Center is Chicago's principal civic center and boasts a gigantic Picasso statue on the adjacent plaza. A true Chicago landmark, the Daley Center was featured in The Blues Brothers, who drive across Daley Plaza and crash through the glass walls of the building. The Mies-esque design was intended to age visibly: the color has faded in a rust-like direction from exposure to the elements.
Root/Atwood, 1890/1895
A then-unprecedented amount of glass was used in this early skyscraper, bewildering a public still used to masonry walls. Note the difference between the first two floors and the ones above: hold-outs among the previous building's tenants forced developers to build the foundation and the first two floors under the top three floors from the old building, and then knock off the top three when their leases had expired. It was restored when it became the Hotel Burnham (see below) in 1999, and can be explored with a stop at the Atwood Cafe (also below).
Designed in coordination with the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in the Near South, this waterfront plaza features a timeline from the war, a list of Illinois veterans who were killed in action, and a nice vantage point toward a few iconic buildings down the river. After crossing over the river from the Near North, turn and take the stairs down to the lower level.
Built in 1897 as Chicago's first public library, the building now houses the city's Visitor Information Center, galleries, and exhibit halls. Worth a visit to see the beautiful interior — the ceiling of Preston Bradley Hall includes a 38-foot Tiffany glass dome, and the north wing includes the impressive Grand Army of the Republic Rotunda. Of late, amid various city-approved art and music events, some surprisingly good theater has been performed here.