First Peek At The Planned Restoration Of The Uptown Theatre

Take a close look at the above photo of the Uptown Theatre from its opening in 1925.

Note many of the architectural details that are currently lacking:

• the 58-foot-wide detailed marquee with the "sunburst" design
• the vertical letters spelling out "UPTOWN"
• the decorative terra cotta on the parapet of the building, and 
• the south-facing "UPTOWN THEATRE" sign on top of the building.

The "sunburst" marquee in 1929

When the planned renovations and restoration are completed in a few years, all those features will be back in place, at least according to a zoning ordinance introduced before the City's Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards yesterday.

The drawings below were posted on the Friends of the Uptown's Facebook page, which posted today, "The Uptown Theatre restoration project has started on its way through the City's processes. Yesterday, application No. 19868 was submitted to the Chicago Plan Commission to rezone and initiate a planned development. These plans give us early ideas about the quality and scope of intended exterior work. This is very exciting!"

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

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The architect on the project is Lamar Johnson Collaborative.