City - Chicago IL - Gilt and Pleasure 1941

by Mike Savad

Title

City - Chicago IL - Gilt and Pleasure 1941

Artist

Mike Savad

Medium

Photograph - Colorized Photo

Description

Colorized photo from 1941
Original title: Crowd coming out of the Regal movie theater
Photographer: Russell Lee
Location: 4719 South Parkway (now Martin Luther King Drive), Chicago, IL

The Regal theater was originally opened in 1928, the outside was designed in a Baroque-Revival style, and a Moorish style on the inside, with designs of North Africa and Spain. The inside of the theater itself was made to look like you were in an Arabian tent. The sky was distant with castles fading off.

The lobby is what you are looking at here. It was a real relief to people, as people can smoke out here and couldn't in the theater itself. It was also probably nice to rest your eyes from the fanciness of the theater.

The theater feature act was typically a 22 piece jazz band, the "Regalettes" chorus line, and the Baron House organist.

However they had other shows and bands that included Louis Armstrong, County Baise, Cab Calloway, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Lena Horne, the Ink Spots, Moms Mabley, the Mills Brothers, and Bessie Smith.

The theater eventually closed in 1971, it was empty years before that though. Later on, I believe in 1973, they opened the New Regal Theater, which has even more schmaltz than this place had. But I believe it too closed due to covid.

Uploaded

May 17th, 2021

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