Sheridan Theater

Sheridan Theater

4036 N. Sheridan Road

Chicago, IL 60613 United States

Status: Closed/Demolished

Style: Italian Renaissance, Neo-Classical

Seats: 2649

Architect: John E. O. Pridmore

The Sheridan Theater was built in 1927, by Chicago-based architect J.E.O. Pridmore, who later designed the Nortown (1931), in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood.

The Sheridan sat a little over 2600 in its balconied auditorium, which featured, like San Francisco's Castro, a mock-tented ceiling, ringed by a Roman-style freize depicting a procession of gods. The Sheridan also had a small stage, an orchestra pit and organ. Unlike Pridmore's other theaters, which were mostly atmospheric in style, the Sheridan was a neo-classical/Italian Baroque combination, complete with Corinthian columns, Roman statuary, and a proscenium arch topped by golden lions supporting a crowned shield.

After the Sheridan was closed in 1951, it was acquired by a synagogue which used the former theater for their house of worship for fifteen years, until moving to another home. In the early 1970s, the Sheridan was reopened again for movies, this time Spanish-language, and renamed the Teatro El Palacio. It lasted into the early 90s, when the theater again closed and was demolished.