{"id":457,"date":"2013-12-28T17:50:46","date_gmt":"2013-12-28T23:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/decidedlygrim.net\/forlorn\/?p=457"},"modified":"2014-03-21T19:03:49","modified_gmt":"2014-03-22T00:03:49","slug":"desolate-theater","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/decidedlygrim.net\/forlorn\/?p=457","title":{"rendered":"Desolate Theater"},"content":{"rendered":"

Date of Visit: December 2, 2012<\/p>\n

There’s a theater that was built in 1924. \u00a0It was originally a vaudeville theater but eventually became a movie house (like all the old vaudeville stages). \u00a0The town declined as the post-war industrial boom died down, and the neighborhood it stood in turned rough. \u00a0In 1968, a 15-year-old boy was stabbed to death in the lobby. \u00a0It wasn’t long after that before the theater was closed for good. \u00a0There have been talks of restoring the theater for years, but as you can see, there really isn’t much point. \u00a0It’s so far beyond repair. \u00a0There is barely a vestige of grandeur left here. \u00a0But there are a few things: The Italian villa painted on the curtain, the ornamentation around one of the few remaining light fixtures, and the grand piano moldering in the orchestra pit.<\/p>\n

Ah yes, the grand piano. \u00a0I get obsessed by the little things, and so I thought I’d look into the piano manufacturer’s history a bit. \u00a0It was built by Adam Schaaf of Chicago. \u00a0Adam was an Englishman who immigrated to Chicago at the age of 20 and began producing upright, grand, and player pianos. \u00a0His company was created in 1873 and were very successful – at their peak, they had showrooms downtown and on the west side of Chicago, and a huge factory at S. Central Park and Fillmore. \u00a0They advertised their pianos as budget-priced but high quality. \u00a0I believe him. \u00a0After all, look at how intact that piano is compared to the rest of the theater? \u00a0Adam died in 1902 and his sons Henry and Fred took over the company, but they couldn’t make it through the Great Depression and went bankrupt. \u00a0All of the buildings associated with the company have long been demolished as well. \u00a0*sniffle*<\/p>\n

(Ephemera: \u00a0Here’s Adam Schaaf’s grave <\/a>which I visited in Rosehill Cemetery long before I knew who he was.)<\/p>\n

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