The Music Box Theater

When it was opened in 1929, the Music Box Theater was considered tiny compared to its much larger, more palatial neighbors. Many of these larger theaters, like the Uptown Theater, were often too large to stay in business throughout the rest of the 20th century.

The Music Box Theater later played mainly second and third-run movies as well as closing and reopening several times. By the 1970’s, the theater was showing Spanish and Arabic-language movies, as well as porn. The theater had become more than a bit rough around the edges when it was closed in 1977.

Renovated in 1982, the Music Box Theater reopened in 1983 and has been showing an eclectic mix of classic, foreign, and art house films ever since. In 1991, the Music Box Theater added a small 100 person auditorium. The theater is located in the bustling Southport area of Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.