Hark! Hark! The Clark

[djelliott]

When I first lived in Chicago (summer of '68), my then boyfriend worked at the Clark Theater, in the loop. (Clark & Madison?) After work, I'd go to the movies when he worked.

The Clark was open about 23 hours/day. It featured a double bill that changed daily. Admission was cheap (50 cents? or was that just Wednesday?) A monthly schedule/calendar (Hark! Hark! the Clark!) grouped the films by themes "John Ford directs John Wayne" and I think sometimes the daily films had couplets associated with them. I didn't know much about James Cagney until I sat through 9 straight days of his films. Since the Clark attracted all sorts, a small balcony (The Little Gals Gallery) was set aside for women. (A lady with pigeons ruled that roost.) The snack stand served hot dogs and popcorn to the guests.

Alas, the boom in revival movie houses waned, and attempts to convert the Clark into a mainstream movie palace failed, and the Clark is no more. I vaguely remember the owner went on to teach films at Northwestern.

Does anyone else remember this theater? Oddly, I can't find any websites devoted to it. I loved going to to the Clark; the theater was as interesting as the films on offer. Once, a movie started and it was, well, Shakespeare. Someone in the front groaned "Oh, Sh*t" and presumably went back to sleep. While distracted by the baby carriage/stairs scene in Eisenstein's Battleship Potempkin, I got groped. Off to the Little Gals Gallery.

I could go on and on. I'd love to hear more from other Clark theater patrons.