Detailed Information

The Uptown was the crown jewel of the Balaban and Katz theatre chain and was designed by renowned theatre architects Rapp and Rapp in a Spanish Baroque Revival style.

The massive theatre building occupies 46,000 square feet (about one acre) of land, and includes a massive grand lobby and multiple circulation and lounge spaces in addition to the huge auditorium, stage, and backstage spaces.

No expense was spared in building the theatre. Interior decoration included murals by Louis Grell and ornate light fixtures by Victor S. Pearlman & Co.

The theatre opened in August 1925 and was billed as “An Acre of Seats in a Magic City”. The opening attraction was The Lady Who Lied (1925)  starring Lewis Stone and Virginia Valli. Elaborate stage shows accompanied each movie, unique in that the elaborate stage shows would follow the theme of the movie.

With decreasing revenue in the 1960s, the Wurlitzer theatre organ and many lavish paintings and statues were sold to help cover costs.

By the 1970s, the Uptown became a live music venue and hosted numerous rock concerts with headliners like the Grateful Dead, Genesis, Rod Stewart, Elvis Costello, Prince, Bob Marley, Bruce Springsteen, and Frank Zappa. The theatre closed in December 1981, the last event being J. Geils Band with Red Rider on Saturday 19th December.

Owner Jerry Mickelson of JAM Productions , who acquired the theatre in July 2008, has worked to draw attention to the theatre’s potential and raise funds for its eventual rebirth. In 2018, plans to renovate the theatre were announced, but those plans fell through in 2021 in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic.