#100946230
Date Received: 12/3/2021
Ward: 40th Ald. Andre Vasquez
Applicant: Alpine Demolition Services, LLC
Owner: Doris Eneamokwu
Permit Description: Opening of closed existing windows, install new window frame and glazing, repair existing glazed brick as needed (tuckpointing) [removal of ornamental masonry panel]
Status: Under review
“As of September 2, 2021 it seems that the beautiful terra cotta face that has looked down over Devon Avenue for more than 100 years is no more. No one is quite sure what happened, but there was scaffolding on the building and someone was chipping away at it in the morning, and it was gone by the afternoon. And the Assyrian American Association name is no longer on the building either.
“The New Devon Theater, with its distinctively austere glazed block façade featuring a large arch and a large bust of a woman’s face, was built in 1912, and was quickly eclipsed by the nearby Ellantee Theater. It disappears from news listings after October, 1917.
“By 1923 it had been converted to a Ford dealership. By 1936 it had become an American Legion hall. In the 1950s it operated as a radio and TV store. Since 1963, it has served Chicago’s Assyrian community as the home of the Assyrian American Association of Chicago.” Cinema Treasures.org