“The Music Box Theatre has reopened after undergoing a major renovation that included installing over 700 new seats in the main auditorium.

“The historic movie house — built in 1929 at 3733 N. Southport Ave. — closed Aug. 12 for a rehaul of its auditorium as part of its 95th anniversary. The closure was the first time since 1982 that the theater had been shut down for renovations for any length of time.

“As part of the renovation, the Music Box teamed up with Rebuilding Exchange, the Evanston-based nonprofit dedicated to repurposing old building and construction materials, to salvage and preserve the theater’s original seats. The seats are being sold online through the Rebuilding Exchange. (Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 9/27/24)

“Moviegoers will see plenty of familiar flourishes when they walk into the Music Box Theatre this weekend. The auditorium will still look like an Italian courtyard, just as it always has. Dennis Scott will be playing old songs on the organ. And up in a booth at the back of the room, an expert projectionist will be at work — often guiding an actual reel of 35 mm film through the machinery at 24 frames per second, as a light shines through the images.

“But not everything is exactly the way it used to be. For one thing, there are cupholders — something the Music Box lacked for the past 95 years. They’re part of the renovations that closed the building’s 740-seat main theater for the last four weeks.

“The plaster on the proscenium arch has been repaired and repainted. The carpeting is new. The aisles have more lights on the floor, to help guide popcorn-toting cinephiles looking for a spot to sit. Newly installed in the floor, a T-coil hearing loop will transmit a movie’s sound into audience members’ hearing aids. And the seats have been replaced, with the goal of making it comfier to sit through a movie.

“The idea is modernizing without compromising the historic look and feel of the theater,’ said Ryan Oestreich, the Music Box’s general manager. He said he wanted to open the refurbished theater with ‘a big event that people care a lot about,” something that would attract a ‘die-hard group of film fanatics.’” (Loerzel, WBEZ Chicago, 9/6/24)music box chicago landmark

Read the full story at Block Club Chicago and WBEZ Chicago

• Music Box Theatre Reopens After Major Renovation; The historic movie house closed in August for an overhaul that included installing new seats with cupholders — a first for the 95-year-old theater — and other upgrades, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 9/27/24
• Chicago’s Music Box — cherished among cinephiles — reopens after makeover; The historic theater returns this weekend, fittingly, with the Noir City: Chicago fest, which is an ode to classic cinema. But expect some new flourishes, Robert Loerzel, WBEZ Chicago, 9/6/24
• Hazmat suits and headlamps: Subterranean salvaging at the Music Box Theatre; The antique charm of the 95-year-old beauty — which just underwent a major revamp — can turn dropping your keys into an underground rescue effort, Mitch Dudek, Chicago Sun-Times, 9/6/24
• Music Box Theatre Teams Up With Rebuilding Exchange To Salvage 95-Year-Old Seats; The historic theater is undergoing a renovation for its 95th anniversary, and hired Rebuilding Exchange to help preserve over 700 seats that were first installed when the theater was built nearly 100 years ago, Patrick Filbin, Block Club Chicago, 8/16/24
• Music Box Theatre Turns 90, historical overview at the Music Box website