When the Ramova Movie Theater was built in 1929 by Meyer O. Nathan, it was the premiere theater on Chicago’s South Side. Although it had been empty since 1985, it was in better shape than the commercial building next door, which was constantly occupied, recalls Illinois-born, Chicago-based architect Dan O’Reilly. The founder of O’Reilly knows this well, having been studying how to revive the site since 2017. Some seven years later, he completed what is now called the Ramova Theater, a 36,000-square-foot entertainment complex—a $30 million project that was championed by a passionate group of locals.
The project’s two-story cinema, which includes a Spanish Revival-style lobby and theater, was not originally intended for preservation. But after it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and owners Tyler and Emily Nevius, who live in the neighborhood and bought the theater for $1, received a cost analysis and tax credit, it became a mix of adaptive reuse, preservation, renovation and expansion, including the theater, the commercial building and the adjacent home. “The average person should be able to visually distinguish what was original from what was new,” O’Reilly says.
Beneath the theater’s restored terracotta facade, complete with its original rose window and 1940s neon sign, visitors enter a restored lobby, which now leads to a large live music venue (which kicked off in January with a concert by South Side rapper Chance the Rapper, also an investor in the project). New LED lights shine overhead, and the seats have been replaced with movable seating for 1,800. But Nathan’s existing shell of faux facades with arches and tiled roofs remains.
Where contemporary interventions are made, color is an indicator. The three bars are marked with sheets of cerulean or begonia. Red-tiled walls serve as a guide to the bathrooms. Yet the installation of technology for a 21st-century concert venue was a secretive exercise. “The architecture harks back to a time when infrastructure wasn’t expressed,” O’Reilly continues. “When the plaster came back, no one realized it.” The other two structures house the more intimate performance space Ramova Loft, a VIP lounge, a brewery, and a 1950s-style restaurant that nods to the original Ramova Grill on the site. It is headed by chef Kevin Hickey, who grew up on South Halstead, the same street as the theater.
Watch a show at the Ramova Theatre
Product Sources
From the facade Metropolitan Ceramics: Floor tiles (lobby). Armstrong: Flooring (restaurant). Trendler: Seating. Bar front facade tiles. Basua: Acoustic ceiling (hall). Throughout Zach Rose: Custom seating. Abet Laminate: Laminate. Dura: Solid Surface. Spectrum Lighting: Pendant fixtures. Teck Lighting: Sconces. Juno: Track fixtures. Tube Light: Storefronts and entry doors. Sherwin Williams: Paint. Sumi Studio: Lighting Designer. McHugh Engineering Group: Structural Engineer. AMS Industries; JMS ELECTRIC: MEP. SMP PROJECTS: CIVIL ENGINEER. RYAN: HISTORIC ADVISOR. WISS, JANNEY, ELSTNER ASSOCIATES: RESTORATION CONSULTANT. DAPRATO RIGALI STUDIOS; CHICAGO ORNAMENTAL PLASTERING: HISTORIC PLASTERWORK. NAVILLUS WOODWORKS: MILLWORK. MCHUGH CONSTRUCTION: General contractor.
