After the Great Fire of 1871, the city of Chicago was rebuilt as a modern metropolis that included theater and entertainment districts. By the turn of the century, Chicago had grown into a show business capital, peaking in the 1910s and 1920s as a mecca for every form of entertainment.

There were 19 major theaters in the Loop by the early 1920s that averaged 100 plays and musicals per year.  Because of its location in the center of the country, Chicago became a major stop on several vaudeville and burlesque circuits during the 1910s, with the Orpheum, Rialto, McVickers, and Bijou Dream Theatres hosting some of the biggest names in variety theater. Also during the 1910s, the Essanay and Selig movie studios produced hundreds of one-reelers , launching the careers of several major stars, including Gloria Swanson and Wallace Beery. In 1917, Barney Balaban and Sam Katz opened the Central Park Theatre, the first movie palace in Chicago. Their chain of luxurious popcorn palaces at key locations around the city serviced more patrons than the movie theaters in any other city, including Manhattan.  Movies were not the only form of entertainment at Balaban and Katz’s theaters. Before the film was shown, live musical acts, dance troupes, and even classical musicians were featured. As a matter of fact, musicians of all genres flocked to the city to play in the nightclubs that began cropping up during World War I. Later, these clubs defined the city during the Jazz Age, because the biggest joints were owned by mobsters engaged in turf wars over the illegal liquor trade. Given the variety of entertainment that thrived in the city, dozens of actors, entertainers, and musicians arrived and departed the city on a weekly basis.

This illustrious connection to the evolution of show business is my favorite part of Chicago history, and I recently discovered an online collection of photographs that serves as a window into this past. The photos were originally taken for the Chicago Daily News and are now housed at the Chicago History Museum.   Based on the images  I found, the newspaper’s photographers must have positioned themselves at the train station hoping to catch celebrities and entertainers as they arrived and departed, because over half of them show famous folks at the depot. The webpage is called “Photographs from the Chicago Daily News, 1902-1933,” and I urge fans of old-school show biz to check out the site. In the meantime, I thought I would share some of my favorites.

THEDA BARA AND NORMA TALMADGE VISIT CHICAGO IN 1926. THEDA BARA, THE ORIGINAL VAMP, IS ALSO AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE IN A PHOTO FROM 1917. IN THAT YEAR, SHE WAS FOX FILM'S BIGGEST STAR. IN THE YEAR SHE VISITED CHICAGO WITH TALMADGE, SHE MADE HER LAST FILM. DESPITE HER SHORT CAREER (1913-26), SHE GAVE US THE CINEMATIC ARCHETYPE FOR THE FEMME FATALE.

LUPE VELEZ WITH WILLIAM A. RUDOLPH

The website featured 13 photos of Lupe Velez from 1929. By that time, she had made half dozen feature films and was on her way to stardom with a star image constructed for her as a hot-blooded, feisty Latin that men found hard to resist. As seen below,  many of the Daily News photos show her embracing this aspect of her image. The man next to her in the  photo to the left is William A. Rudolph of the United Artists Theatre, one of Chicago’s huge movie palaces in the Loop. My best guess is that the United Artists Theatre, which often exhibited films produced by U.A., which owned an interest in the theater, was showing her 1929 film Lady of the Pavements, directed by D.W. Griffith, and she blew into town for the occasion.

VIVACIOUS LUPE VELEZ

CONSTANCE TALMADGE

Many major film stars came through Chicago during the 1910s and 1920s, including Hollywood royalty Douglas Fairbanks and  Mary Pickford, the glamorous Talmadge Sisters,  silent comedy great Harold Lloyd, and one of the biggest stars of the Roaring 20s, Rin Tin Tin. Some stars came to Chicago for reasons beyond promotion and publicity. The Daily News theater critic, Amy Leslie, liked to organize show-biz contests and events, and she often asked theater actors, club entertainers, and movie stars to assist her.

Also, included on the website are many photos of vaudeville stars or musical comedy actors whose names are  completely unknown to most folks, and these photos were the ones that most fascinated me.  Vaudeville was an extremely important part of the American entertainment industry that has never been properly measured. I am happy to bring these vaudeville players a bit of recognition through these photos. Please enjoy.

THE VERY TALENTED AND HANDSOME RIN TIN TIN

D.W. GRIFFITH AND AMY LESLIE JUDGE A SCREENWRITING CONTEST ORCHESTRATED BY THE DAILY NEWS IN 1922.

CHARLIE CHAPLIN SITS WITH AUTHOR H.G. WELLS.

MARY PICKFORD & DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS

MAX LINDER WAS A FRENCH COMEDIAN WHO STARRED IN HIS OWN SERIES OF FILMS FROM ABOUT 1905 TO THE EARLY 1920s. HE INSPIRED BOTH SENNETT AND CHAPLIN.

THE ONE AND ONLY AL JOLSON SHAKES HANDS WITH THEATER PRODUCER JAKE SHUBERT IN 1928.

HUNGARIAN TWINS ROSIKA (ROSE) AND JANSCI (JENNY) DEUTSCH WERE ZIEGFELD STARS WHEN THEY PERFORMED IN CHICAGO. THEY WERE KNOWN AS THE DOLLY SISTERS.

IN 1928, THE KIDS FROM THE 'OUR GANG' COMEDIES, INCLUDING PETEY THE DOG, VISITED CHICAGO.