Davis Theater
- Architect
- Walter W. Ahlschlager
- Year
- 1918
- Style
- Neoclassical
- City
- Chicago, IL
- Collection
- movie palaces
The Davis Theater opened in 1918 as the Pershing Theater, named for World War I General John J. Pershing, in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood. Designed by architect Walter W. Ahlschlager in the Neoclassical style, it is the only survivor of five theaters once built in Lincoln Square and remains one of the few neighborhood movie theaters in Chicago still operating.
the building
A near-demolition. In 1999, plans surfaced to tear down the Davis for residential condos, but community opposition was strong enough that the project was cancelled, preserving the theater as a functioning neighborhood cinema.
the style
Ahlschlager designed the theater, originally the Pershing, in a Neoclassical style; the building opened showing silent films, beginning with The Forbidden City, followed by Pals First.
More on Neoclassicalthe architect
Walter W. Ahlschlager also designed Chicago's Uptown Broadway Building and the Roxy Theater in New York City, placing the Davis among a body of ornate theater and commercial work.
significance
The Davis Theater was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
nearby
- Krause Music Store
- All Saints Church and Rectory
- (Former) Lyman Trumbull Public School Building
- Getty Tomb
- Lane Technical College Prep High School
- Uptown Theatre