The Mercury Theater
3745 North Southport Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
The building was originally constructed in 1912 as a nickelodeon named the Blaine Theater after 19th century politician and Secretary of State, James G. Blaine. The theater played silent movies with live musical accompaniment. However, after the advent of the talkies the theater was replaced with the larger, state of the art Music Box theater, just two doors south. Subsequently the building was converted into commercial use, first as a sort of indoor mall and then later into a rug cleaning business. In 1994 Chicago theater producer Michael Cullen purchased the building and re-converted it back into a live performance theater. The building was essentially gutted. A new concrete floor was constructed with the proper rake for live theater sight lines. To maximize the amount of seating, the seating plan is continental with no center aisle but plenty of room between rows to access your seat. A new proscenium and fire curtain were also constructed, along with new backstage dressing and prop rooms. In addition a new horseshoe shaped steel balcony was installed providing additional seating. While most of the original details of the Blaine theater were lost, the original decorative busts were salvaged and adorn the exposed brick walls of the theater. The theater was renovated and restored as part of a larger commercial venture that included the Irish themed pub Cullen's Bar & Grill adjacent to the south and a 3,800 square foot restaurant space adjacent to the north. As completed the theater and dining venue proved highly successful and foreshadowed the incredible growth and dynamism of the Southport Ave. corrdidor north of Belmont Ave.
Client: Michael Cullen and partners
Team: Edward C. Lin & Associates, Inc., SE; Creative Systems & Assoc., M/E/P; Shuler Shook, theater consultants
Scope: 290 seat theater, dressing rooms, box office, lobby, backstage, marquee design/signage