Lights, camera … Uptown? Back in the days when Los Angeles was a distant backwater, Chicago spent a decade as the center of the world’s film industry. During the early 1900s, four out of every five films in the United States were made in Chicago. You can still find remnants of the city’s historic movie magic if you know where to look. Here are three locations from Chicago’s filmmaking history that you can still visit today.
Essanay Studios
Essanay Studios (1345 W. Argyle St.) was the Warner Brothers of the early twentieth century. Its name comes from the combined surname initials of George Spoor and Gilbert “Bronco Billy” Anderson, who formed the studio in 1907. Essanay’s silent film stars included screen queen Gloria Swanson, cross-eyed comic Ben Turpin, and heartthrob Francis X. Bushman.
Two of Essanay’s red brick buildings, now home to St. Augustine College, commemorate Chicago’s film heyday. The studio’s name appears in terra-cotta above the western building’s entrance and is guarded by Essanay’s trademark Native Americans.
The studio’s biggest luminary was Charlie Chaplin. The world’s top box-office star worked at Essanay from 1915 to 1916. The Little Tramp produced fourteen films for Essanay, although only His New Job was shot in Chicago. Gloria Swanson was an uncredited extra on the film, appearing as a stenographer.
The building to the east contains the Charlie Chaplin Auditorium, a former sound stage dedicated by the university and now used for events. Occasionally visitors have the opportunity to see a film shot by Essanay in this very room!
He may be known as the Little Tramp, but Charlie Chaplin made himself at home in a palatial red-brick residence. While filming at Essanay Studios in 1915, he stayed at 4637 North Manor Avenue in Ravenswood Manor. It’s rumored that Chaplin also stayed at the Brewster Apartments in Lakeview.
Selig Polyscope
Nearby, in present-day North Center, William Selig founded the largest film studio ever built at the time. Constructed in 1896, the Selig Polyscope complex (3900 N. Claremont Ave.) took up a city block. Selig created some of the first full-length feature films and made the first Wizard of Oz films in 1907.
Chicago’s cinematic golden age was unceremoniously ended by patent litigation and … the weather. Selig Polyscope established Southern California’s first permanent movie studio, and much of the industry headed west. Chicago just couldn’t compete with California’s mild, year-round shooting weather. As the Los Angeles Times reported in 1916, Charlie Chaplin returned to California because Chicago was “too damn cold.” Today, one of the Selig Polyscope structures survives as a condo building.
Selig Polyscope’s main building at 3900 North Claremont Avenue still stands. Look for the studio’s logo, an “S” inside a diamond, above the main entrance. They shot outdoor films in the middle of the block, so it wasn’t unusual for neighbors to spot actors in Civil War or Wild West dress.
The Green Mill
The glittering neon sign at the corner of Lawrence and Broadway welcomes visitors to the Green Mill (4802 N. Broadway Ave.), Chicago’s most storied bar. Since 1907, it has hosted movie stars, gangsters, and jazz greats.
The Green Mill began as Pop Morse’s Roadhouse. It was renamed the Green Mill Gardens in 1910. A small windmill on the roof referenced Paris’s Moulin Rouge. It’s now the oldest nightclub in Chicago operating under the same name.
Today’s Green Mill was part of an entertainment complex including ballrooms and gardens. People tied their horses to a hitching post outside. Some of those saddling up to the bar were silent film stars from nearby Essanay Studios like Charlie Chaplin, Gloria Swanson, and “Bronco Billy” Anderson.
It may be two thousand miles from the Walk of Fame, but you can still trace the footsteps of movie stars through Hollywood history in Chicago!
Hotels and Rentals in Uptown
If you want to research hotels and vacation rentals for your Chicago film history itinerary, this map can help you compare the available options. It’s set to show hotels and rentals in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood near the locations mentioned in this article, but you can view any neighborhood where you’d like to stay.
Want to discover other hidden places in Chicago? Check out my books Secret Chicago: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure and Chicago Scavenger!
Sources
“Film.” Encyclopedia of Chicago, Chicago Historical Society.
Historical, LakeView. “Early Film Companies/Movies, TV, & Gloria Swanson.” LakeView Historical Chronicles, 26 Feb. 2012.
Kogan, Rick. “Chicago’s Most Historic Taverns: Our List.” Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 19 Aug. 2015.
Loerzel, Robert. “Reel Chicago.” Chicago Magazine, 19 May 2007.
Selzer, Adam. “Podcast: Selig Polyscope Studios.” Mysterious Chicago, 15 Apr. 2011.
Jessica Mlinaric founded Urban Explorer in 2010 to inspire curious travelers by highlighting history, culture, and hidden gems in Chicago and beyond. She is the author of ‘Secret Chicago’ and ‘Chicago Scavenger.’ Jessica has visited 20+ countries and 30+ U.S. states. She has more than 16 years of experience as a marketing strategist and works as a freelance writer and photographer.
