A Short History of the Morse Theatre

The Morse Theater was constructed in 1912 as a multi-use building, typical of early "first generation" vaudeville and silent film (nickelodeon) theaters of that time. It is similar in construction and size to the Village North on Sheridan (originally the Regent, built in 1912). With commercial storefronts and professional offices on the second floor, the Morse Theatre originally held 650 seats.

The Theater was closed for financial reasons in the late 1920s, a victim of the grand second generation of cinema theaters, the so-called "Movie Palaces". From the late 1920s until 1934, the theater remained dark, emptied of seating, and utilized as a furniture warehouse for a local manufacturing concern. In 1934/35 the theater was renovated and modernized, including a new "Streamline Art-Moderne" marquee, and installation of the first public air-conditioning on Morse Avenue. The Morse reopened as the Co-Ed Theater, a reference to Mundelein and Loyola Colleges, both only 5 blocks away. the Co-Ed operated as a classic independent cinema house into the 1950s.

The theater space, while little changed, became home to Congregation Beth Israel Anshe Yanova from 1956 until 1977.

While the building's storefronts have been occupied by various commercial concerns almost continuously, most recently as the Cobblers Mall, and attempts have been made to develop the entire building for retail use, the theater space has remained little changed and predominantly unused from the 1970s to the present. Time, neglect and economic change have taken their toll, but still leave some original interior architectural details and much of the 1912 terra-cotta facade.