City of Chicago sues owners of historic Portage Theater over unauthorized repair work

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The City of Chicago is now suing the owner of a historic, but neglected theater in the Northwest Side's Portage Park neighborhood.

The lawsuit comes just months after the 103-year-old Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee Ave., was named one of the most endangered sites in the state of Illinois.

Neighbors are pleased the city is taking action.

The Portage Theater opened in December 1920 where the diagonal Milwaukee Avenue bends at Cuyler Avenue, just northwest of the Six Corners junction of Milwaukee and Cicero avenues and Irving Park Road.

The City of Chicago notes that the interior of the auditorium at the Portage mirrors the Neoclassical architecture of 18th-cenutry France, while the lobbies were redesigned in the Art Moderne style in 1939 and 1940. On the exterior, a dramatic arch of cream-colored terra cotta crowns the building above the marquee.

But these days, the Portage sits dark. The outdoor stage lights are broken, and the ticket booth is sprayed with graffiti. Neighbors are sad to see it in such a state.

"It means a lot to a lot of people in our neighborhood," said Amie Zander of the Six Corners Association.

Zander helped the Portage Theater be named to the Landmarks Illinois list of the Most Endangered Historical Places in Illinois—hoping such a designation would secure more funding for repairs.

"We wanted to start bringing attention to the fact that if we don't do something about it like now, what's going to happen?" said Zander.

The Landmarks Illinois list came out three months ago. Now, in a lawsuit filed in July, the city said the owner of the Portage Theater started unauthorized repairs at the landmark building.

The repairs include scaffolding seen in front of the building in May, damaged interior walls, and claims that the owner failed to keep the building structurally safe, the city alleged.

The scaffolding seen in May is no longer present, and no work is now taking place at the theater.

As documented by Cinema Treasures, the Portage Theater became a second-run movie house in the 1960s—and was divided into two a two-screen venue with a wall down the middle of the auditorium in the 1980s.

The Portage was shuttered as a movie theater in 2001, but reopened in a single-screen format again in 2006 and became a center point of the Chicago independent film community—notably hosting screenings by the Silent Film Society of Chicago. To accompany the silent films, a theater pipe organ was relocated to the Portage from the Copernicus Center in nearby Jefferson Park.

The Chicago Tabernacle, a local megachurch associated with the Assemblies of God, tried to buy the Portage in 2011, but later withdrew its bid amid pushback from neighbors in the area.

The Portage was granted landmark status in 2013. It closed again in May of the same year after a dispute between the owner and then-Ald. John Arena (45th) over a liquor license application.

The Portage reopened again in 2014, but closed again in February 2018, Cinema Treasures noted. With the notable exception of an illegal rave party that took place there about a year ago, the Portage has been sitting completely vacant ever since.

"It's all kind of a mystery as to what's going on," said Zander.

Zander said it is a good thing the city is now involved through the lawsuit—hoping to push the owner to do the work on the historic property the right way.

"We were excited to see that something was happening," she said, "but again, it was without a permit, so it had to stop."

But now, what will happen to the building—with its famous façade still soaring over on Milwaukee Avenue—is a mystery.

"I know people love it, and they really just want to see something happen," Zander said. "It's a long time coming."

CBS News Chicago reached out to the owner of the Portage for comment on the lawsuit, but has yet to hear back. Illinois Secretary of State's office records show the building owner is also the owner of the real estate company Avra Properties.

The City of Chicago says it will not comment on pending litigation.

The next hearing on the lawsuit is set for next month.