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The Davis Theater, originally known as the Pershing Theater, is a first run movie theater located in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of Chicago. Built in 1918, the theater has operated in different capacities in its history, showing silent films, German-language films, and various forms of stage performance. In 1999, the Davis was planned to be demolished to build residential condos, but the plans were cancelled in part due to a negative response from the community. It is one of the few operating neighborhood movie theaters in Chicago. ==History== The Pershing Theater was built in 1918 and was named after First World War General of the Armies, John J. Pershing. It is the only remaining theater of five built in Lincoln Square,〔 and one of the few neighborhood theaters still operating in Chicago. The building was designed by architect Walter W. Ahlschlager,〔 who was also responsible for the design of other famous buildings such as the Uptown Broadway Building in Chicago and the Roxy Theater in New York City. The Pershing opened showing silent films, its first being ''The Forbidden City'' and later ''Pals First''.〔 In the 1930s, the Pershing was converted to show talkies at a cost of approximately $10,000 and was renamed to the Davis Theater. The Pershing had some involvement in The Case of the Ragged Stranger, an infamous Chicago murder case of the early 1920s.〔 Carl Wanderer and Ruth Johnson, husband and wife, left the theater shortly before Johnson was murdered. Although the murder was initially pinned on a stranger dressed in ragged clothing, an investigation revealed new evidence that suggested that Wanderer was, in fact, guilty of the murder. Wanderer was ultimately convicted and executed.〔 Starting in the 1952, the theater attempted to appeal to the cultural influences in the neighborhood by showing German-language films in addition to American films. The theater eventually transformed to a German film house, even acting as host for the Chicago International Film Festival in 1972 where they opened with ''Signs of Life''. The Davis continued to show German films through the end of the decade. The theater then transitioned to showing a variety of entertainment including puppet shows, second run films, and revivals through the 1970s. In 1979, a plan to revitalize the theater by modernizing it and concentrating on movie revivals was supported by film critic and Chicago resident Gene Siskel, but it was unsuccessful within months.〔 In June 1980, the Davis hosted the Chicago International Film Festival's Dance Film Festival, which featured a week-long showcase of dance-themed films such as ''Divine Madness'' and ''Non-Stop Astaire'', the latter of which was a collection of film dance routines featuring Fred Astaire with other notable dancers such as Judy Garland and Ginger Rogers. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Davis Theater」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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