Additional funding has been approved by the Community Development Commission for the relocation of Double Door music venue at 1050 W Wilson Avenue in Uptown. Situated just east of the intersection with N Broadway, the establishment is relocating from its long-term home in Wicker Park. Efforts are being led by the club with local architecture firm Barker Nestor working on its design.
1050 W Wilson Avenue. Photo by Jack Crawford
Double Door was a neighborhood institution since it opened its door at 1572 N Milwaukee Avenue in 1994. The small club hosted world-renowned acts like The Killers, Kings of Leon, and Wilco, before being evicted by their landlord in 2017. The old spot was converted into a Yeti store with the iconic marquee sign also being removed.
Details of new Double Door by Barker Nestor
Details of new Double Door by Barker Nestor
Since then the venue has been working on reopening within the former Wilson Theater, which functioned as a bank until its closure in 2012. Plans call for facade repairs, installing a new main door and window, adding a new illuminated entry marquee sign, as well as a 17-foot-tall recreation of the iconic blade sign from Wicker Park.
Floor plans of Double Door Uptown by Barker Nestor
With almost double the capacity, this new location will hold 700 attendees within the three-story auditorium space. The basement level will hold a new lounge with a stage flanked by two large bathrooms and a bar. The main floor will contain the front entrance, restrooms, and main stage. This will be joined by two mezzanine levels connected to a green room and VIP area.
Floor plans of Double Door Uptown by Barker Nestor
Double Door prides itself in providing the best performance space for venues with capacities of 100 to 1,000 people. They plan on bringing the same high-end technology to the new Uptown location. With a revised budget of $10.3 million, the commission approved $5 million in TIF funds, joining other sources including tax incentives approved earlier this year.
At the moment, no construction timeline has been announced, but work should start soon after the funds are fully approved.
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As much as I would love to see the DD in Uptown, and in a great converted space, I’m not sure why valuable TIF $ should go to a music venue while there are 3 others within a few blocks. It’s been 6 years and nothing. Something doesn’t seem right here?!?
It’s just so strange all around. . .
1. The plan for Uptown Square has always been to make it an entertainment district. 2. The Double Door is much smaller than the Riviera and the Aragon so they will be booking a different level of bands/artists. 3. Covid happened. 4. It’s a historic building with lots of red tape involved. I do worry about any new venture like this, but it certainly worth supporting, and a cool structure that has fallen into disrepair will be restored/reimagined.
You know I was born and raised in uptown since 1964 and all the development drove people like me and my family and friends out of our own neighborhood to make room for rich people I thought I’d always be in uptown but my neighborhood 😕 no longer exists 😭