A planned renovation of the W. C. Reebie & Brother storage building at 5035 North Broadway in Uptown will include demolition of the front portion of the building. The City of Chicago issued a demolition permit for the 1920-built, George Kingsley-designed structure on August 7. While the permit does not specifically state “partial demolition,” a spokesman for TimeLine Theatre, the building’s owner, confirmed “only the front” of the building will be demolished.
Interior rendering provided by TimeLine Theatre
Interior rendering provided by TimeLine Theatre
Interior rendering provided by TimeLine Theatre
Interior rendering provided by TimeLine Theatre
Interior rendering provided by TimeLine Theatre
TimeLine Theatre purchased the building in 2018, and have since been imagining ways to create their new home within its walls. Architecture firm HGA was enlisted to design new home, initially envisioning a facility that will reimagine the façade of the 100-year-old warehouse. Those early iterations included connecting the Reebie building to a new structure to be built on the vacant lot next door, at 5033 North Broadway, and a four-story addition at the rear of the existing building. The latter plan received a renovation permit in December of 2022 for “staff offices and theatre support spaces.”
Old rendering of the new TimeLine Theatre via HGA
W.C. Reebie & Brother building, 5035 North Broadway in Uptown. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
W.C. Reebie & Bro. Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Photo by Daniel Schell
Complications arose, including the CTA’s Red/Purple Line reconstruction (they have rights to the lot at 5033) and concerns about the structural integrity of the Reebie building and its ability to support the desired changes for the new theater. These led to today’s plan for the partial demolition and renovations.
According to TimeLine Theatre, their new space will include a lobby café and bar, a 250-seat flexible black box theatre that’s built to be transformative, and exhibit galleries designed to support the immersive, interactive lobby experiences that are a TimeLine hallmark. Backstage there will be several areas tailored for collaboration and creation—including a rehearsal room, design and production studios, and staff offices—fully support artists and staff in their work. The company’s Living History program will also have dedicated space for its engagement with students, and that space also will be available for community meetings and events.
For now, general contractor Bulley & Andrews has surrounded the Reebie building with construction fencing. YIMBY will be on the lookout for the beginnings of exterior demolition work.
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It’s so nice of the theater to specify that only the part that anybody would care about, the front, will be demo’d. Just the vintage architecture will be scrapped. The common brick and the back of the building will remain. Whew!
This has alway felt like a bait and switch. They sold the neighborhood on prerserving this structure and then said “Oooops!, the only attractive part of the building is unsafe and will have to be torn off” (not at all beacuse they want a light filled three story statement lobby)
Pathetic. Sad. Lame.
We embarrass and insult the history of this great city. Make no small plans has become small plans only. Late stage capitalisms sucks
History of an abandoned warehouse?
The new plans look great and will create jobs.
Looks promising! Glad to see some new ideas. All old building facades are not worth restoring.
David, it is true that not all facades are worth restoring. But this one is.
Why? It’s ugly and insignificant. No historical significance to the warehouse for a furniture brand nobody has ever heard of.
This is absolute garbage! The city needs to do so much more to protect historic structures– we shouldn’t be so desperate for development that we are destroying our unique built environment. I’m sure this building could’ve been snapped up and adaptively reused in no more than 5-10 years with the way Uptown is changing. Why sell to an unimpressive theater company that will deface it permanently and go under by 2030?
What’s so historic about an abandoned warehouse building? It’s a waste of space with no neighborhood value. The new plans look amazing.
Good, Uptown needs more of this revitalization. All the NIMBYs that want to preserve this “historic” building boggle my mind. The architecture isn’t unique, it’s literally a plain brick box. Not everything that’s old has historical significance. It was a furniture storage warehouse, not a theatre or anything important. The attitudes in these comments make everyone treat preservationists as a joke
Why is the existing facade worth keeping? Please. IMO it’s not even minimally attractive. Not a ton of windows. No wonder the existing interior space is dark. The new glass exterior is a vast improvement.
As much as I do support preservation and living history of buildings, those warehouse buildings are not attractive. Built cheaply and for a particularly utilitarian purpose. The new design is a welcome addition to Uptiown. Let’s put our attention to get city investment into the restoring and reopening the Uptown theater. Something our alleged peer cities in the US have done with tremendous success.
Given the weakness in the theater industry and the number of underutilized theater spaces around the City, it’s a pity that a historic building had to be partially demolished for this. If this created something in short supply (like housing), it would be different, but this feels like a poor utilization of our physical resources.