LINCOLN SQUARE — Enjoy the sticky floors, spongy seats and slanted screens at the Davis one last time this weekend before the theater temporarily shutters for extensive renovations.
We've got the scoop on how to plan your final visit to the old Davis, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave., and what to expect from the new theater when it reopens in early summer.
Take photos
Short of the iconic "Davis" sign, the new theater will look nothing like the old. Don't let the cramped bathroom stalls, old-time ticket booth and well-worn carpet go undocumented.
The hand-lettered marquee is also unlikely to survive the remodel, according to Davis owner Tom Fencl, so grab a selfie for posterity while you can. Alas, there are no epic misspellings to commemorate the occasion.
Grab a picture of the final marquee for posterity. [All photos by DNAinfo/Patty Wetli]
Grab a back row seat
Enjoy the view from the back row, because you'll never be this far from the screen again in theaters No. 1 and No. 2. The rear three rows are being removed to make room for new bathrooms.
Similarly, the front rows are being pulled back to create better sightlines.
All of the seats are being replaced, and if you want a preview of what the new chairs will feel like, plunk yourself down in the black or red model on display in the lobby. Doesn't matter which one you pick — contrary to popular opinion, the only difference between the two is the color.
According to Fencl, men have uniformly declared the black chair more comfortable, while women, including Fencl's daughters, have said the same about the red. He's installing the red.
What's showing
"Joy" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" are playing now. Friday through Sunday the Davis will host special screenings of the documentary "SelectED," which will run opposite "Star Wars."
"SelectED" follows Chicago Public Schools students through the selective-enrollment process, a particularly timely subject given recent revelations regarding enrollment fraud.
"Anybody who has a child should see it," said Fencl, who navigated the system with his own daughters and is a product of CPS himself.
One hundred percent of box office proceeds from the screenings will be donated to Whitney Young Magnet, a selective-enrollment school featured heavily in the film.
"It was important for us to give back on our final show," Fencl said.
Click here for show times and ticket information.
Sneak preview
Renderings of the renovation — including the addition of a restaurant and bar — are on display in the theater's lobby, providing a sense of the new layout.
A rendering of the theater's new configuration, with added restaurant and bar. Kennedy Mann Architecture, located in Irving Park, is responsible for the design.
The hallway leading to the Davis' rear theaters, which are closed for construction, may or may not be roped off, but crane your neck and you'll see samples of some of the interior design options under consideration.
Because Fencl pursued landmark status from the National Park Service in order to help finance the renovation, there are some restrictions being placed on the theater's makeover.
Exposed brick and tile flooring have been nixed, in both the theater and the restaurant, because they weren't commonly used in construction when the Davis was built.
"There have been some parameters, but none that we feel were unrealistic," Fencl said. "We just have to be true to the materials of the day."
That doesn't mean, he noted, that the Davis has to turn back the clock completely.
The Park Service has no problem with modern heating and air conditioning, for example.
"We don't have to shovel coal," Fencl said.
Coming attractions
Though many of the specifics surrounding the renovation remain a moving target, there are plenty of details Fencl can share at this point.
Theaters 1 and 2
Stadium seating for the front two theaters, which will hold about 100 moviegoers each, has been scrapped in favor of retaining the existing sloped floor.
"We never wanted to mimic the feeling of walking into a multiplex, and sloped floors are how theaters used to be," Fencl explained.
The screens, however, are being supersized, and will span the entire wall. And they won't slant.
Theater 3
The Davis' rear two theaters are being combined into a single 300-seat auditorium, the height and breadth of which is impressive even in its current bare bones state.
A look at Theater 3, which will be transformed into a 300-seat auditorium.
The screen ultimately will be centered between two sets of organ pipes that were uncovered during demolition and hearken back to the theater's silent movie days.
In its earliest years, the Davis also featured a stage, which Fencl plans to recreate in order to accommodate movie premieres — including talk-backs with actors and directors — and acoustic musical performances.
The Davis, seen now, with bits of its former glory on view. Note the framing and a smidgeon of fabric remaining from old drapes. See how this will be recreated in the new theater.
Renovations at the Davis will be more than skin deep, though. It won't just look different, it will operate differently.
Alternative content
The Davis has survived where other independent neighborhood theaters haven't in large part because of community support, Fencl said.
But the theater also has evolved smartly over the decades — from silent films to talkies, from film projection to digital — and that continues under Fencl's stewardship.
"Alternative content" are the big buzzwords for today's theaters, he said, and when the Davis reopens, programming outside of feature films will be one of the biggest changes.
Look for subscription series to "Live at the Metropolitan Opera," live sporting events like the World Cup or Cubs World Series, "Rockumentary Nights" co-branded with neighboring Old Town School, film festivals and corporate events.
"Last year, we sold 150,000 tickets — that's only 15 percent of our capacity," Fencl said. "We would love to double it ... and the key is going to be programming. We're going to be an entertainment center."
21st century experience
No more getting to the theater a half-hour early and throwing your coat over a row of seats to save them for friends.
The new Davis will be switching to assigned seatings, which patrons will select when they purchase tickets. The system will eliminate uncertainty for moviegoers, and will be available as a mobile app, Fencl said.
Patrons can also order food and beverages from the restaurant and bar and bring them into the theater — on trays that will click into the seats. But there won't be servers roaming the theaters during screenings.
The goal, Fencl said, is to enhance—not distract— rom the movie experience.
"We're a movie theater, first and foremost," he said.
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