Last month, it was great to welcome back an old friend in our community. I'm speaking of the Patio Theater, a historic 1927 movie house here in the city that closed in 2001.

Marquee on the Patio Theater

Back in my high school years, I remember catching films here with my friends. It was a unique theater because of the abundance of seats (1,500) as well as the very cool ceiling, which featured twinkling star lights and projected clouds that moved.

Gloriously repainted lobby

Unlike the nearby Portage Theater, which originally opened in 1920, but was subdivided into two theaters in the 1980s, the Patio has always been a one-screen location. (Thankfully, the Portage reopened as a single-screen in 2006 after a restoration and hosts quite a few events these days.)

To learn more about the history of the Patio, take a look at this short news clip from a local TV station:

What's interesting about the Patio, which is located on Irving Park Road just west of Austin Ave., is that it didn't close because of bad business. Rather, it's vintage air-conditioning system broke down and parts were impossible to come by.

A look at the interior (Source: PatioTheater.net)

The owner of the theater also owned buildings around it, and kept a close eye on the Patio while it was mothballed, thus it didn't deteriorate like other lost theaters. This enabled his son, a recent college grad with a business major, to spearhead the project to reopen the classic building for the community.

The stars and clouds are back!

Amy & I visited the theater on its Grand Reopening weekend last month, where they were showing Disney-Marvel's Thor for $5. We were able to see quite a bit of the restoration work, including the intricate repainting in the lobby.

Affordable $5 tickets and concessions

The original organ is still there, and it was awesome to see the stars and clouds once again. The screen is in good shape. Audio is front-heavy and not even close to being surround, but hey, it's an old movie mouse!

You can't beat $5 tickets!

So welcome back, Patio Theater. With you and the Portage both returning to our neighborhood after periods of long hibernation, we're spoiled by vintage goodness. Here's to many future visits!