School Expansion Includes Theater

CHICAGO-The redevelopment of De La Salle Institute, a Roman Catholic high school in the Bronzeville community that has an alumni list that includes many of the city’s movers and shakers, will preserve most of the once endangered Pickford Theater. The school’s $25-million plan for a new 100,000-sf building with 7,000 sf of retail space was endorsed by the plan commission.

The 117-year-old school has an enrollment of 900 boys at its 6.8-acre campus at the northwest corner of Michigan Avenue and 35th Street. De La Salle Institute plans to buy a building across Michigan Avenue from the city as part of its expansion.

The Pickford Theater at 3459 S. Michigan Ave. opened in 1912, showcasing silent movies. It became the South Side Center for the Performing Arts about 40 years ago, but ended up under city ownership. The building made Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois’ “10 Most Endangered Historic Places” in March. “We’re enthusiastically in favor of this project,” says Landmarks Preservation Council of Illinois president David Bahlman.