After decadeslong closure, Bridgeport’s Ramova Theatre gets its second act, reopening as a live music space

Take two. The Ramova Theatre is finally ready for its long-awaited second act. Nearly 40 years after closing, the former Bridgeport movie house — located a half-mile west of Guaranteed Rate Field at 3520 S. Halsted St. — begins a new incarnation this New Year’s Eve as a live music space and anchor of a multimillion-dollar redevelopment that includes a craft brewery, grill and beer garden.”

Originally opened in 1929 as a twin venue to Lakeview’s Music Box Theatre, which debuted the same year, the single-screen Ramova served as the area’s go-to movie palace for decades. By the early 1980s, industry changes and shifting consumer habits eroded business. Ramova — which means “peaceful place” in Lithuanian — suffered the same fate as other small neighborhood theaters. After one last screening of “Police Academy 2″ in 1985, the former owners unplugged the projectors and locked the doors.

With a deteriorating marquee, Ramova sat like a faded Hollywood star awaiting a call for a leading role. In 2001, the City of Chicago purchased the building for $285,000 and funded roof repairs in a desperate attempt to preserve the neglected structure. Efforts at finding a developer with the desire to restore Ramova to its former glory repeatedly stalled. As it happens, the visionaries came from Chicago but by way of the East Coast.

Husband and wife Tyler and Emily Nevius were living nearly 800 miles away in New York City when an idea struck Labor Day 2017. Inspired by his experiences at Other Half Brewing and Kings Theatre in Brooklyn, Nevius decided they’d move back to Chicago and do “big-world entertainment in the city they love.” The investor-developer thought they’d build a new structure from the ground up. Then he learned about Ramova.

After purchasing Ramova and an adjacent lot from the city for $1 in 2017, Nevius admits he never imagined all the challenges he’d encounter. Holes in the roof exacerbated decades of deferred maintenance, leaving a majority of the interior resembling decayed ruins.

“It was just totally gone,” he says, referring to the lobby and nearby areas. Nevius got luckier when it came to an unexpected surprise: the stained glass windows set high above the entrance. Uncovered for the first time in recent memory, they can be seen from the street.

Yet anything in the building’s corners — the areas most susceptible to water damage — proved unsalvageable. Because of its pedigreed status — after a grassroots push, Ramova attained a place on the National Register of Historic Places in late 2021 — the rebuild proceeded according to rigid specifications. COVID stalled progress by at least a year. Inflation piled on extra costs.

Scheduled for Sunday, the grand opening — fittingly, a 1920s-themed party featuring a jazz band, DJs and dance performances — follows more than two years of hands-on renovation. During that span, Ramova blew past its initial $23 million budget and accumulated a still-running tally now north of $30 million. Assistance came from tax-increment financing from the city (reportedly $9.1 million), 55 partners and 49 investors. Three-quarters of the latter stem from Chicagoland and involve a few Chicago natives with familiar names: Quincy Jones, Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper.

They also provided valuable insight. Nevius says Chance is an active member of the board. And he makes himself available.

“We sat down with Chance and Quincy’s teams,” says Nevius. “We asked them: Tell us what you love about venues? What don’t you like? What might people overlook?”

A pronounced Chicago flavor informs Ramova operations. The boots-on-the-ground team consists of local experts in their respective fields. Two Duck Inn veterans, Bridgeport native Kevin Hickey and Brandon Phillips, are helming the resurrection of Ramova Grill, a Bridgeport institution that closed in 2012 after more than 80 years of operation. Ramova’s Director of Food and Beverage Sarah Loberg hails from Land And Sea Dept. Programming and Creative Director Kyle LaValley comes from Sleeping Village. The Director of Operations, Peter Falknor, cut his teeth at Empty Bottle, Thalia Hall and House of Blues. Nevius’ wife, Emily, leads Ramova’s nonprofit initiative. She and Tyler live a few blocks from Ramova.

All of which might make it seem odd that a key piece of the rehabilitation — Other Half Brewing — lacks local ties. Nevius says he spent a year talking with numerous area brewers about his idea. Despite liking the chance, each passed on it for different reasons. It’s worth mentioning that, amid the discussions, breweries were navigating a pandemic and fighting for their survival.

Enter Brooklyn-based Other Half, whose owners befriended Nevius during his time in Brooklyn. Recognizing the opportunity, they went from advisers to partners. Formally known as “Other Half Ramova,” it marks the venerated brewery’s eighth physical location in addition to spots in New York City, upstate New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.

Located directly south of the Ramova lobby, Other Half’s long taproom features windows overlooking Halsted Street. An expansive bar invites patrons to belly up and admire the array of 20-barrel stainless-steel tanks. Wood-topped tables, globe lights, wood floors and clean accents give the room a soft modern edge that nicely contrasts the theater’s Spanish Revivalism. Other Half appears designed to welcome conversation and intermingling, but will have one television. In Bridgeport, watching White Sox games remains a religion.

To the immediate north, visitors can walk through a wide opening into the intimate Ramova Grill. Black-and-white checkered floors and 20 red-vinyl-topped stools reflect its diner motif. Upscale American cuisine, burgers and chili are among the planned staples. A minor caveat: Bridgeport residents of a certain generation should not expect the exact same chili they remember. Nevius and his colleagues did not feel comfortable asking the grill’s prior owners for their family recipe.

Though inaccessible to the public, a large kitchen behind the grill underscores the seriousness with which the team seems to approach every detail of areas likely to see the most foot traffic, particularly on days without music events. The ability to pipe multiroom, multi-source audio throughout the spaces amplifies that pursuit. Ditto the 300-capacity beer garden, which occupies an entire city lot at the south end of the complex.

On a private tour of the basement that was dug down an additional 18 inches, Nevius pointed out the brewery’s sophisticated apparatus and cocktail machines. A centrifuge, custom water filtration system and masher sit ready for trial runs; Other Half should be serving beer brewed on-site in early January. The subterranean level also reveals the scope of a project that goes beyond the theater and encompasses three properties — the original Ramova, Bridgeport News, and the former Ramova Grill and commercial space — that have been blended into one interconnected unit. A parking lot across the street rounds out the real estate portfolio.

As for the centerpiece? The theater space dwarfs the size of the Music Box. The lobby, complete with brick pavers, a teal ceiling and gray trim, mirrors the original’s Spanish courtyard setting. Most of the surroundings — framework, plaster, doors, masonry, moldings — are new. “The walls were literally gone,” says Nevius. “It looked like an end-of-times movie in here.”

Nothing shocking in terms of mafia paraphernalia or human remains were found during excavation, though two of the old theater’s massive projectors sit atop a small balcony perched above a reconstructed ticket booth. Nevius hopes DJs can entertain from that spot.

Importantly, everything at Ramova is ADA-welcoming. Before you can enter the stage area, a large concourse/hall parallels the beer garden. The 16-tap bar and restrooms here, as well as those throughout the facility, possess color schemes that pay tribute to a film. (No spoilers but think isolation. The concept sprang from boredom during COVID.)

Nothing outshines the main room, which boasts a capacity just shy of 2,000. The first thing many concertgoers should notice is the stage. Rounded at the front edges, it juts out rather than following a conventional horizontal path. Wide and spacious, the subtly sloped concrete floor retains the metal floor vents from the original HVAC system.

Flanking each side of the room, Spanish elements — stucco walls, tile roofs, ornate reliefs — radiate a cozy, elegant ambience. The white, gray and red palette, as well as the calm blue on the ceiling, likely approximate what visitors in the 1930s enjoyed. Nevius says multiple layers of paint made it impossible to know exactly what colors Ramova used when it opened.

On the second floor, a balcony provides additional standing room. A total of six tiers — in the form of elevated concrete platforms — on both levels offer the advantage of staggered sightlines and alternate heights. (Ramova is general admission and standing room only; concertgoers who require additional accommodations can contact the venue.)

At stage left, a small balconette offers bird’s-eye views. Nearby, the former organ loft, which looks directly down on the stage and sits behind some of the decorative plaster detailing that is among the approximately 25% of original features that survived, will accommodate family and friends.

For added flexibility, Nevius and company created a separate area adjacent to the theater and above the taproom. Housed in a former gym and able to accommodate 250 people, Ramova Loft is intended for private functions, community events and small shows. The multipurpose spot joins an interlinked system of corridors, elevators, restrooms and other sectors that resulted after hard-hat crews filled in an old alley that functioned as an egress for the theater.

That isn’t the only impressive engineering feat in a complex totaling more than 35,000 square feet. A cutting-edge L-Acoustics L-ISA sound system — one of only three currently in the country — primarily resides on newly reinforced trusses. Eight of its bass units live underneath the stage. Working in tandem with camouflaged acoustic-treatment panels on the ceiling, Nevius says it represents the equivalent of “a professional recording studio for the community to jam out in.”

Exceptional fidelity, plus a backstage area with a green room and four dressing rooms — each equipped with a bathroom — along with easy load-in/load-out accessibility speaks to the overall strategy on how Ramova plans to thrive in Chicago’s increasingly competitive live-music scene.

“We get one chance to make artists want to come back,” says Falknor, who cites the facility’s technical aptitude, experienced staff, round stage and unique location as tremendous advantages in both attracting and keeping talent. “I want musicians to say, ‘I want to go play Ramova because of how incredible it is — and because of how we were treated.’”

Falknor notes that the first quarter of 2024 will focus on local events and DJ nights. “We are here for everyone around the neighborhood,” he says. More national touring programming will be added early summer. Organizers hope the built-in adaptability — the theater in combination with the loft space lends to many possibilities — lures everything from big-name residencies to exclusive after-show concerts and shows by up-and-coming artists.

“The history is here,” Falknor gushes. “The neighborhood wants this to be open. The Sox are right down the street. Nearly all the other venues are on the North Side. There’s a brewery and grill. This is an entertainment complex that is a destination. For decades, this was the hub of the area, where everyone wanted to be.”

If all at Ramova goes as planned, it might soon be again.

Bob Gendron is a freelance critic.