The largest remaining in Chicago, it boasts 4,381 seats and its interior volume is said to be larger than any other movie palace in the United States, including Radio City Music Hall in New York.

It occupies over 46,000 square feet (4,300 m2) of land at the corner of Lawrence Avenue and Broadway in Chicago's Uptown Entertainment District.

[3][4] The Uptown Theatre opened its doors August 18, 1925, billed as "An Acre of Seats in a Magic City".

[citation needed] Movie crowds eventually dwindled, at the same time that the Uptown area was experiencing a decline of retail in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Richard coordinated local and national acts (without fee) and booked the Grateful Dead three times between 1978 and 1981.

In subsequent years, deferred maintenance and vandalism led to further debilitation of the structure and ornament, both inside and out.

[8] In 1990, a group of preservationists persuaded the then owners to donate important interior fixtures from the Uptown, specifically to be used in future preservation and restoration projects.

Through the efforts of civil engineer, Curt Mangel, it was arranged that the fixtures would be stored by wealthy collector, Jasper Sanfilippo, at his estate in Barrington Hills, Illinois.

[9] In 2006, the exterior was extensively secured and terra cotta pieces were cataloged and stored for future restoration efforts.

Historic photos are juxtaposed with recent film footage to show how the building has survived the past 80 years.

The preservation group Landmarks Illinois named the Uptown Theatre on their list of "Ten Most Endangered Historic Places" in 1996, 2001, 2010, and 2014.