Detailed Information

The 2,000-seat Gateway Theater was built for the Balaban & Katz chain and was designed by noted architects Rapp and Rapp in the Atmospheric style with an Italian courtyard theme. It is now the only surviving theatre designed by Rapp and Rapp in the Atmospheric style.

Opening night consisted of Henri A. Keates at the “Mighty Grande Organ”, a sound newsreel, comedy short She Who Gets Slapped (1930) , an “Our Gang” comedy short, The Light of Western Stars (1930) , and The First Seven Years (1930)  as the main feature. There had been a special preview (one performance only) the night before at 9:15pm.

The theatre was built with a minimalist stage – just a few feet deep – with the option to build out a full stagehouse if the new “talkies” did not take off. In later years a thrust stage was added.

In the late 1970s the theatre became the permanent home of the Polish Cultural Center in Chicago. It was decided to preserve the theatre while remodeling around it, dividing the original entry lobby and constructing three floors of office, meeting, class room space adjoining the theatre. The exterior has been remodeled to resemble the 17th century royal palace in Warsaw.

The Copernicus Center is now used for a wide variety of programs, not only for the Polish community, which includes concerts, plays, seminars, dance recitals and countless other events.