Music Box Theatre

Chicago


It hardly matters what's playing here; the Music Box itself is worth the visit. The restored theater dates from 1929 and looks like a Moorish palace, with clouds floating across the ceiling under twinkling stars. The art-house films are always first-rate and there's a midnight roster of cult hits such as The Big Lebowski. A second, smaller theater shows held-over films.

There's a little bar on-site, and you can take your drinks into the film screenings.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Chicago attractions

1. Gallagher Way

0.37 MILES

It's impossible to get any closer to Wrigley Field without actually crossing the stadium's threshold, making this newly developed plaza (formerly a…

2. Graceland Cemetery

0.39 MILES

The final resting place for some of the biggest names in Chicago history, including architects Louis Sullivan and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and retail…

3. Alta Vista Terrace

0.4 MILES

Chicago’s first designated historic district is worthy of the honor. Developer Samuel Eberly Gross re-created a block of London row houses on Alta Vista…

4. Wrigley Field

0.44 MILES

Built in 1914, Wrigley Field – aka the Friendly Confines – is the second-oldest baseball park in the major leagues. It’s home to the Chicago Cubs and…

5. Center on Halsted

0.73 MILES

The mod, glassy Center on Halsted is the Midwest's largest LGBT community center. It's mostly a social service organization for locals, but visitors can…

6. Boystown

0.89 MILES

What the Castro is to San Francisco, Boystown is to the Windy City. The mecca of queer Chicago (especially for men), the streets of Boystown are full of…

7. Hutchinson Street District

0.93 MILES

Homes here were built in the early 1900s and represent some of the best examples of Prairie School architecture in Chicago. Many residences – including…

8. Essanay Studios

1.57 MILES

Back before the talkies made silent film obsolete, Chicago reigned supreme as the number-one producer of movie magic in the USA. Essanay churned out…