Ascher Brothers

Ascher Brothers was a theater business in Chicago and Wisconsin.[1] It was owned by brothers including Max Ascher, Nathan Ascher, and Harry Ascher who established it in 1909.[2] The business owned more than two dozen theaters[3] and was one of the city's largest owners of theaters along with Balaban and Katz and Lubliner and Trinz.[4] The brothers exited the theater business in 1929.[5]

"Max Ascher" redirects here. It is not to be confused with Max Asher (actor), born Max Ascher.

Ascher Brothers was founded in 1909 and operated nickelodeons and acquiring, leasing, and constructing additional theaters through the 1910s. By 1919 Ascher Brothers operated at least 15 theaters including the Adelphi, Calo, Milford, Cosmopolitan, Metropolitan, and Crown. They added the Portage Park Theatre Building built in 1919.[5] Their theaters succeeded the simple storefront operations and preceded the grand theater houses of the 1920s.[5]

One of their theaters opened across from Marshall Field and Company on State Street.[6][7]

Their theaters included organs and five-piece orchestras[8] including at the Portage Theater. Henry L. Newhouse designed several of their theaters.

By 1923, Goldwyn Pictures owned a 60 percent stake in Ascher company stock.[9]

Theaters
  • Adelphi[5]
  • Calo[5]
  • Milford[5]
  • Cosmo Theater (1913) at 7938 South Halsted
  • Frolic Theater (1915) at 951 East 55th Street
  • Colony[10]
  • Columbus Theater (1916) at 6236 South Ashland (63rd St. And Ashland Avenue)[11]
  • Roosevelt Theatre
  • Metropolitan
  • Oakland Square[12]
  • Portage Theater (1919), leased by Ascher Brothers[5]
  • Commercial Theater (1920) at 9150 South Commercial

References
  1. Schiecke, Konrad (February 10, 2017). Downtown Chicago's Historic Movie Theatres. McFarland. ISBN 9780786488650 – via Google Books.
  2. "Max Ascher, Chicago Theatre Owner, Dies After Long Illness". July 23, 1934.
  3. "The Chicago Banker: A Weekly Paper Devoted to the Banking and Financial Interests of the Middle West". Chicago Banker Company. May 1, 1922 – via Google Books.
  4. Balaban, David (October 13, 2006). The Chicago Movie Palaces of Balaban and Katz. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738539867 – via Google Books.
  5. "PORTAGE PARK THEATRE, Final Landmark Recommendation adopted by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks" (PDF). City of Chicago. March 7, 2013.
  6. Schiecke, Konrad (February 10, 2017). Downtown Chicago's Historic Movie Theatres. McFarland. ISBN 9780786488650 – via Google Books.
  7. "Movie Theaters Previously Operated by Ascher Brothers Inc. - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org.
  8. "The Moving Picture World". World Photographic Publishing Company. August 22, 1916 – via Google Books.
  9. "Millard County Progress Review | 1923-05-18 | New Yorker Buys Chicago Theatre". newspapers.lib.utah.edu.
  10. Schiecke, Konrad (February 28, 2011). Historic Movie Theatres in Illinois, 1883-1960. McFarland. ISBN 9780786449200 – via Google Books.
  11. "The Moving Picture World". World Photographic Publishing Company. October 13, 1916 – via Google Books.
  12. M.H. Doner. "Profile No. 4 - Eddy Hanson". The Tibia (Summer, 1957 ed.). p. 8 – via journals.shareok.org.
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