The Riviera Theatre, Chicago, Guida per visitatori e cosa fare nei dintorni

The Riviera Theatre is a former movie palace at 4746 N Racine Avenue in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago, now one of the city's best-known concert venues. It opened in 1917 and still draws crowds for live music, which makes it a living piece of Uptown's entertainment history.

The story behind it

The Riviera dates to 1917, when Chicago's neighborhoods were filling with grand picture houses built to give ordinary audiences a night of glamour. Uptown became one of the city's great entertainment districts in those years, and the Riviera is one of the buildings that carried that spirit forward.

Instead of being lost to redevelopment, the theatre found a second life as a venue for touring bands and big-name concerts. It sits close to the Aragon Ballroom and a short walk from the much larger Uptown Theatre, so a few blocks here hold a century of the city's popular culture.

What to look for

• The marquee and entrance on Racine Avenue, which announce the current act and show the building's picture-palace origins.
• The ornate, old-fashioned look of the front of the building, which stands out against the everyday streetscape around it.
• The crowds gathering before a show, which show that the theatre is still very much in use.
• The neighboring Aragon Ballroom and, a few blocks away, the Uptown Theatre, which let you compare three historic venues in one short stroll.

Tips for your visit

• You can admire the exterior from the sidewalk at any time. To see the inside you need a ticket to an event, so check the venue's current schedule.
• Allow 10 to 15 minutes for the building itself, or longer if you also look at the Aragon and the Uptown Theatre nearby.
• Come in the early evening before a show for the best atmosphere, with the marquee lit and fans arriving.
• Uptown is easy to reach by the Red Line, and the area around Lawrence Avenue and Broadway has cafes and restaurants for a break.

See it on a quest

Questo's Captured Cubs Player in Chicago: a Ken Clever Mystery passes the Riviera Theatre as one stop on a longer walking route through the area. You reach each place on foot, the app tells you about it when you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you. It is a mystery with a Cubs theme, so you see the theatre in the context of the neighborhood rather than as a single photo stop. You can start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join, and one ticket covers the whole group.