Ramova Theatre

Ramova Theatre is a 1,500-plus-capacity concert venue in Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood, operating inside a restored 1929 movie palace. Its distinguishing feature sits above and around the audience: an atmospheric interior made to resemble a Spanish courtyard, with ornamental arches, faux façades, interior balconies and a plaster night sky. The result gives contemporary loud-room shows a visual setting built for cinema-scale spectacle.

A movie palace’s second opening

Lithuanian immigrant businessman Jokūbas Maskoliūnas built the Ramova, which opened in August 1929 as a 1,300-seat neighborhood cinema designed by Myer O. Nathan. The building joined commercial space and apartments to the theatre, while its name came through a local Lithuanian newspaper contest and translates as “peaceful place” or “serene place.” By the 1950s it had shifted to second-run films; its final movie-house run ended with a closure in April 1985. The auditorium then sat vacant for decades.

Developer Tyler Nevius bought the theatre and adjacent lot from Chicago for $1 in 2017, setting up a restoration that converted the site into a concert hall, brewery, taproom and restaurant complex. On December 31, 2023, Ramova reopened with Slo ’Mo’s queer-centered New Year’s Eve party: Akenya led a speakeasy-style jazz band, while Empress Darling Shear, VITIGRRL and Icy Bby supplied dance performances and DJ sets. It marked the building’s first live-music presentation.

The room now

Ramova operates as an independent venue, bringing in touring acts while also hosting local and touring bands, educational programs, community events and private bookings. Its programming spans hip-hop, rock, indie, electronic, pop, metal, alternative and Latin bills. The principal room uses the former cinema’s broad main floor for concerts, with the restored balconies and arches shaping the sightlines; the building also includes the 300-person Ramova Loft for smaller music and multi-use events. Off Hours Beer Co.’s taproom and adjoining beer garden extend the pre-show and post-show options beyond the auditorium.