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The Uptown: Chicago’s Endangered Movie Palace — Authors Robert Loerzel and James A. Pierce will talk about their new book on the history of the Uptown Theatre, which opened 100 years ago. One of America’s largest and most lavish movie palaces, it’s been vacant and unused for more than 40 years. Their book, published by Chicago’s CityFiles Press, offers a look inside the building, gathering the work of a dozen contemporary photographers with vintage blueprints, renderings, programs, and iconic photographs. The Uptown tells the history of this theater that was “built for all time,” using original records and firsthand accounts to tell a story of dreamers, a changing neighborhood, and a nation stepping into a new world. As they offer their insights into the building’s past and potential, Loerzel and Pierce will share views of the Uptown throughout its ten decades.
Loerzel and Pierce will also be selling and signing a limited quantity of books. The book can also be purchased at cityfilespress.com.
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 Robert Loerzel is a freelance journalist and photographer who lives in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. A former reporter and editor for the suburban Pioneer Press newspapers, he now copyedits for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago magazine. He has reported for many media outlets, including Crain’s Chicago Business, Playbill, and the Chicago Reader, as well as WBEZ’s Curious City radio show and podcast. He cowrote two episodes of the documentary series Chicago Stories on WTTW: The Union Stockyards (which won a regional Emmy) and The Race to Reverse the River. His other books include Alchemy of Bones: Chicago’s Luetgert Murder Case of 1897 and Walking Chicago: 35 Tours of the Windy City’s Dynamic Neighborhoods and Famous Lakeshore. On his website, robertloerzel.com, he published a 48-chapter history, The Coolest Spot in Chicago: A History of Green Mill Gardens and the Beginnings of Uptown.
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 James A. Pierce (Andy), a journalist, WDCB jazz radio host, and a founder of Friends of the Uptown, has been documenting the Uptown Theatre and advocating for its restoration since 1998. He is a member of the Theatre Historical Society of America, Landmarks Illinois, Preservation Chicago, and the Chicago Bungalow Association. He worked for the City of Chicago Department of Buildings and the City Council Division for more than a decade. He is the executive director of Friends of Historic Second Church here in Chicago and serves on the board of the Landmark Uptown Theatre Corporation,uptowntheatre.com
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