The Riviera Theatre is a

concert venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. T ...

located on the north side of

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, United States.

About

Built in 1917, it was designed by

Rapp and Rapp C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in Chicago, the office designed over 400 theatres, inclu ...

for the Balaban & Katz theatre chain run by

A. J. Balaban Abraham Joseph Balaban, known as A. J. Balaban or Abe Balaban (April 20, 1889 – November 1, 1962), was an American showman whose particular influence on popular entertainment in the early 20th century led to enormous innovations in the American ...

, his brother

Barney Balaban Barney Balaban (June 8, 1887 – March 7, 1971) was an American film executive who was the president of Paramount Pictures from 1936 to 1964 and an innovator in the cinema industry. Life and career Barney Balaban (formerly Birnbaum) was the el ...

and their partner and brother-in-law, Sam Katz. It is an example of French Renaissance Revival architecture. It later became a private nightclub in 1986. The theatre is located in the Uptown section of the city, at the intersection of Lawrence,

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and Racine. The area has several notable theaters, including the Aragon Ballroom, which is only 0.2 miles away. Since 2006 it has been owned by Chicago-based Jam Productions (itself owned by Jerry Mickelson and Arny Granat), which claims to be the "largest independent producer of live entertainment in the United States". In October 2015 in a labor dispute, Jam Productions fired the

stagehand A stagehand is a person who works backstage or behind the scenes in theatres, film, television, or location performance. Their work include setting up the scenery, lights, sound, props, rigging, and special effects for a production. General S ...

s of the Riviera Theater. As of 2017, the Riviera Theater continues to serve as a venue for many popular acts, both local and national.

Notable events

My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult (often shortened to Thrill Kill Kult or TKK) is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based in Chicago and founded by Groovie Mann (born Frankie Nardiello) and Buzz McCoy (born Marston Daley). ...

performed at the theatre October 28, 1988 and three tracks from the performance were released in 2004 as part of the reissue for their debut album. * Jody Watley performed at the theatre July 21, 1989 during her Larger Than Life album tour. *

Tin Machine Tin Machine were a British–American rock band formed in 1988, and fronted by English singer-songwriter David Bowie. The band consisted of Bowie on lead vocals, saxophone and guitar; Reeves Gabrels on guitar and vocals; Tony Fox Sales on ba ...

performed at the theatre during their

It's My Life Tour The It's My Life Tour was a concert tour headlined by Anglo-American hard rock band Tin Machine. The tour commenced on 5 October 1991 after two warm-up shows, one press show and three trade-industry shows, visiting twelve countries and conclud ...

on December 12, 1991, which was recorded and became part of their live album, '' Tin Machine Live: Oy Vey, Baby''. * Groove metal band Pantera Filmed their music video for

Walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

at the theater in 1992 *

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also referred to as simply Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band from Chicago. Formed in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, bassist D'arcy Wretzky, guitarist James Iha and drummer Jimmy Ch ...

played a release party for their 1995 album

Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness ''Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness'' is the third studio album by American alternative rock band The Smashing Pumpkins, released on October 24, 1995, in the United Kingdom and a day later in the United States on Virgin Records. Produced by ...

the night before its release here. *

Type O Negative Type O Negative were an American gothic metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 by Peter Steele (bass, lead vocals), Kenny Hickey (guitar, co-lead vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums, percu ...

performed with

Moonspell Moonspell is a Portuguese gothic metal band formed in 1992. The group released their first EP, ''Under the Moonspell'', in 1994 and followed up with their debut album, ''Wolfheart'', a year later. They quickly became the most recognizable metal ...

and Cradle of Filth November 22, 2003 for their

Life Is Killing Me ''Life Is Killing Me'' is the sixth studio album by gothic metal band Type O Negative. It was released on June 17, 2003, and was their final studio album released through record label Roadrunner Records. The album's title and content refers prim ...

album tour. *

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring act, Tame Impala consists of Parke ...

performed at the theatre October 10, 2013 and the recordings were used for their live album

Live Versions ''Live Versions'' is the first live album by the Australian psychedelic rock band Tame Impala, released on 19 April 2014 (Record Store Day) by Modular Recordings Modular Recordings (known simply as Modular) is an Australian record label ...

. *The venue served as the opening night on Miley Cyrus'

Milky Milky Milk Tour The Milky Milky Milk Tour (initially called the Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz Tour) was the fifth concert tour by American singer Miley Cyrus, held in support of her fifth studio album, ''Miley Cyrus & Her Dead Petz'' (2015). The limited-run tour v ...

which was a very limited tour with only 8 cities across North America. The show sold out within a few minutes with one fixed price of US$69.69.

References

External links

Official website
Music venues in Chicago Movie palaces Theatres completed in 1917 {{Chicago-struct-stub