Then and Now, State-Randolph

In the 1954 view of State Street, streetcars still run down the middle. The three movie theaters offer such varied entertainment as The Student Prince, Johnny Dark, and Prisoner of War. (And that’s not even counting the Roosevelt Theater, just out of the picture.) The corner Walgreen’s has a basement lunchroom, and across Randolph, Marshall Field’s stands proud.

State Street now has some tall buildings that weren’t there 61 years ago. The streetcars and the old Walgreen’s are gone, while the Chicago Theater is the only movie venue still in business. And though many Chicagoans bemoan the conversion of Marshall Field’s to Macy’s, at least the new owners keep the façade clean.

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