Fixer-Upper
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The Beach Cafe, which shares space with Theater on the Lake and functions as its lobby, used to offer patio dining with decent food and an outstanding view: water and sky stretching to the east, the beach and the Hancock building to the south, rollerbladers and cyclists parading by under your nose. Followed by a performance of off-Loop theater, it was an idyllic, uniquely Chicago experience. But what’s going on there now is as baffling as a Beckett monologue. The view is intact, but on a beautiful evening last week the terrace was empty; patrons who wanted a seat had to head inside to one of a dozen small tables strewn across a concrete floor. A woman who dragged a couple of dusty plastic chairs out herself and asked for something to clean them off with was told by an employee she was breaking the rules. The cafe served beer and wine, but nothing to eat other than hot dogs (without onions), popcorn, prepackaged ice cream, and candy bars.
Improvements to the theater’s facilities were announced last year, and the Park District paid Morris Architects $153,000 to draw up plans. But the proposed renovation, which would bring improved seating, soundproofing, lighting, and air-conditioning, as well as additional space for the restaurant, carries a price tag of $6 million, money that will need to be raised from private sources. According to Gordon the project, which would require board approval before contracting, is still on the table and could be completed in phases. Managing director Krista Byrski Richard says the 331-seat theater operates on a break-even annual budget of $200,000 (down from $230,000 a few years ago) and has 700 season subscribers, but the renovation is “at a standstill, because the Park District isn’t going to raise these funds on its own. We’re trying to interest people who would want to serve on a fund-raising committee.” Donations earmarked for it can be made to the nonprofit Parkways Foundation, where a building fund (currently at just under $30,000) has been set up. (Questions about the cafe were referred to Christina Vera at the Park District; she had not responded by press time.)
The bigger question is why the board jumped to a $24 million project in the first place. According to Friends of the Three Arts, a group that’s been fighting to save the building, for a much smaller amount—$3 million or less—the organization could’ve been in a position to continue its mission as a home for women in the arts. (The club had room for 100 residents and had served thousands since it opened in 1915.) Attorney and Friends member Sue Basko says that with a new board and proper management this would still be feasible. “More people are coming to Chicago from all over the world, and more than ever they’re looking for secure housing,” she says. “It’s ludicrous to say that it wouldn’t be full.”
