Lakeview, Swedetown

Chicago’s Swedish community of Lakeview was well established by the early 1900s. Throughout the 1930s, the Julian Theater in Lakeview played Swedish movies with English subtitles. Mostly viewed by nostalgic and proud Swedes, the movies also drew diverse audiences from around Chicago to the neighborhood.

Reproduction of Julian Theater program, 1930s–1940s

Reproduction of Julian Theater program, 1930s–1940s

Courtesy of Swedish American Museum, Chicago, Illinois

Architectural fragment from Julian Theater, opened in 1909

Architectural fragment from Julian Theater, opened in 1909

Gift of Tim Samuelson