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Made In Chicago: Pickwick Theater

PARK RIDGE (CBS) -- The big screen is still really big at the Pickwick Theater, in Park Ridge.

Dino Vlahakis is one of a vanishing breed, a mom-and-pop theater owner of a 1928-vintage main theater, an Art Deco gem that has landmark status.

Pickwick Theater

He also has three smaller screens in a former newspaper printing plant behind the main theater.

The theater's original 35-millimeter projector still works.

However, digital projection arrived at the Pickwick two years ago, and the original projector is gathering dust.

Prices are a throwback, too--$5 for matinees and $7 the rest of the time.

The Pickwick hosts orchestras, classic films, an annual Godzilla festival and a silent film series that allows its 86-year-old Wurlitzer pipe organ a chance to thunder.

Hillary Clinton used to visit it a lot as a child. You can visit the Pickwick any night of the week.

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