Renovated Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport to reopen with New Year’s Eve dance party

The newly renovated Ramova Theatre in Bridgeport will host its first public event on New Year’s Eve with Slo ‘Mo, a queer-friendly dance party.

According to Monday’s announcement the all-queer and trans women collective “focuses on lifting up women in music historically and locally in Chicago.”

The site at 3520 S. Halsted St. opened in 1929 as an ornate, single-screen movie theater. It closed in 1985 but was spared demolition after the neighborhood rallied to save the iconic structure. The efforts also resulted in the theater earning a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.

Shuttered for nearly 40 years, the renovated Ramova will boast a 1,500-seat live music venue and beer garden and grill in partnership with New York-based Other Half Brewing.

Investors include Quincy Jones, Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper.

The New Year’s Eve show will be an homage to the era when the club originally opened and will feature a live jazz band, dancers and DJ sets.

Tickets are $75-$125 and available at ramovachicago.com.

WMAQ-Channel 5 will be broadcasting live from the event as part of its holiday special, “A Very Chicago New Year!”

A city ordinance passed in 2022 said the Ramova project would cost $38.37 million, sharply higher than the $22.9 million budgeted in 2019. The ordinance promised the project a $9.1 million subsidy from tax-increment financing, representing property taxes collected from the area near 35th and Halsted. That was up from a prior commitment of $6.64 million.