Public Enemies

Located just a few minutes from DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus, this classically detailed theatre was designed in 1914 by Samuel N. Crowen. It soon became one of Chicago’s earliest movie houses with a storefront-width lobby, free-standing ticket booth and a single floor to seat guests. Throughout the years it underwent several renovations. Now turned into a live venue with a fresh interior look, the theatre’s grand staircase leads to a second floor.

Famously known as the site of infamous bank robber and Terror Gang leader John Dillinger’s death, the Biograph is one of Chicago’s most famous haunted theaters. It is said Dillinger’s ghost lurks in the alleyway outside.

The theatre was used as a location for the biographical mob drama “Public Enemies” starring Johnny Depp as Dillinger. In one scene, Dillinger and his crew sit in the seats of the theatre watching a newsreel about themselves. Toward the end of the film, the theatre becomes the notable location it is known for today, as it serves as the scene of Dillinger’s death after being shot by FBI agent Melvin Purvis.

Other movies that have been filmed at the Biograph Theatre include the 1986 romantic comedy-drama “About Last Night” and “High Fidelity.” The theater is on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Chicago Landmark on March 28, 2001.

The Dark Knight

Old Chicago Main Post Office is the hot spot in which the bank robbery in the film takes place. The scene includes the Joker and two other clown-masked thugs entering the bank’s lobby determined to get rid of the employees, security guards and clients.

The Joker’s partners in crime are in another building disabling the alarm and finally swing onto the roof of the office building the Joker is in.

The nine-story high post office was built from 1922 to 1933, and was once the largest post office in the world. The post office was designed by Graham, Anderson, Probst and White, the largest

architectural firm under one roof during the first half of the 20th century. Old Chicago Main Post Office was originally designed to accommodate a roadway underneath it.

In the early 1990s, the building was vacated when the new post office across Harrison Street opened. It costs the government around $2 million to maintain the post office, since it was listed under the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

During filming of “The Dark Knight,” the post office caught fire, and the cause was initially blamed on the movie crew. However, the fire was actually caused by the insulation in the ancient ventilation system.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

There are so many great scenes from the John Hughes film, but this particular scene from the Art Institute of Chicago has more meaning then you might think. The deep meaning behind the scene makes it one of the most memorable of the film.

In the scene, Bueller’s friend Cameron Frye is seen concentrating quite hard on Georges Seurat’s painting, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.”

The scene is one of the more bizzare parts of the film, yet it exemplifies the importance the Art Institute of Chicago has on this museum-packed city.

The painting is located in gallery 240, second level of the Art Institute at 111 S Michigan Avenue.