The Admiral Theatre in Chicago, Illinois opened in 1927 as a vaudeville house. it was designed by Gallup and Joy and acquired by the Balaban and Katz

Balaban and Katz

The first incarnation of the Balaban and Katz Theatre corporation appeared in 1916 in Chicago by A. J. Balaban, Barney Balaban, Sam Katz, and Morris Katz. It held its first meeting as a Delaware corporation on January 21, 1925. Famous Players-Lasky Corporation bought a controlling interest in...

 circuit. The Admiral closed sometime in the late 1950s, and remained shuttered for many years until opening in 1969 as an all-cartoon venue. Unable to draw the crowds necessary to remain open, the Admiral closed again. In the early 1970s, the Admiral was opened as an adult movie house. After receiving a facelift in the 1980s, the Admiral continues to thrive as an adult venue and gentlemen’s club

Strip club

A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....

. While the interior has been drastically altered, the facade is in remarkably good shape.

In 1985, the then-owner of the Admiral, Patsy Ricciardi, who oversaw the mafia

Mafia

The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...

's Chicago pornography-distribution network was found dead in the trunk of a car. Ricciardi had been suspected of being an informant. http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/we/InfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_product=NewsBank&p_text_direct-0=document_id=(%200EB36D4995D254C3%20)&p_docid=0EB36D4995D254C3&p_theme=aggregated4&p_queryname=0EB36D4995D254C3&f_openurl=yes&p_nbid=G53G44RAMTE3NDI2NTA0OC43MTY0ODI6MTo4OnJhLTEyOTg1&&p_multi=CSTB&s_jsEnabled=true