Before it was Brown Cow …
The movie theater at 7347 Madison, now the Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor, was known as the Madison Circle Theater, Circle Theater, and The Lil Theatre during its lifespan as an entertainment emporium. The former 1886 show house, designed by architect Henry L. Newhouse, was the first movie house outside of Chicago in 1914 with seating for 300. It featured an outdoor ticket booth and an orchestra pit. As larger theaters emerged, it transitioned to second-run films and cartoons before closing in the 1960s.
The sloped entry ramp, projector room windows and original plaster walls, and the woodwork, which was salvaged from a 1910 mansion on Lake Shore Drive, are all remnants in its new chapter as the Brown Cow Ice Cream Parlor, which expanded into the space in 2008 from their early days at 7314 Madison (now Petra Falafel) during a time when Madison Street was struggling with vacancies.
Brown Cow’s signature events like the “Great Pumpkin Contest,” “Storytime with Miss Tracey,” Belgium waffles after Thanksgiving, “Ice Cream with Santa,” and the “Trough Eating Contest” are just a few of the community fan favorites in their legacy. The parlor expanded as a creamery, where customers can watch the ice cream being made through a window.
Jill Wagner