The History of the Hyperbolic Paraboloid Edens Theater in Northbrook, Illinois. (1963-1994)

This futuristic-looking classic 60s-era movie house was a long-time landmark in suburban Northbrook, visible along the Edens Expressway (for which the theater was named) and Lake-Cook Road, both of which ran past the Edens. It was designed by the Chicago-based firm Perkins and Will.

The Hyperbolic Paraboloid Edens Theater in Northbrook, Illinois.

Built in 1963 and opened with the movie, "Divorce Italian Style," the large Edens was inside a traditional movie theater with a giant screen, red curtains and a small stage area. The original color scheme was gold and off-white, with teak paneling. However, the Edens' exterior was a real stunner, like something from a 1950s sci-fi movie.

It was called the largest "hyperbolic paraboloid" building ever constructed when it opened. 

The theater's concrete roof curved sharply upwards on either end, rising dramatically skyward at each point. Its corrugated concrete walls were broken up by long, undulating swaths of glass along the entrance areas. The sunken main lobby was reached by stairs and featured ultra-modern "living room" furniture and artwork.

On November 14, 1969, a slightly smaller, ordinary-looking second theater was built and opened adjacent to the original theater. The theaters were renamed the Edens I & II.

The once enormously popular Edens was shuttered by its last operator, Cineplex Odeon, in 1994, stating that the cost of refurbishing the aging twin was too prohibitive. The theater lacked a state-of-the-art sound and projection system. The Hyperbolic Paraboloid Edens Theater was razed in 1994. 

When Star Wars was released on Wednesday, May 25, 1977 half of the people waiting in line were disappointed that the movie was sold out and they were turned away. A friend and I waited over 2 hours that Saturday, the 27th, to get in to see Star Wars. We got in... and great seats, smack-dab in the middle of the theater too.

"The Life of a Beautiful Bird"

A 5-PART EDENS THEATER VIDEO

(1/5) Edens Theater  [runtime 12:11]

(2/5) Edens Theater  [runtime 11:06]

(3/5) Edens Theater [runtime 9:20]

(4/5) Edens Theater [runtime 14:15]

(5/5) Edens Theater [runtime 9:11]

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D. 

James Ford, Leader of Ford's Ferry Gang - River Pirates.

James N. Ford (1775-1833), also known as James N. Ford, Sr. the "N" possibly for Neal, was an American civic leader and business owner in western Kentucky and southern Illinois in the late 1790s to mid-1830s. 

This is an early 19th-century horse-powered ferry boat, the kind used by James Ford.

Ford was a powerful and scheming leader of a ruthless gang of outlaws, owned a ferry that crossed the Ohio River near Cave-in-Rock, Illinois from 1823 to 1833. "Ford's Ferry Gang" helped him acquire a fortune in land, money, slaves, and livestock by robbing and murdering travelers.

Ford was an Illinois associate of Isaiah L. Potts and the Potts Hill Gang, highway robbers, of the infamous Potts Tavern. Ford's Ferry Road was a ten-mile wooded trail from the ferry to Pott's Tavern, where weary settlers who had escaped Ford's gang were victims of the same fate at the hands of owner Bill Potts.

James Ford also had an association with illegal slaver trader and kidnapper of free blacks, John Hart Crenshaw, and may have taken part in the Illinois version of the Reverse Underground Railroad. At one point, they used the Cave-in-Rock as their headquarters, on the Illinois side of the lower Ohio River, which is approximately 85 miles below Evansville, Indiana.

The Ford and Potts era at Cave-in-Rock ended with the murder of Ford in 1833 by another gang member.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.