CHICAGO--Demolition has begun on the Garrick Garage, former site of the Garrick Theater and future location of the new Goodman Theatre, scheduled to open in the fall of 2000. Built in 1892, the Garrick, then called the Schiller Theater, was one of the Loop's most impressive playhouses, with a proscenium arch designed as a receding and contracting barrel vault. In 1961 it was torn down to make way for a parking garage. Now, reversing the usual dismal decline, the garage will become a theatre, one of two that will seat a total of 1,200 spectators and usher in a new millennium of world drama.

The New Goodman will share the historic site of three movie palaces--the Woods Theater and the landmark Harris and Selwyn theatres, whose facades will be incorporated into the design. For information call (312) 443-4940.

-- By Lawrence Bommer
Chicago Correspondent