Biograph Theater

John Dillinger walked out of a movie screening of "Manhattan Melodrama" on July 22, 1934, and FBI agents were waiting for him. He was shot and killed right outside this Lincoln Park theater, which is now on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Biograph Theater on Lincoln Avenue gained notoriety as the location where legendary bank robber John Dillinger was gunned down by FBI agents on July 22, 1934. That warm summer evening, Dillinger wore a lightweight coat, white shirt, gray pants, canvas shoes, and his signature straw boater as he entered the air-conditioned theater with girlfriend Polly Hamilton Keele and Anna Sage, the infamous "Lady in Red" who had betrayed him to federal agents.

After watching "Manhattan Melodrama" starring Clark Gable, Dillinger stepped off the curb just before the alley alongside the theater. Suddenly alerted to danger, he stopped, whirled around, and reached for his concealed gun. FBI agents opened fire, and three bullets struck Public Enemy Number One. He staggered a few steps and fell dead on the pavement, ending the most intensive manhunt in American history.

For decades after his death, no reports of ghosts surfaced. Then in the 1970s, witnesses began describing a ghostly blue figure running down the alley, stumbling, collapsing, and vanishing into thin air--reenacting Dillinger's final moments. The passage became known to longtime residents as "Dillinger's Alley," a place where sudden chills and overwhelming feelings of dread overcome late-night visitors.

Theatergoers and workers have reported encounters with Dillinger's ghost inside the building. A dark figure is seen running on the sidewalk or heading toward the alley, then staggering, falling, and disappearing. During major renovations, staff claimed to see Dillinger's ghost wandering the historic interior, particularly in the aisles where patrons once watched silver screen gangster films.

The theater, listed on the National Register of Historic Places and designated a Chicago Landmark in 2001, was purchased by Victory Gardens Theater in 2004 and renovated by architect Daniel P. Coffey into a live performance venue. Visitors can still see the historic marquee, sit where Dillinger watched his final movie, and step into the alley where one of America's most wanted criminals met his violent end. A commemorative plaque marks the site, but for many, the real memorial is the lingering sense of his presence.