A brick building on Grand Avenue that has been a vaudeville house, a dry cleaner, a billiards hall, and most recently a Pentecostal church is about to become something it hasn't been in decades: a movie theater. Developer Ken Gaebler is converting the former Youth Center Church of God in Christ at 3679 W. Grand Ave. into La Reina, a 55-to-60-seat theater and community hub in Humboldt Park.
Gaebler acquired the building in February 2026. As Block Club Chicago reports, he has since started renovations and commissioned an environmental assessment that ran more than 400 pages. The building operated at various points as the Lawndale Theatre and later the Rex Theatre before its conversion into a church.
A Building With Many Lives on Grand Avenue
Block Club Chicago's reporting notes that from the early 1920s to the early 1940s, 3677-79 W. Grand Ave. was a mixed-use community and commercial hub that included a dry cleaner, a tailor, and a billiards hall. The Lawndale Theatre operated there; city directories later show it as the Rex Theatre from 1941 to 1951, while the adjoining storefront housed Grand Cleaners during those same years.
The Youth Center Church of God in Christ occupied the building for more than 50 years.
Smaller Screen, Bigger Ambitions
Cinema Treasures lists the building under its later name, the New Rex Theatre, according to Cinema Treasures.
La Reina, Spanish for “the queen,” is planned as a nonprofit, community-first theater equipped with both digital and analog film equipment. Gaebler intends to screen independent movies, art films, projects from local producers, and Spanish-language films, operating primarily on weekends while hosting trainings, community events, and other programming during the week. Tickets and concessions are expected to cover operating costs, with incentives and discounts planned for area residents, and Gaebler has said he wants to include open mic nights, showcases for local artists and designers, and piano or organ music performances.
City Grant Ties Project to Downtown Development Fees
The Chicago Department of Planning and Development announced $250,000 in Neighborhood Opportunity Fund grants to Poetic Properties in September 2026 as part of an 18-recipient small business funding round supporting buildouts across the West, South, and Southwest sides, according to the City of Chicago. Gaebler applied for that grant in May 2026. The Neighborhood Opportunity Fund uses developer bonus payments to support projects, per SomerCor.
The Neighborhood Opportunity Fund supports projects in underserved neighborhoods across Chicago's West, Southwest, and South sides. La Reina is planned for Grand Avenue.
Local Officials and Neighbors Weigh In
36th Ward Alderperson Gilbert Villegas has backed the project, saying the Grand Avenue corridor should receive continued investment and development, per Block Club Chicago's reporting. Joshua Son, the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund's projects administrator, and Pete Strazzabosco, deputy commissioner of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, are also named in that coverage as involved with the grant process. Neighbors submitted letters supporting the project, according to the outlet.
Gaebler, who co-founded the Chicago marketing and PR agency Walker Sands in 2001, according to SalesHive, has said he wants to restore the building and build the theater with the community rather than just for it. He also founded Chicago Helpers, an organization meant to help residents connect with city services and navigate paperwork and bureaucracy while issues are resolved; Chicago Helpers is expected to have offices inside the theater building once La Reina opens.
A Corridor in Transition
La Reina arrives as Humboldt Park navigates broader questions about gentrification, affordability, and cultural identity, concerns some residents have raised directly, per Block Club Chicago.
La Reina plans to pair film screenings with community programming and live events. It aims to carve out its own place on Grand Avenue.
