‘Jay Warrren Way’ honorary street designation pays tribute to photoplay organist & theater operator Dennis Wolkowicz

by BRIAN NADIG

A portion of North Milwaukee Avenue was dedicated on Thursday, Aug. 20, to the memory of photoplay organist Dennis Wolkowicz, who once operated the Portage Theater, 4050 N. Milwaukee Ave., and for decades played the organ professionally as “Jay Warren” during the showing of silent movies.

Alderman James Gardiner (45th) and the Six Corners Chamber of Commerce held an honorary street dedication ceremony for “Jay Warren Way” on Thursday evening, Aug. 20, at Milwaukee and Cuyler avenues.

“In 2006 Dennis played a leading role in the revival and restoration of the historic Portage Theater at 4050 North Milwaukee Ave., helping to return the venue to its

original 1920s character and advocating for its preservation, efforts that later contributed to the theater’s designation as an official Chicago landmark,” states the honorary street resolution, which Gardiner sponsored.

Wolkowicz operated the Portage from 2006 to 2012, when the theater was sold. It has been closed since 2018, but new owners recently acquired the property and are hoping to reopen the historic venue.

“A graduate of Gordon Technical High School, Dennis grew up just blocks from Six Corners and lived his entire life in the same neighborhood, maintaining deep, personal and generational ties to the community he so faithfully served; and … Dennis developed an early passion for silent films and music, first learning the accordion and later mastering the organ, which became the defining instrument of his artistic career,” the resolution states.

The resolution adds, “In the mid-1980s Dennis gave his first public organ performance at the former Gateway Theater inside the Copernicus Center and went on to help manage the theater for 18 years, contributing significantly to its cultural programming and preservation; (and) performing under the stage name Jay Warren, chosen to ensure his work was accessible to broader audiences, Dennis became one of Chicago’s last great silent-film organists, known for his skill, authenticity and reverence for historic performance traditions.”

He eventually acquired and assembled “a rare 17-rank pipe organ, sourcing many of its pipes from a church, and used it to bring live accompaniment to silent films at theaters, churches  and community venues throughout the city of Chicago; (and) Dennis was the founder of the Silent Film Society of Chicago and a driving force behind silent film performances that educated, inspired and entertained thousands of Chicagoans across generations,” according to the resolution.

Dennis passed away in 2025 at the age of 74.

“His passion was silent films,” his wife Linda Stagner said last year. “As a kid … he’d watch them. He thought they were cool.”
(photos by Josh Romero)

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