with the liquor license, gigolos preying on married women, and "waiter trouble" led Balaban to retire from the café business, declaring that the theatre business was "tame and safe by comparison." Early picture palaces In 1914, Balaban met Sam Katz, a by-day law clerk assisting his father, Morris Katz, at nights with the Katz family's own theatres. The young men became close, lunching together every day and sharing their visions for the future. According to Balaban, his own dream was to build 5,000-seat "Presentation Houses" on every side of town. He wrote that Katz told him, "I see no future in this business for me." In time, Katz married Balaban's sister, Ida. By 1915, Balaban suggested that his brother Barney resign his position as chief clerk at Western Cold Storage and take advantage of Chicago's real estate opportunities, created by the city's rapidly expanding middle-class. Pooling talents, Barney Balaban, A.J. Balaban and Sam Katz formed Balaban & Katz in 1916 and financed the construction of a new 2,400-seat theatre, the Central Park, on Chicago's West Side. The Central Park In 1916, Balaban "took Katz to Baraboo, Wisconsin, to see the memorial theatre of the Ringling Brothers designed by Rapp and Rapp. It was a replica of a small European opera house. Katz was impressed with the Rapps" so A.J. Balaban engaged the brothers Cornelius W. and George L. Rapp as the architects for the new theatre, which—due to strides in steel construction—boasted a column-free auditorium and a grand horseshoe mezzanine of boxes, with a full balcony above. The Central Park opened on October 27, 1917, and its success led to many more Rapp and Rapp commissions for Balaban and Katz. At that time, Balaban gave an interview to the Chicago Herald-Examiner outlining his vision for the future of motion picture houses: "Five thousand seat houses; theatres built and constructed with artistic themes dedicated to the people and their children's children; music and art; ladies' parlors where milady's every wish will be on call; men's lounging room; theatre that will bring the various arts into one grand finale; blending of the opera to the fastest tempo of jazz; meeting place of the aristocrat and humble worker; order of the day of just a place to sit and be amused is passing; future show business will not be conducted by showmen but by business men; amusement is a business and the future