 At the time of the building 's 1978 application for the National Register of Historic Places designation , the venue 's marquee had been replaced twice . The original marquee was basic and facilitated two lines of text for announcements . The 1922 – 23 marquee had ornate " flashing pinwheels , swirls and garlands of colored lights " . It also included " milk glass letter attraction boards , and CHICAGO in large letters on three sides " . The 1949 replacement was similar to the second marquee , but its attraction boards were larger and the oversized CHICAGO lettering only appeared on the front . Until Balaban and Katz ' 1969 sale to the American Broadcasting Company , their name was on the marqee . The entire marquee was replaced in 1994 , but retains the look of its predecessor . In 2004 , the original marquee was donated to the Smithsonian Institution . The marquee is featured in numerous movies and TV shows set in Chicago , and its neon font was used in the title of the 2002 film Chicago . 
